Officers' Duty Roster

On RMS Titanic, there were seven bridge officers serving under Captain E.J. Smith. The officers' prime duty had been the navigation of the ship. Three of them, Chief Officer Henry Wilde, First Officer William Murdoch, and Second Officer Charles Lightoller were, the senior officers or "Watchkeepers". While on duty as "Officer of the Watch" the senior had complete control of the ship. To assist, there were two pairs of junior officers. The first pair was Sixth Officer James Moody and Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall, and the second pair was Fifth Officer Harold Lowe and Third Officer Herbert Pitman. Part of the duties of the junior officers are described in the following:

"They have various duties to perform, taking the various parts of the ship; sometimes in the wheelhouse; at different periods one has to go the whole rounds of the ship and see that everything is in order" (From the testimony of Second Officer Lightoller at the Senate Inquiry)

This Watch schedule was reconstructed with the aid of the following passage.

"In accordance with the practice in the express White Star steamships. Senior officers did four hours on and eight hours off. The Chief Officer's duty was from, 2 to 6 am and pm; the Second Officer's, from 6 to 10am and pm; the First Officer's, from 10 to 2am and pm. The junior officers did four hours on and four hours off; they would stand the 'dogs' in the evenings so that their watches altered every day. (p 305 The Maiden Voyage by Geoffrey Marcus)

Senior Officers (Remains the same everyday) 10:00 pm to 2:00 am First Officer Murdoch
2:00 am to 6:00 am Chief Officer Wilde
6:00 am to 10:00 am Second Officer Lightoller
10:00 am to 2:00 pm First Officer Murdoch
2:00 pm to 6:00 pm Chief Officer Wilde
6:00 pm to 10:00 pm Second Officer Lightoller

Junior Officers (Alters everyday) April 13, 1912 Midnight to 4:00am Third Officer Pitman & Fifth Officer Lowe
4:00am to 8:00 am Fourth Officer Boxhall & Sixth Officer Moody
8:00 am to noon Third Officer Pitman & Fifth Officer Lowe
Noon to 4:00 pm Fourth Officer Boxhall & Sixth Officer Moody
4:00pm to 6:00 pm Third Officer Pitman & Fifth Officer Lowe
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Fourth Officer Boxhall & Sixth Officer Moody
8:00pm to midnight Third Officer Pitman & Fifth Officer Lowe April 14, 1912 Midnight to 4:00am Fourth Officer Boxhall & Sixth Officer Moody
4:00am to 8:00 am Third Officer Pitman & Fifth Officer Lowe
8:00 am to noon Fourth Officer Boxhall & Sixth Officer Moody
Noon to 4:00 pm Third Officer Pitman & Fifth Officer Lowe
4:00pm to 6:00 pm Fourth Officer Boxhall & Sixth Officer Moody
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Third Officer Pitman & Fifth Officer Lowe
8:00pm to midnight Fourth Officer Boxhall & Sixth Officer Moody April 15 would have been the same schedule as April 13.

As a chart shows, at 11:40pm April 14, 1912, the officers on duty were First Officer Murdoch, and Fourth Officer Boxhall, and Sixth Officer Moody. The quartermasters on duty were Robert Hichens and Alfred Olliver. At the time of the of collision, Boxhall had been returning to the bridge from the starboard side. Murdoch and Moody were on the bridge; the latter having picked up fateful call from from the crow's nest. Hichens was at the helm in the wheelhouse and Olliver was away from the bridge on an errand.

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