Officers of RMS Titanic

Watch Roster

Senior Officers

Junior Officers

Aftermath

OFFICERS OF THE RMS TITANIC Of the subordinate officers on a great liner, Bullen says: "Such a ship as this will have at least six officers, of whom most likely all will hold certificates as Master Extra. Each of these in their turn take charge of the ship under the master's orders, subject to certain regulations peculiar to the different companies, and the least tribute that can be paid to them is that every one of them is probably fully as competent to command the ship as is the master himself." All of Titanic's officers, with the exception of Herbert Pitman, also served in the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR). This was encouraged by both the White Star Line and the British Government (which was then engaged in a race with Germany for naval supremacy in the first decade of the century). While holding commission in the RNR, officers were given a retaining fee and spent six weeks a year aboard Royal Navy ships in training exercises. In the edvent of war, they would be called up for active service (as eventually happened in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I).

WATCH ROSTER Titanic had a fairly large complement of officers, eight in all, although the question would be raised at the inquiry as to whether this was sufficient. Watches were organized according to White Star Line regulations, which meant that the watch times were as follows: Chief Officer:         2am – 6am Second Officer:      6am – 10 am First Officer:          10am – 2 pm Chief Officer:         2pm - 6pm Second Officer:      6pm – 10 pm First Officer:          10 pm – 2 am The Watches of the junior Officers were staggered, and alternating the two two- hour "dog watches" in the evening meant that they alternated on a 2 day rotation basis: 12midnight – 4am     Fourth and Sixth Officer 4am – 8am                Third and Fifth Officer 8am – 12noon           Fourth and Sixth Officer 12pm – 4 pm             Third and Fifth Officer 4pm – 6pm                Fourth and Sixth Officer 6pm – 8pm                Third and Fifth Officer 8pm – 12midnight     Fourth and Sixth Officer Day 2: 12 midnight – 4am    Third and Fifth Officer 4am – 8am                Fourth and Sixth Officer 8am – 12noon           Third and Fifth Officer 12noon – 4 pm          Fourth and Sixth Officer 4pm – 6pm                Third and Fifth Officer 6pm – 8pm                Fourth and Sixth Officer 8pm – 12midnight     Third and Fifth Officer The four-hours on, four-hours off watches of the junior officers constituted a particularly grinding regime, as the juniors never had more than four consecutive hours off-duty. This system was queried at the British Inquiry into the Titanic disaster, where it was noted that junior officers were often responsible for complex navigational calculations that presumably required as clear a head as possible. Harold Lowe was the only junior officer questioned about the watch system, and he expressed a preference for change. This was resisted by White Star and the Board of Trade, as it was held that four hours was quite sufficient and – unlike the senior Officers – the junior Officer did not have "rounds" to take up any of their off-duty time. It is worth noting that the current international Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Convention (STCW) 95 requires a minimum of six consecutive hours of sleep in a 24 hour period for crew. The junior officers on Titanic functioned on rather less than this as a matter of routine.

SENIOR OFFICERS The Captain was, theoretically, never off-duty. Under each watch the practical command of the ship fell to the senior officer on duty – the "Officer of the Watch" (OOW). Although the Captain was unquestionably the ship's over all commander, with ultimate responsibility in setting course and speed, the senior officers had a large role to play in navigation. After being relieved at the completion of their watch on the bridge, senior officers made the "rounds" of the ship, checking generally that all was in order. In a vessel the size of Titanic this took a considerable time, requiring great distances of corridors and decks to be traversed. Lightoller would later comment on the size of the ship, saying, "it took me fourteen days before I could find my way with confidence from one part of the ship to the other".

