The Real Crew Training Experience and History

Maureen Zottoli

Maureen Zottoli

Member
My question about training in regards to the crew was in reference to the real crew and their actual training that they actaukky recieved. Their experiences at sea, length of service. And the history that they may have shared.

I am not interested in any ficticious rendering of them, their training, their experience or history. Thanks Maureen.
 
Hi Mo, in the links section under "General" of Encyclopedia Titanica, is the link to Bridge Duty;the Officers of the RMS Titanic which was put together by Kerri Sundberg and Inger Sheil. I tried the link and (Thank God!) it works. This would be a good place to start.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart
 
Thank you kind sir, I will try it that way. I look forward to reading this wonderful work.
Maureen.
 
Michael,
Read the information on the site and I thank you for providing the reference. It was excellent and answered my questions that I had. Kerri and Inger did a great job with the site.
Have a great day.
Maureen.
 
Okay here is the ultimate stupid question, what was the actual ship related training for people like the food preparation staff such as bakers and chefs and the steward(s) (esses). Did they have to know how to handle the lifeboats? Was there training for them? How many actual crew memebers are expected to know how to handle themselves and are trained on a ship to handle the ship and the lifeboats in a crisis? You can compare today with 1912...I am just curious.
Maureen.
 
I'll leave this one to Inger and Ilya as they have the requsite expertise and experience in these areas.

However, in regards to 1912, my bet is that bakers, chefs, stewards/stewardesses and any other member of the hotel staff had little if any training at all in these areas. Such things would be the provence of the seamen and engineers. And few enough of them seemed to be available that knew how to handle the lifeboats.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart
 
Thanks Michael Standart.
Yes, I would imagine that lifeboat handling would be more of a crew of seaman and engineers. But like office buildings conduct building drills, I wonder if there was a one day course or something that all people who were assigned to a ship had to take to meet a level of experience. They seem to be able to be picky about who they hired at that time. Would a stweard with sea experience get the job over someone who did not have that experience?
But I guess in some cases as with Titanic some folks were hired at the last minute when others had not shown up. So I guess I am just curious.

Thanks so much for your help on this one Michael. Maureen.
 
I'm sure stewards would have to get some experience from somewhere, perhaps some of the smaller shipping lines befor the really prestigious outfits like Cunard or White Star would hire them on.

Seaman and engineers would have to present their papers which documented their previous work history and their qualifications. See the Particulars of Engagement folder on this site for more on that.

I'm not knowladgable as to how the hotel/victualling staff was picked, but assuredly, they would have been obliged to provide references much like anyone applying for a job today. How much training any of these people would have received in dealing with shipboard emergencies, I can't say, but I doubt it was very much if any at all.

Some of the people hired on didn't even work for White Star. The band for example came on board listed as second class passangers, the postal people worked for the postal systems of their respective governments, Bride and Phillips wereactually employees of the Marconi Company, and the staff of the A'la Carte Restaurant were contractors. I doubt that they were trained to do anything except their jobs.

Don't take this as gospel since I'm on some unfamilier ground in this avenue of history. I would think that Inger, Ilya and certainly Erik would know better then I do.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart
 
Thanks Michael. Your answer was great and brought tomind that there were other company/organization employees on board as well...like the Postal Workers and Marconi employees and musicians. Thanks.
Maureen.
 
Good Afternoon Maureen, Michael,

To some extent you are right Michael. However they were required to know there boat station and there firefighting station or at least that is the way it is now. People who are hired like bands cooks and entertainers now days are basically passengers paying for there passage by doing what ever it is they do. But dinning room stewards people of that sort are (at least on any ship that I command) required to know the basics. Where their boat station is how to get to it and to be sure to get all of the passengers there. As for firefighting that is mostly left up to damage control or the engineers with the exception of if you see it squirt water on it and call for help.

Erik
 
Thanks for that Erik. I'm not so confident that those standards were enforced as they should have been in 1912 or how far they extended though. Certainly, the contractors got exactly zip in that regard.

Cordially,
Michael H. Standart
 
Thanks Erik for sharing that information. I know that at my job, there is an employee from our agency that is assigned as an "overseer" of sorts and they are responsible to see that the "contracted employees" are escorted or have means to be notified of emergency. But like with the Pentagon, there are a million (well maybe not quite that many) stores within the building itself. It is nearly like a store Mall. In an emeregncy, bet no one checks to see that they are safe. But then I do not know that for certain.

Thanks again Erik. Would be interesting to check out what you have shared and compare with what Michael shared about being in force at the time of 1912.

Have a great day. And thanks to each of you for your thoughts on this.
Maureen.
 
I understand that Titanic deck department had about 60 personnel including able seamen etc. Consequently, I am surprised Titanic was so slow getting her lifeboats away even with her cumbersome davits. Two hours and 40 minutes from collision to sinking and she still had a boat washed off the deck. As James Cameron recently demonstrated if Titanic had a full complement of lifeboats for every passenger they would never have been launched in time. Was this a training issue for which Captain Smith was ultimately responsible? Any thoughts?
 
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