The Fatal Journey of Third Class Men on the Titanic

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Once it was widely known among the hundreds of Third Class men in the front quarters that water was filling the lower decks in the bow, if the authorities were not going to direct them to the forward Boat Deck (or as just discussed through the 2 gangway doors at the forward end of E Deck), where was there, other than the stern, that these men could have gone? Even without prodding by the authorities, there would have been a strong inclination for the Third Class men in the forward quarters to head toward the stern for safety, although they might well have been better off to have done otherwise. It was obvious the water was coming in at the bow, and before long it was clear, from the tilt of the deck, that the ship was sinking from the bow. True Aristotelians, most of the men likely put their trust in their senses and headed aft. Besides, the route along Scotland Road was a familiar one by the end of the third day of the trip to the men in the front quarters, since it was the main thoroughfare leading to many of the Third Class public spaces, most notably the Third Class Dining Saloon. And in general this was the way one went when one socialized with the Third Class passengers at the after end of the ship. Moreover, many of the men, at a moment of such danger and crisis, no doubt had no other thought than of finding friends and love ones quartered in the stern. One can imagine some would have had to have been prevented from heading that way had there actually been a rescue effort directing them right up to the forward Boat Deck.

It should be noted that there were exceptional men from the forward quarters--Abelseth, Krekorian, Ryan and Jansson are all survivors who fit this description—who had the foresight to move in the hour or so after the accident more or less freely to the forward Boat Deck (H.: Passenger Lists & Biographies). Rather than going aft they most likely climbed outside ladders along the forward end of the Bridge Deck up to the Boat Deck (Appendix 1, Route #12). But these were a small barely-noticed minority, and almost to a man each of those who survived and who gave an account of what happened told afterward of acting against the will, however weakly expressed, of stewards who were on hand. The scene viewed by Poingdestre of men detained on the forward Well Deck, roughly at 12:30AM, as well as the well-known confrontation with stewards described by Buckley (A.), may be indications that eventually this limited freedom of movement was more overtly restricted by the authorities, but that is mere conjecture.

Like other aspects of what happened to the Third Class that evening, there are no first hand accounts of the journey itself along Scotland Road. Dead men do not, as they say, tell tales. What we have to rely upon instead are a mere handful of observations in testimony before the British inquiry. These were made, as it happens, by various crew members who encountered the men in the midst of their own personal journeys, or in two cases, testify to having helped direct the men along Scotland Road.

The earliest one of these observations is found in the testimony of the trimmer George Cavell.9 Cavell was in Boiler Room 4, immediately below G Deck toward the forward end of the ship, when the accident occurred. Soon thereafter the lights went out in the stokehold he’d entered. In this context there is the following exchange between him and the Solicitor-General at the British inquiry:

Under the examination of WD Harbinson, the lawyer representing Third Class passengers, Cavell testified specifically about the role of the authorities:

The stewards appear here to have encouraged, at the least, the natural inclination of the men to move toward the stern. They ‘[gave] then [Third Class passengers] instructions where to go to.’ As suggested above it does not seem that, generally speaking, the authorities acted to forcefully prevent the men from heading up to the forward Boat Deck. But in the immediate aftermath of the accident they seem to have assisted passengers to do otherwise than to go directly to where lifeboats were being prepared to be launched.

Two glimpses of the men on either end of their journey are found in the testimony to the British inquiry of a leading fireman, Charles Hendrickson (Mr. Rowlatt is the examiner here), who observed the Third Class passengers both back and forth between the Boat Deck and the engine room; the first time approximately at 12:30AM and the second perhaps a half hour to forty-five minutes later:

Hendrickson’s words describe a journey that over its course took on an insular existence, expressing itself to the outside observer as prosaic detachment: ‘they were walking about to and fro, some sitting on their luggage’. His last response—‘The only order I heard was when I went forward again and the word came along ‘…get up on deck’--leaves an impression that access to the Boat Deck could only come when one was out of the presence of these beings shuffling away from the living, like shades in the depths of the Titanic; an unwieldy crowd of men clogging the alleyway, gripping their every possession for dear life.