JUNIOR OFFICERS "In many cases it will be found that the third mate of a fine steamship holds a certificate as a master extra, and is as good a seaman and navigator as can be found anywhere. His duties are responsible and important...from what has preceded this, it will be seen that he must be eminently fitted for such a responsible position, and not only he, but the fourth or fifth mate likewise, with neither of whom, however, do I propose to deal with here. Their position being, as I have said, unofficial and abnormal, and their duties varying with the ship and her peculiar service, it would be impossible for me to deal with them extensively. But let no one imagine, therefore, that they are to be ignored. True, their pay is small, but their prospects are good. They are in the direct line of succession to the hierarchy of the sea, and in due time, failing accident, they will command one of those splendid leviathans that are the pride and glory of ocean traffic." (F. Bullen). The role of the junior officers on Titanic requires a slightly more substantial overview, as it was here that the large new steamers differed a good deal from previous smaller vessels (which would frequently have only a Master, Mate and Second mate). The junior officers had the titles "Assistant Navigator", and while seniors took astronomical sightings, these junior officers (Third through to Sixth Officer) jotted down the coordinates and worked out positions from them using sets of calculations such as "Norrie's Tables". As was the practice aboard all ships, Titanic's officers assembled on deck (in Titanic's case on the bridge wing) once a day and "shot the sun" with their sextants. They would then retire to the officers' chart room or their cabins to calculate the ship's noon position. The junior officers were busy in the days prior to the disaster working on a slip table. When completed, this would have allowed the officers to match revolutions from the engines to the ships speed – e.g. if the revolutions were x, then the ship's speed was y. It was not yet complete at the time of the disaster. When on duty, the Fifth or Sixth Officer generally took calls from the engine room reporting the number of revolutions, and also took reports from the crew as to air and water temperature, which he duly logged. Officers had specific tasks during Titanic's sea trials – the Chief and Sixth Officers, for example, took the sightings during the "stopping test" in Belfast Lough to determine how long it took the giant liner to stop. While in port, a junior and a senior officer were on watch during the day, and two junior officers at night. On sailing day, after overseeing the requirements of the Board of Trade inspection, Captain Smith took up position on the bridge with Pilot George Bowyer. Chief Officer Wilde was stationed on the forecastle head overseeing the moorings and tugboat hawsers with Second Officer Lightoller situated at the after end of the forecastle to assist him. First Officer Murdoch was stationed at the stern to oversee the moorings and tugboat hawsers aft, and Third Officer Pitman was up on the docking bridge to pass instructions to Murdoch as they were telegraphed from the bridge. Fourth Officer Boxhall conveyed orders from Smith and Bowyer through telegraphs to the engine room and docking bridge, logging each maneuver. Fifth Officer Lowe handled the ship's telephones on the docking bridge, and Sixth Officer Moody was located at the aft gangway. Prior to sailing day Titanic's four junior officers overhauled the lifeboats. On sailing day, the Fifth and Sixth Officers would conduct tests on lowering the lifeboats to satisfy the Board of Trade requirements. Had it been conducted, the officers would also have overseen the lifeboat drill whilst at sea – generally on the first Sunday after sailing. Ordering such a drill was left to the discretion of the captain, and in Titanic's case (although the fact it was a maiden voyage would mean that it would have been invaluable in familiarizing all the crew with the boat stations and with procedures), Smith did not order the drill be conducted. Although their roles were not clearly defined in the event of an emergency evacuation of the ship, deck officers were expected to oversee such an evacuation. Lack of procedures and guidelines led to confusion, and the officers coped with the situation to the best of their ability (see individual biographies and sections of this site pertaining to lifeboat launchings).

