Page 34 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 6 - 9

The Commissioner: It is all on this plan. The Solicitor-General: If your Lordship has got it I need not trouble. The Commissioner: This emergency door that you are talking about is, I think, on the same deck that the last witness was telling us about. The Solicitor-General: Yes, I think it is, my Lord. The Commissioner: Then if you go up you get into what is called the second-class entrance into the dining saloon - the second-class dining saloon. The Solicitor-General: My Lord, may I suggest that I think it is a little abaft of that. The Commissioner: What is abaft of it? The Solicitor-General: The staircase, my Lord. The second-class staircase appears to me to be a little bit further aft than that. The Commissioner: Not according to my plan. 5968. (The Solicitor-General.) I think your Lordship is right; I beg your pardon. I see my Lord, now. (To the Witness.) Let us just fix this second-class staircase into which the third-class people get when this door is opened. Is it a stairway that rises through several decks up to the top? - Yes, and there is a lift, an electric lift. 5969. There is an elevator alongside at the same place as the staircase? - Yes. 5970. Your Lordship has got that, I think, on the plan? - That is the staircase in yellow. (pointing on big plan.) 5971. Is that the staircase and the elevator in the middle of it - the second-class staircase (pointing on the big plan.)? - No, it is the one further aft, is it not? It is immediately behind the aft funnel. That is the staircase. (pointing on the plan.) 5972. And the third-class people come along their alleyway through this emergency door and get direct into that staircase (pointing on plan.) - Yes. 5973. And all they have to do is to go straight up on to the boat deck? - Yes, that is right. 5974. Just tell us, please, how is it you know that emergency door was open for them? - Because I went down that way to my room after shutting the bakery door. 5975. You shut the bakery door, went down to your own room, and you saw this door was then open? - Yes. 5976. When you went down to your room and found this door open, did you at that time see third-class people coming up? - Coming along the alleyway some women, with two bags in their hands. They would not let go of them. 5977. A number of third-class passengers were coming up? - Yes. 5978. You have already helped us about the time. Could you tell us at all what time you think that was? - You say it was half-past twelve when you got on to the boat deck yourself? - That was just after I had passed the first lot of bread up, and I went down to my room for a drink, as a matter of fact, and as I was coming back I followed up my men on to the deck. 5979. Does that mean it would be about a quarter-past twelve? - A little after that. 5980. Something between a quarter-past twelve and half-past twelve? - Yes, about that. 5981. Now, just let us go back to boat No. 10 and finish it. You said that when it was about half full with women you could not find more women to pass along the line and put into the boat? - We had difficulty in finding them. 5982. What was done; what happened? - I myself and three or four other chaps went on the next deck and forcibly brought up women and children. 5983. You went down to the A deck? - Yes, to the A deck. 5984. And you mean you brought them up to the boat deck? - Brought them up to the boat deck - there are only about ten stairs to go up. 5985. Did not they want to go? - No, Sir. They were all sitting - squatting down on the deck. 5986. And you and three or four others brought them up? - Yes.