The insularity is related to the absolute immediacy of the men’s concerns; a self-defeating lack of perspective on what was happening. This is no better symbolized than by their hanging on to, and being weighed down by, their possessions throughout the journey. The observation that the Third Class passengers, particularly the men, were laden with baggage is almost universal in accounts of those who witnessed them, and is taken up by most secondary sources as well. Hendrickson’s testimony exemplifies this, including the wrinkle that once settled in the stern some of the men are described were seen ‘sitting on their luggage.’ The image of 300 to 400 men lugging their heavy baggage the length of the ship, as the Titanic is sinking, is both tragic and absurd. Instead of ‘re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic’ the expression might well have been ‘worrying about ones baggage.’ Of course, all those making the trek knew that the ship had hit an iceberg, but how much did they really know beyond that? Perhaps, some of them reasoned that the purpose of going to the stern was in order to have a dry place for their things. Possibly, it was thought that the ship was going to continue to function and their journey was a matter of switching quarters; of moving in with the other Third Class passengers for the rest of the trip. Perhaps some (as may have been the case of Captain Smith too) believed another ship was coming to their rescue. And for many, perhaps, the fear was overwhelming. It obviated the need or desire for an ‘explanation’; to ask, why are we going toward the after end of the ship, any more than to ask why are we taking this cumbersome luggage with us. One thing it is safe to say is, the stewards, by allowing them to go aft with their possessions, were not preparing the men coming out of the forward quarters for rapid entry into lifeboats, since presumably only minimal accessories would be permitted in that case.

Lastly, we consider two relatively detailed descriptions of the role of the authorities in the journey of the Third Class men. These are found in the testimony before the British inquiry of two crew members, respectively Albert Pearcey, a pantry-man, and John Edward Hart, a Third Class bedroom steward, each of whom makes reference to an organized system by which Second and Third Class stewards handled these men. Pearcey, in an exchange with the Attorney-General--Sir Rufus Isaacs--testified in this regard as follows:

Pearcey’s testimony is problematic, insofar as he is claiming that he along with the other stewards were guiding Third Class men up to the forward end of the Boat Deck via the emergency ladder off Scotland road, to D deck and from there presumably to the grand staircase. Something of this sort is also intimated in some testimony of the Second Class pantry steward, Wilfred Seward (B: 17817-27). All other witnesses attest otherwise, reporting consistently that the men from the forward quarters were guided to the stern. More significantly, as has already been said,, there is detailed knowledge of the comings and goings at the forward end of the Boat Deck during this time, and there is no account of a stream of Third Class men coming up from the grand staircase through an organized effort by stewards, or otherwise. The attentive reader will have noted that the route Pearcey refers to is one of the Third Class routes delineated by Wilding and alluded to above: Route #13. It may be that Pearcey and Seward each was covering himself and the others by testifying to doing what the stewards theoretically were supposed to have done, but in reality had not. It could also be that Pearcey was directing men along E Deck and thought they were being routed up to the Boat Deck, when in reality they were not.

Whichever is the case, what is of greater interest to us about Pearcey’s testimony is his assertion that there were stewards posted at stations along Scotland Road, from the forward end aft. If this is so, then a strong signal was being sent to the men as to what route they were expected to take, and more generally strengthens the impression that there was an intention on the part of the authorities for the Third Class for the men to be moved back to the stern.

Steward Hart (who is better known for his claims to have helped rescue some 55 women and children) testified along similar lines as Pearcey to the active role played by stewards in the journey of the Third Class men.10 The relevant testimony is the following exchange with the Solicitor-General and Lord Mersey, Commissioner of the British inquiry:

Hart corroborates the most important element Pearcey’s testimony, that there was an organized system on the part of the stewards to handle the Third Class men coming out of the front quarters, directing them along Scotland Road. Unlike Pearcey (and in line with the testimony both of Cavell and Hendrickson) Hart also affirms that the men were directed aft, and not up to the Boat Deck. The implication of Hart’s testimony as to where the men were being led, if it is believed, is potentially devastating. Hart is asserting that he and others directed some number of the Third Class men from Scotland Road, to the Third Class dining rooms; four rooms arranged in a square, deep below on F Deck, amidship, far removed from the rescue efforts on the Boat Deck above.

This is as near a concrete admission as there is, perhaps, of something it is difficult not to suspect when considering the evidence; namely, that the purpose of having the men moved to the stern was not to aid in their rescue at all, but something else. When asked by the Solicitor-General, what were the ‘further instructions as to where these people were intended to go?’, Hart does not have an answer, beyond what is cited above. Apparently there were no such instructions. What is one to think?