Page 232 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 6 - 9

10917. I want you to tell us where you saw the water coming up as you say just making G deck? - It was almost flush with G deck when I got on it. 10918. Do you mean where this stairway is which leads down? - Yes. The Solicitor-General: Your Lordship has that, no doubt. The Commissioner: I have. This means that the water in this part of the boat had risen above the Orlop deck. 10919. (The Solicitor-General.) So I follow, at that part. Your Lordship observes this is the compartment of the ship which is immediately in front of the No. 6 section. No. 6 boiler section is the compartment next aft. (To the Witness.) Did you spend long enough there to see whether the water was rising rapidly or slowly? - Yes, it was rising rapidly. 10920. Did the water actually reach the deck you were standing on, G deck, while you were there? - Yes, it was just on G deck. 10921. Just reaching it? - Yes; it was over G deck before I left; it covered G deck. 10922. Then what did you do? Where did you go? - I went upstairs to E deck again and went down to F deck to close the bulkhead doors on F deck by the Turkish baths. There are two bulkhead doors there. 10923. And did you close those? - Yes. 10924. Did you do that alone, or did somebody help you? - I closed the inside one myself, and then to close the other we had to go on top and turn that one with a key. Mr. Dodd and Crosby, the Turkish bath attendant, helped me. 10925. Is Mr. Dodd the second steward? - Yes. 10926. Now we will first identify the two doors. They are on F deck, are they not? - Yes. 10927. I see just in line with the Turkish baths on my plan two watertight doors marked. One is a watertight door which is nearly amidships and the other is a watertight door more on the starboard side? - Well, they are both on the starboard side. 10928. Yes, they are; quite right. Which was the one you closed first? - The inside one. 10929. The one nearer amidships? - Yes. 10930. And that one you closed unaided? - Yes. 10931. Then did you pass at once to the other one which is on the outside? - Yes. 10932. And that one you were helped to close? - That was closed from E deck. 10933. It had to be closed from the deck above? - Yes, they are closed with a key. 10934. Did you go up to the deck above and help to close it? - Yes. 10935. Now at the time when you closed the first of those watertight doors on F deck, the one that you closed unaided, was there any water on F deck as far as you saw? - No. 10936. You told us you thought it was about 10 minutes or a quarter of an hour before you went down and saw the water rising? - Yes. 10937. Could you give us some idea, how long after that was, or should you say that you closed these watertight doors by the Turkish baths? - I do not suppose it would be more than five or six minutes. 10938. Then you were a few minutes down looking at the water? - Yes. 10939. When you say you closed these doors, do you mean you did this out of your own idea? - Yes. 10940. Or had an order been given? - No, I did it on my own. 10941. As far as you know up to that time, had any order been given about closing watertight doors? - No. I heard none. 10942. What was the next thing after that? - After the bulkhead doors I proceeded up the stairs on to C deck. I had to pass D first, and before I got to C, Mr. McElroy was looking over the banisters. 10943. Is Mr. McElroy the purser? - Yes. He saw me coming and told me to get the men up