Further to Bruce's comments, Lester, a number of witnesses testified at the British Inquiry that those doors were never locked while the vessel was at sea, but only as a security measure while in port. Edward Wilding, for instance:
I was going to ask you a question about the name 'emergency door.' The very name 'emergency door' suggests that it is ordinarily shut? - Yes.
How many of these emergency doors are there? - There are in all three, one to the forward first class main stairway. In each case they come from the working alleyway.
You mean Scotland Road? - From Scotland Road. There is one leading direct into the forward first class entrance from Scotland Road up on to the top, and then you can go on there; one from Scotland Road into the forward second class entrance, and one from Scotland Road into the after second class entrance.
How are these emergency doors shut? - With an ordinary handle, as far as I know, my Lord. They have means for locking them, but I understand they are not locked at sea.
They are not locked? - Not locked - I understand not. There is a lock on them, but I understand they are not locked at sea. I have frequently passed through them at sea.
What is the object of having a door there? - The passage is used by the third class passengers and crew extensively, and it is to prevent their being able to get in without continuously watching them. That was the intention. If you do not put doors there, or barriers of some sort, you would have to have somebody continuously stationed there to prevent people going into the second class accommodation and losing their way, for example.
The point is that there was reliance on the presence of crew members, or simply the presence of a door or a sign, not locks, to keep the passengers in their place. Likewise, the famous gates at the top of the ladders leading up from the well decks were never locked. Indeed they had no provision for locking, just a bolt or latch like a garden gate, which anybody could operate. As we know, however, some of the 3rd Class passengers assumed they were locked and thought it necessary to climb over them or break them.
So to Ben I would say it was physically possible for people to get into places where they were not allowed. Most adults would have respected the rules, but kids being kids ...
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