Page 32 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 6 - 9

5917. I suppose that if provisions were wanted it would be your department to look after that would it not? - No. 5918. What about bread? - The boats are provided with hard bread, what we call biscuits. 5919. Did not you hear any orders given about provisions for the boats? - Not directly from any officer. Word was passed down from the top deck and I received it eventually through other channels. 5920. What was it? - “Provision boats,” or put any spare provisions you have in the boats, that was it. 5921. As I understand, the biscuits, the hard bread, would be in the boats already, or ought to be? - Yes. 5922. And it would only be the soft bread you had to think about? - Any surplus stuff we had around that was handy we would put into the boats. 5923. You heard that order passed along. Did you take steps to send up some provisions to the boats? - Yes. 5924. What was it you did, you and your men? - I sent thirteen men up with four loaves apiece, 40 pounds of bread each as near as I could guess. 5925. And your staff, your men, had they got stations for the boats? - Yes. 5926. And as far as you know did they know their stations? - Yes. 5927. Did these thirteen bakers go up with these loaves? - Yes. 5928. Did you go up on deck yourself? - I stayed in the shop for a little while, and then I followed them up the middle staircase. 5929. Which deck did you come out on to? - Eventually the boat deck. 5930. The top deck. The accident was at 11.40. Can you tell us the sort of time it was when you got to the boat deck? - How long do you think after the accident it was that you got to the boat deck? What time do you think it was? - I should say about half-past twelve, as near as I could guess. 5931. That is the time, as I understand, when you got to the boat deck? - About that time. 5932. The orders you speak of had been given, and you had already sent up the bread? - Yes. 5933. And you followed your men afterwards at about 12.30? - Yes. 5934. There is just another question about time you might help us over. You say it was half- past twelve when you got up to the boat deck. That was after these orders. Can you give us some sort of idea when it was you heard of the order for provisioning the boats? - I should say about a quarter-past twelve. 5935. Then the order is obeyed, and you get up there about half-past twelve? - Yes. 5936. When you got up to the boat deck had any order been given that you had heard about all hands going on deck? - The order had been passed round previous to that. 5937. It had? - Yes. 5938. That would be the general order, I suppose? - The general order. 5939. Had that order about all hands on deck been given before your bakers went on deck? - Oh, yes. 5940. Just two or three questions about what happened after that. Which was your boat? - I was assigned to No. 10. 5941. I do not think, my Lord, we have had any evidence about this boat yet. There are four boats on the afterpart of the boat deck on each side, and No 10 would be the first of the four? - The first one on the port side - the forward one. The Commissioner: The most forward boat on the port side. The Solicitor-General: No, the most forward boat of the aft boats. The Commissioner: Yes. 5942. (The Solicitor-General.) It may be convenient, to remind your Lordship that the next one