AFTERMATH Had Titanic's officers remained with the smaller lines with which they commenced their careers , they would most likely have rapidly ascended to the position of Master of one of the smaller ocean-going vessels. They were, however, all highly ambitious and talented men – the cream of the British Merchant Marine. Serving with White Star carried considerable prestige – as it would be phrased at the time: The hierarchy of merchant shipping, the great floating palaces belonging to such firms as the P. & O., the Cunard, the White Star, and the British India, to mention only a few, and without any invidious idea of selection, fall easily into a class by themselves, association with which in almost any capacity confers a sort of brevet rank upon a seaman. (F. Bullen) L. S. Holmes of the Imperial Merchant Service Guild, who represented the surviving officers of Titanic and the relatives of the deceased officers with the exception of E. J. Smith at the English Inquiry into the disaster, would say in the deliberations that: "So far as the general character of the officers is concerned, I think your Lordship and the Court would be satisfied that it is of the very highest nature. They were men in whom their employers, through long experience, had placed every confidence; the pick of the service." These men, Holmes argued, "behaved themselves in an emergency of a terrible nature, an emergency whose nature they must have realized far more than the other people on board, in a manner worthy of the best traditions of the British Mercantile Marine and of the pluck and resourcefulness of British seamen." (British Inquiry) His words were echoed by those of Sarah Compton in speaking of Lowe, who said that the Fifth Officer "seems to me to personify the best traditions of the British Sailor." (A. Gracie). Of Smith, Wilde, Murdoch and Moody, Holmes said that "in the case of deceased officers your Lordship will err very much on the side of leniency", but pointed out that "it is much more important, if I may say so, to the surviving officers that their characters, which have hitherto been without any blemish whatever, should not be tarnished with any suggestion that they did anything in the course of this disaster which reflects upon their character as officers of the British mercantile marine." (British Inquiry) One of the most severe punishments that could be meted out to a merchant officer was the suspension or cancellation of his certificate – this meant a loss of his livelihood, and the finish of the career he had worked so hard to build. Bullen would write with passion of how this fate could befall an officer "if any leather-headed court of inquiry choose to bring him in to blame in any way. I do not mean to speak evil of dignitaries, God knows; but the proceedings of some of these courts, abroad especially, are sufficient to make angels weep." It is worth bearing this in mind when considering the conduct of the Titanic's officers at both inquires - if they adopted a siege mentality at the investigations, it was because they had learned to do so prior to the disaster, and does not necessarily denote "guilt" or negligent misconduct. Their British Inquiry counsel, Holmes, was of course very conscious of the officers' concerns about their certificates, and referred to them in the deliberations before the Court of Inquiry into the disaster - "The Attorney-General, in his opening, said, and the questions bear it out, that there is no question, at all events, so far as the surviving officers are concerned, which would call upon your Lordship to deal with any certificates in this case" (British Inquiry). While the idea of depriving the Officers of their certification never seems to have seriously been considered, the Titanic disaster would have a permanent effect on their lives and careers.

For those who survived, even for the three junior officers, promotion would be slow. Lightoller, despairing of ever achieving his dream of command, would retire shortly after World War I when it became apparent to him that the line would never give such a position to an officer associated with the most notorious event in the history of the Merchant Marine. Although no formal blame was levied on Lightoller, Pitman, Boxhall or Lowe, their careers were permanently stalled.

Photo Credit: Walter Lord

They were, however, more successful in the Royal Naval Reserve, in which all served actively during World War I, and in which Pitman served during World War II. They would all be decorated, and would all in time attain the rank of Commander, RNR. In some ways, partly as a result of the disaster, merchant shipping practices have changed since Titanic's 1912 maiden voyage. Regrettably, however, some of the negative practices and conditions have remained constant. Poor food and low wages are rife in the industry, and the dark underbelly of the world cruise and cargo trades encompasses thousands of underpaid abd underskilled workers, many from Third World countries, who live in cramped and unsanitary conditions on poor rations. The gulf between the highly paid professional seaman on the bridge of a Cunard cruise ship and the ordinary seaman working aboard a cargo ship flying a "flag of convenience" is unimaginable. The officers of RMS Titanic would both marvel at the technology that characterizes shipping today and deplore the fact that, for many, the conditions that they experienced at periods in their own careers still exist. Copyright 1999 Inger Sheil & Kerri Sundberg Part II Part I Sources Main