Welcome to the Officers' Bridge. Contained in these pages are very detailed accounts of the officers of the Titanic. Feel free to browse and learn about their lives. The profiles were written by various members of the Lowe Flotilla.

"I never saw greater courage or efficiency than was displayed by the officers of the ship. They were calm, polite, and perfectly splendid. They also worked hard."
Mrs. John Borland Thayer (Titanic: A Survivor's Story)

Captain Edward John Smith
"I cannot imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that . . ."
(On the maiden voyage of the Adriatic in New York, 1907)
Chief Officer Henry Tingle Wilde
"I still don't like this ship . . . I have a queer feeling about it."
(From a letter to his sister, posted at Queenstown, Ireland, April 11, 1912)
First Officer William McMaster Murdoch
"Hard-a-starboard! Full speed astern . . . hard to port!"
(Orders during the collision with the iceberg, April 14, 1912)
Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller
"What I remember about that night- what I will remember as long as I live- is the people crying out to each other as the stern began to plunge down. I heard people crying, 'I love you.'"
(From Her Name Titanic, page 185)
Third Officer Herbert John Pitman
"[First Officer Murdoch] said, 'You go ahead in this boat, and hang around the after gangway.' He shook hands with me and said, "Good-by; good luck;' and I said 'Lower away' "
(From the testimony given at the Senate Inquiry on the manner of his departure from the ship, April 23, 1912)
Fourth Officer Joseph Groves Boxhall
"Hundreds and hundreds [of people]! Perhaps a thousand! Perhaps more! My God, sir, they've gone down with her. They couldn't live in this cold water . . ."
(To Captain Rostron of the rescue ship Carpathia, when he was asked how many people were left behind on Titanic, April 15, 1912)
Fifth Officer Harold Godfrey Lowe
"You say "select." There was no such thing as selecting. It was simply the first woman, whether first class, second class, third class, or sixty-seventh class. It was all the same; women and children were first."
(From the Titanic Disaster Hearings, page 216)
Sixth Officer James Paul Moody
"Have been here a week. Chiefly occupied trying to find my way about the big omnibus."
(From a letter written to his sister before the disaster)
Captain of the Carpathia, Arthur Rostron
"Tell him we are coming along as fast as we can."


Officers' Duty Roster


The Officers' Quarters were located on the Boat Deck, just aft of the Wheel House. Check out this deck plan.
Photo Credit: Triumph and Tragedy



This page is dedicated to the memory of the Titanic Officers - who performed their duty as best they could on the night of April 14, 1912

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