On Monday, 22 April, 1912, Sydney Buxton, President of the British Board of Trade, requested Lord Chancellor Loreburn to appoint a Wreck Commissioner to investigate the disaster of the Titanic. To fill this seat, the Lord Chancellor appointed John Charles Bigham, Baron (Lord) Mersey of Toxteth. The other members of the committee appointed to assist him were Rear Admiral S.A. Gough-Calthorpe (Retired), Captain A.W. Clarke, Commander F.C.A. Lyon (Retired), Professor J. Harvard Biles (a naval architect) and Edward C. Chaston (an engineer). The Enquiry began on 2 May, 1912 at the London Scottish Drill Hall, Westminster, and continued until 3 July, 1912 having taken the testimony of nearly 100 witnesses over a period of 36 days, and considered the written depositions of numerous others. Many of the witnesses who testified were members of Titanic's surviving crew, in addition to White Star Line officials, officers of other vessels and maritime experts. Guglielmo Marconi, who developed a system of wireless telegraphy, was also called as an expert witness. The only regular passengers who testified were First Class passengers Sir Cosmo and Lady Duff-Gordon. The Board was later criticised for not examining any Third Class passengers from the lower decks. J. Bruce Ismay, President of the White Star Line, also a passenger was called as a witness. In total, more than 25000 questions were asked of the witnesses. Following consideration of all the evidence before it, the ruling of the court was as follows:
The Court, having carefully inquired into the circumstances of the casualty finds, for the reasons appearing in the annex hereto, that the lossof the said ship was due to collision with an iceberg, brought about by the excessive speed at which the vessel was being navigated.
This lot consists of a longitudinal sectioned plan of Titanic prepared by the Naval Architects Department of White Star Line for use at the British Enquiry. The plan was prepared in Indian ink and hand-coloured. Drawn on paper and mounted to linen, the plan measures an astounding 32ft. 6ins. x 4ft. 8ins. plus. It is headed "S.S. "TITANIC." PROFILE" and contains period red and green chalk markings indicating where ice was believed to have penetrated five water-tight bulk heads. It is drawn in graphic detail to a scale of 3/8ins. to 1 foot and was painstakingly hand-captioned throughout, not only in relation to the physical and mechanical accommodations of the vessel but also in an apparent attempt to assist the members of the commission in understanding the complexities of the ship. For example, there is a notation in the Reciprocating Engine Room which reads "Engineers at Sides." The colours remain vivid and vibrant. The plan was positioned in the hearing room during the course of the proceedings and was referred to and utilized often. Cables were used to suspend the plan from the railing of the ladies' gallery (the cable holes in the linen are evident!) so that it would be visible to the participants, who made use of a pointer to indicate various parts of the ship. It would not be feasible to highlight all the instances of the plan's use at the Enquiry here, and those interested in reading more are invited to examine the transcript of proceedings. Some examples from the transcripts are as follows:
On day five of the Enquiry, greaser Thomas Ranger testified as follows:
It is the same one we were looking at just now, 3; I pointed out to you, first of all, there was a reciprocating engine room, and then we went along the boiler rooms. Now, if you go aft, the next to the reciprocating engine is the turbine-engine room, and just aft of that you will find an electric engine…
Your Lordship will see on the big plan it is very well marked. There is the turbine engine which my friend, Mr. Rowlatt, is pointing out. Just abaft of that you see "electric machinery" in the centre. That you see from the tank top plan here and fresh water tanks at the sides. That is really only giving you there what you have on the tank top plan…
During the testimony of Assistant Steward Joseph Thomas Wheat on day nine, the following exchange occurred:
The Commissioner:
I am sorry to trouble you, but when you have finished asking questions, will you explain to me what you understand his evidence to mean with a pointer on that plan…
The Commissioner:
Well, it will assist me if you will do that, if you will take the pointer and point me out on the plan the locality of the watertight doors that were closed, and then show me in what direction he means to indicate the water was coming.
The Solicitor - General:
I see here marked on the plan "Squash Racquet," and your Lordship sees there is a stair. (Pointing to the plan on the wall.)
The Commissioner:
Tell me what deck you are pointing to.
The Solicitor - General:
I will. Your Lordship sees there is a stairway indicated by a number of ticks. I am now putting the end of this pointer on the level of the Orlop deck. As I follow the witness, that is the lowest deck to which he went in his description. He says he saw water rising in this compartment at that point up those stairs…
The 3rd May, 1912 edition of the Daily Sketch published photographs from the Enquiry which had begun with opening statements the day before. In one image the reader gets a nearly complete perspective of the spacious Scottish Drill Hall in which the plan can be seen supported by the cables. In another, the reader is treated to a closer view of the plan. Reprinted images of the plan in situ at the Enquiry originally published in the Daily Sketch can be seen on pages 268 and 269 of "Titanic: Triumph and Tragedy" (Second Edition) by John P. Eaton and Charles A. Haas (W.W. Norton & Company 1995). Following the Enquiry, the Board of Trade returned the plan to the White Star Line.
This lot represents what may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire a most unique and historically significant part of Titanic's story for which exists images in situ! It is a strikingly magnificent and commanding piece, both historically and visually. It eclipses anything we have seen on the market for Titanic in terms of size. This is a museum piece in the truest sense.
Many thanks to Charles Haas, Titanic author, co-founder and President of Titanic International Society, also Jack Eaton for their valuable assistance in researching this artifact
