J
James Murdoch
Member
Hi again Thomas, hope you are wellThank you for commending me, my friend. The last sighting was seen by engineers mess steward Cecil William Fitzpatrick who reported in his newspaper interview upon his arrival in Plymouth that he saw both captain Smith and Thomas Andrews Jr pass him on the starboard side when Fitzpatrick was working on collapsible Engelhardt A (unlike some who claimed they jumped overboard together from the port side bridge wing) and when he looked again they were gone (captain Smith was seen on the starboard side by first class saloon steward Edward Brown around this time too, and Brown described captain Smith went back to the bridge alone after he said to the crewmembers there: "Well, boys, do your best for the women and children, and look out for yourselves."). Thomas Andrews Jr disappeared aft into the crowd of hundreds of people.
Indeed I agree with pretty much all you have written. I believe Andrews was sighted in the A deck aft smoking room, but it was at a much earlier time than previously postulated. The main source was Steward John Stewart, who left in #15, lowered around 1.40am. As you say Cecil Fitzpatrick's account places him in the vicinity of the bridge. I have read somewhere that up until the last he was hurling deckchairs, bits of tables, anything with buoyancy really into the water to help the people.
I am unsure as to the veracity of the following source and will try to find it, but there was a story (when isn't there with Titanic!) that he and Smith were standing on the starboard side of the bridge and Andrews remarked "There's no point staying any longer, she's going to go now" and they jumped into the ocean. Harold Bride did actually state that Smith jumped into the ocean, but no mention of Andrews.Others saw him a few minutes before the end on the boar (sic) deck, our final and grandest sight of him, throwing deck chairs overboard to the unfortunates struggling in the water below. (Libby Hearld, 17 Jan 1913)
There's even a fantastical account of Captain Smith swimming over with a baby to a boat, refusing to get on, and swimming back to his ship. It's not an account I believe, mainly due to the lack of a primary source corroborating it-in fact, I had a look in my browser history and can't even find where I read it! I really should do as Arun suggested and keep detailed notes when I find something of interest.
I would like to go down like Wilde, done his duty with the boats then simply thought to hell with it and casually smoked his last cigarette. In seriousness, the gravity of the situation had likely gripped him by then and I think his body had just frozen in a state of panic.
All the best to you Thomas,
James
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