Interior of Officers' Quarters

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Brandon Whited

Member
Hey,

I am wondering: What did the interior of the Officers' Quarters look like? I've always just saw the exterior. I've always pictured the room as being an open area with several sets of bunks and a bathroom. I'm probably very incorrect, it's just my guess. Any thoughts?
 
The top officers had individual staterooms with Captain Smith's being the largest. They wouldn't have been especially luxurious, but they at least had their privacy. The staterooms were located on the boatdeck level immidiately behind the bridge. The were located on the portside for the Cheif Officer as well as the 1st, 2cnd, 3rd, 5th and 6th Officers. The staterooms for the 4th Officer and the Captain were on the starboard side with the Cheif Officer and the skipper's quarters being closest to the bridge.

I couldn't see any bathrooms noted for any but the Captain in any of these cabins, although there was a head available just across from and to the portside from the wireless room.

The crews quarters were the ones where you had several dozen men bunking in the same space and they were located on the lower decks from C deck down to G deck forward.

Source, Eaton and Haas deckplans in "Titanic, Triumph and Tragedy."

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart
 
No problem. try and get the Eaton and Haas book I mentioned if you can. Or for that matter, Birth of Titanic by Michael McCaughan.

Since the information I have is by no means complete, I hope some even more accomplished rivet counters will say something on this. I expect the officers staterooms were not that lavish, but I wonder what they looked like inside.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart
 
To Brandon
I expect the interior of the officer quarters would be quite sterile. I guess the corridors would be painted white,with handrails on the walls.Note on pg 286 in Titanic and her sisters, you can see a officer door open just beside the winch that was used to re-raise the lifeboats. The floor coverings would be colored either in that dark red that is used in many parts of the ship especially in Third-Class. Or it may have been decking, in keeping with the wheelhouse.The interior of the Officer's cabins would probably follow the same decor. Looking at the Olympic plans on pg 103, the furniture suggests the layout of the rooms. There is a couch beside the windows that face outwards giving a view of the Boat-deck. Beside the couch there is a built in wardrobe. The bed is on the opposite side near the doorway into the hallway. There may be a desk or a dresser beside the bed. On the wall facing the dresser is a small sink. The layout of the furniture may differ in other rooms. I was looking in the room which would of been Third Officer Pitman's cabin if it was on the Titanic, this room faces the portside. The Captain's Sitting room I suspect would been the most elegant compared to the others. Its has a fireplace and many other countless items. I hope this helps.

Regards Nigel Bryant
 
There was at least one young officer who was a tad disgruntled with the size of his cabin (James Moody compared it to a closet). Small touches made a difference, though - they were pleased to have 'real windows' rather than portals, judging from correspondence I've seen. It's remarkable what a difference a comparatively minor detail can make - an electric lightbulb was a bit of a luxury in one of the earlier ships, and a proper icebox was heaven in the tropics.
 
Brandon, try Amazon.com or the Barnes & Noble on-line bookstore.

Their selection on the Titanic and on ships in general is phenomonal. I got my Knight's Modern Seamanship from Barnes & Noble. This one is expensive, but very worthwhile if you want to know anything about shiphandling.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart
 
Brandon, you might try Borders books. I was in a Borders store the other day and they had a second edition of the Eaton and Haas book on the shelves.
 
Hi Brandon,

You have to buy that book! It's a good one with lots of great pictures and informations. I ordered a month ago. I had to wait some time for the arrival, cause it had to come from England, but I finally have it now. When you decide to buy it, be sure that you will order the 2nd edition, cause that has some more pics than the 1st. I believe when you order it via the ISBN-number (it's a new one) you automatically get the 2nd edition.

Regards and succes with your search!

Rolf
 
Hallo, Gary -

Correspondence from James Moody, March-April 1912. For an accesible source look to Geoffrey Marcus' book 'The Maiden Voyage'. Marcus paraphrases fairly accurately when he says "and at last, Moody might reflect with satisfaction, he had got a room to himself (though it was only about the size of a cupboard, he told his sister)". I might add that Moody at least said it was a 'decent sized' cupboard!

All the best,

Inger
 
Hi,

That's a good thing that Moody was at least satisfied with his 'decent sized' cupboard, as it was the smallest cupboard out of all the other officers'. Also his cabin had a "dent" in it, simply to accommodate the bed from the next-door first class cabin (X). The bed just had to be 6'9", and 9" too long to fit into the 6' wide cabin. Moody's cabin was also 6' wide (narrowed where the walls had to be extended in the first class cabin for the bed) and his bed was only 6' long! ......... If only he was a higher-ranking officer.

Daniel.
 

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