Monday, April 15, 1912
2:22am
The sounds of Titanic's victims screaming for help is too much for some to bear. Some of the passengers in the lifeboats demand that they go and help. After all, many of the lifeboats had plenty of room to take on several more passengers.
Unfortunately, the passengers that wanted to go back and help were outvoted for one reason or another. The fear of going back and being swamped by the people in the water and then capsized, was a very real possibility.
Some of the lifeboat groups decided that going back would be too dangerous. Some decided that they would wait for the panic to calm down.
Whatever the reason, only one lifeboat will go back to help, and by that time it will be too late.
Lifeboat 8
First class passenger, Gladys Cherry later wrote a letter to the crew member that was in charge of Lifeboat 8, Seaman Thomas Jones...
"The dreadful regret I shall always have, and I know you share with me, is that we ought to have gone back to see whom we could pick up. But if you remember, there was only an American lady, my cousin, self, and you who wanted to return. I could not hear the discussion very clearly, as I was at the tiller, but everyone forward and the three men refused. But I shall always remember your words, 'Ladies, if any of us are saved, remember I wanted to go back. I would rather drown with them than leave them.'"
Lifeboat 1
With only 12 of its 40 seats occupied, lifeboat 1 refuses to return. This lifeboat carried mostly male members of the ship's crew, and one very famous couple, Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon and his wife Lucy.
When the men in the boat began discussing the matter of going back to help, Duff-Gordon intervened saying that going back would be too dangerous and that the very idea was frightening his wife. While waiting to be rescued, Duff-Gordon promises a five-pound check to each of the crew members in Lifeboat 1 to help compensate for their losses. His intentions may have been good, but he will spend the rest of his life denying that he bribed the men to not go back to help.
Lifeboat 6
Lifeboat 6 is well known for its notable passengers. Among them were Denver millionairess Margaret Brown, writer and feminist Helen Churchill Candee, Quartermaster Robert Hichens, and Lookout Fredrick Fleet.
It was Quartermaster Hichens that was in charge of this boat. He and Margaret Brown would have differences throughout the night mainly due to Hichens sour attitude.
Brown wasn't able to convince Hichens or the others in her boat to go back and help the people in the water. Hearing the screams for help and not going back troubled her for the rest of her life.
When the rescue ship appeared on the horizon, Hichens declared that the ship was not there to rescue them, but to pick up dead bodies. After hearing this and losing her patience, Brown took charge and threatened to throw Hichens overboard if he interfered. Her persistence and bravery earned her the nickname, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown".
Showing posts with label Quartermaster Hichens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quartermaster Hichens. Show all posts
Timeline Article: Captain Smith Calls Back Lifeboat 6
Monday, April 15, 1912
1:42am
Using his megaphone, he calls out to lifeboat 6 which is rowing away from the port side, to return to the ship so they can load more passengers.
Lifeboat 6 is a very important lifeboat in Titanic history because among it's passengers were, Lookout Fredrick Fleet, Quartermaster Robert Hichens, and 1st class passenger Margaret Brown.
Upon hearing the Captain's orders, Margaret Brown insists on returning due to the amount of empty seats in their lifeboat. Hichens, who was at the wheel when Titanic hit the iceberg, refused the Captain's orders and told Mrs. Brown that he was in charge of the boat and to be quiet.
"No! The suction will pull us down if we don't keep going. It is our lives now, not theirs. I'm in charge of this boat!"
Quartermaster
-Robert Hichens
After being ignored and watching lifeboat 6 row away, Captain Smith must have felt completely powerless over his situation.
Timeline Article: Lifeboat 6 is the Sixth to be Launched
1:10am
Lifeboat 6 is the sixth to be launched.
Lowered By: 2nd Officer Lightoller.
Crew Member in Charge: Quartermaster Robert Hichens
By 1:10am, Second Officer Lightoller began to load lifeboat 6.
For numerous reasons, Lightoller had some difficulty finding women or crew members willing to board this lifeboat. Titanic was starting to lean slightly to the starboard side, and even though this tilt was evident to some passengers and crew, the ship still felt safe enough to remain aboard...
Video Provided By: James Cameron's Titanic Explorer
After some time, Lightoller was finally able to convince some women to board the lifeboat. Despite being ordered aboard, Lamp Trimmer Samuel Hemming leapt back aboard Titanic when he realized there was not a crewman to man the aft falls.
As the lifeboat was being lowered, it dragged along Titanic's riveted port side because of the ship's slight tilt to starbaord. About half way down to the sea, a women called up to Lightoller saying that there weren't any seaman to row the boat. First class passenger Major Arthur Peuchen was standing near Lightoller and offered to help. Lightoller said,
"If you are seaman enough to go down the falls, then you can go."
Peuchen then climbed down the falls and joined the group. This was the only time that Lightoller ordered a man into a lifeboat...
Video Provided By: A Night To Remember (1958)
Once down to the water, lifeboat 6 rowed away quickly. Lifeboat 6 is well known for it's notable passengers. Among them were: Denver millionairess Margaret Brown (known later as the "Unsinkable Molly Brown"), writer and feminist Helen Churchill Candee, and Lookout Fredrick Fleet.
Lifeboat 6 is launched with only 24 out of 65 seats occupied.
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| Left to Right: Margaret Brown, Helen Churchill Candee, Fredrick Fleet |
Timeline Article: Titanic Hits an Iceberg
Sunday, April 14, 1912
11:39pm - 11:40pm
Titanic is cruising at 21.5 knots when Lookout Fredrick Fleet spots an iceberg directly in front of the ship. He immediately rings the crows nest bell three times. Then he telephones the bridge. Sixth Officer Moody answers the phone. Fleet responds, "Iceberg! Right ahead!"
As Titanic gradually turns to the left and the situation begins to look hopeful. Then there was a sudden vibration felt throughout the ship. Murdoch watched as the iceberg scraped along Titanic's hull popping the iron rivets and bending the steel plates. Murdoch then closes the watertight doors to seal off the flooding compartments. Quartermaster Olliver steps onto the bridge just in time to see the peak of the iceberg pass by.
Murdoch then yells out another order, "HARD-A-PORT!" By turning the ship in the other direction, he hopes to steer the rest of the length of the ship clear of the berg. The iceberg scrapes along 250 feet of Titanic's starboard side, fully exposing five of the forward watertight compartments and part of the sixth compartment to the sea. Down below, crewmen are desperately trying to find their way up and out of the flooding compartments.
First class passengers on the promenade deck watch as the berg slowly passes by. Seaman Joseph Scarrott claimed the the iceberg closely resembled the shape of the Rock of Gibraltar. The rest of Titanic clears the iceberg and the passengers on deck watch as the mountain of ice disappears into the night behind them.
