THE TITANIC DISASTER.

West Coast Times, 19 June 1912, Page 1

THE TITANIC DISASTER.

THE ENGINEERS AND FIREMEN TRIBUTE BY LORD BERESFORD.

One of the rules of the White Star Company is that every man connected with the engine-room and boilers must turn out and stand-by his appointed station in time of emergency. That rule appears to have been carried out on Board the Titanic—at any rate, by the engineers. Although many of the latter were ofTduty at the time of the disaster, it is believed that every engineer rushed to his post,' and not one of these bravo and heroic men were saved. The conduct of one man stands out conspicuously. According to the stories told by members of the crow, Archie Frost, the builders' chief engineer, representing Messrs Harland and Woolf, was not in the engine-room when the crash came, but he climbed down the steep iron ladders to tho engines, and to death. When last seen he was there. With him was Thomas Andrews, the designer of tho Titanic. The last time Mr. Andrews was seen alive by anyone was in the engineroom, with Frost and Bell (the Titanic’s chief engineer), and all were work-ing-toe hard, to think much of tho swiftly gaining waters.

Every man in tho Whits Sar line is to-day mourning tho loss of tho bluff, genial William Bell, chief engineer of the Titanic, and senior engineer of tho line. Mr. Bell was about fifty years old, has spent thirty-six years in tho service, was married, and lived at Liverpool. Some of his children are nonattending school at Glasgow. It is said of him that he was the Lest marine engineer in Great Britain, and knew more about steam vessels than any other man in his profession. The Titanic’s engineers, apart from Lord Charles Berosford’s fine eulogy have been overlooked in the bestowal of praise. Besides tho engineers of tho regular ship’s force, there wiere on board twenty guaranteed engineers representing tho builders and engineering contracts, and who are so called because they make the first few trips on a new vessel to see that the machinery comes up to tho guarantee. All those men must have been first to know tho desperate nature of tho damage to the Titanic. They had little time for thought, however, for they had to keep the dynamos going and tho pumps working, look after the bulkhead doors, and keep the stokehold force at work. Most of them were probably drowned long before tho explosion which tore the Titantic asunder as she went down: Admiral Lord Charles Boresford, in the following" letter, which he contri- { bntes to Tho Times, draws needed attention to tho heroism displayed by those members of tho Titanic’s crew whose duties kept them below decks: — “Sir, —In tho late appalling disaster to tho Titanic—perhaps the greatest in marine history,—attention has rightly been called ta tho bravery, resolution, and chivalrous gallantry of Captain Smith, the officers, seamen, band, and passengers, who were true to the spirit of manly duty of tho English-speaking race in a sudden and terrible emergency. “Many comments have been justly made regarding the heroism on deck, but nothing has boon said of tho heroism below.

“ I respectfully submit that, nnintentionallly, tho dauntless hcorism o| those employed in the engine and boiler room departments and artisan departments (such as tho carpenter and his crew) have been passed over without comment.

“ Nothing can exceed tlio heroism of the captain, officers ,aud seamen of the ship, but officers and seamen are tho first to offer a whole-hearted tribute of unbounded admiration to those working below, as they well know how often the groat grit and eourag(|&f tho officers and men of these departments is called upon in moments of emergency. “It is stated that the lights were burning until a few minutes before the ship took her final plunge. This proves that the officers and men below, remained at their posts when they must have known that a death—the most terrible and painful that is possible to conceive—awaited thorn at any minute, either by the bursting of a stearapipe or water rising in a compartment.

“It is certain that those working below must have known the awful danger that tho ship was in long before anybody else, but they remained at their posts, resolving to die sooner than come on deck and create a panic or attempt to save themselves.

“Those below must have hoard tho muffled sound of the ice tearing through tho ship’s side. “Within ten minutes or a little more, they knew that the pumps would not check the rising water, yet for two hours they remained at thenposts, as was evidenced by the lights burning and the few of them who wore saved being picked up after tho ship vent down.

“That so many people were saved, was duo to tho fact that those working below remained at their posts working tho dynamos and kept the Rights burning, and never came on deck to state what had really happened. Again and again tho indomitable pluck and discipline of those who work below in the engine and boiler rooms is illustrated when some terrible disaster of tho sea occurs, hut on no occasion have those traits been .more, brilliantly shown. “It should be remembered that those below work in confined spaces, water-tight doors closed, often in intolerable heat, with a roar of machinery making orders difficult to understand.

“ A man will face death with greater equanimity on deck than working below under the incidents I hare mentioned.

“ TVorking below. really requires more fortitude and pluck.

A'All honour and respect to those fflen . whose names will bo recorded on

the roll of fame for gallantry in a sudden and unlocked for disaster. But I am sure the survivors from this shocking catastrophe will agree with men in placing thoso who worked below on [‘the right of the line.’—l have the j honour to be, Sir, your obedient ser- \ vant,I “CHARLES BEEESFORD, if Admiral. ! “ i Great Cumberland Place, W., April 21st, 1912.