0:00:43 > 0:00:46My Lord, before this inquiry begins,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49I desire to express on behalf of His Majesty
0:00:49 > 0:00:54our deepest sympathy with all those who have to mourn the loss
0:00:54 > 0:00:57of relatives or friends amongst the passengers,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00the officers and the crew of this ill-fated vessel.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06A thorough inquiry will be made with the object of ascertaining
0:01:06 > 0:01:09as fully and as precisely as possible
0:01:09 > 0:01:11the circumstances surrounding this disaster.
0:01:13 > 0:01:18Every possible source of information and all available evidence
0:01:18 > 0:01:21will be placed before your Lordship in this inquiry.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30The question, substantially, is this.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34The Californian is said by the donkeyman, Mr Gill,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38to have seen the distress rockets fired from a vessel, which,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41according to Mr Gill, was the Titanic,
0:01:41 > 0:01:45and to have taken no notice of those distress rockets.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50Whether it was the Titanic that she saw or not
0:01:50 > 0:01:54is a matter that can only be determined
0:01:54 > 0:01:56after we have heard the evidence.
0:02:37 > 0:02:42- You look nervous, Mr Groves. - Lawyers make me nervous.- Hmm.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46You're a man wise beyond your years, Mr Groves.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48You see what it's like out there?
0:02:49 > 0:02:55The newspapers and the politicians, they're all looking for...answers.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Yes, there's a certain hysteria.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59But we have nothing to fear.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06- So what do we say, sir? - We tell the truth, Mr Gibson.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10We have nothing to fear from the truth.
0:03:16 > 0:03:21You were on lifeboat 13 from the Titanic?
0:03:21 > 0:03:26And you saw a light before the Titanic plunged to the bottom?
0:03:26 > 0:03:30Whether it was a fishing vessel or a steamer or what she was,
0:03:30 > 0:03:31I do not know.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36- It might have been a mast headlight. - It might have been a mast headlight.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38It was the one that we were going to pull for.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43Before you left with your boat, did you see any other third-class passengers,
0:03:43 > 0:03:46women or children, waiting to go into the boats?
0:03:46 > 0:03:48There were no women left there
0:03:48 > 0:03:53when our boat was lowered into the water, not as far as I could see.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57We had our work cut out to get away with the crowd that we had in our own boat.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Tell us about the passengers in your boats.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Had you third-class passengers in your boat?
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Second and third. A few second, principally third.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11- And they behaved well? - Very well indeed.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13MURMURING
0:04:25 > 0:04:29They're making the crewmen who manned the lifeboats look guilty.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32They're guilty because they survived.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36What are they going to do to us? We've already made statements.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40- Why don't they believe us? - Ernest Gill.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42Ernest bleeding Gill, that's why.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Three, two, one.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50Jumping ship and running to the newspapers with his lies.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53- I heard he got 500. - And you believe him?
0:04:53 > 0:04:55The question, I would have thought,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58is whether the inquiry will believe him.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02It's the word of a dirty little coal stoker against you, me
0:05:02 > 0:05:04and every officer on the ship.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07He may be a dirty little coal stoker,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09but he's got us into all this.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14Oi, we didn't do anything wrong. Just remember that.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18We stick together. We stand by the captain.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26Gentlemen, this is Mr Dunlop. He will be representing us.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31Actually, I'm retained by the Leyland Line, your employer.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Surely that amounts to the same thing?
0:05:40 > 0:05:43I assume our evidence to the inquiry will be a mere formality?
0:05:43 > 0:05:46I would have hoped so, too.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50But Lord Mersey, the president of the inquiry,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54has made it clear that he intends to be extremely thorough.
0:05:54 > 0:05:55As he should be.
0:05:56 > 0:06:01I should also tell you that Mr Isaacs, the Attorney-General,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04is representing the Board Of Trade.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08They do not relish taking all of the blame for the insufficient
0:06:08 > 0:06:15number of lifeboats on the Titanic, nor for certain other deficiencies,
0:06:15 > 0:06:21and they may try to deflect attention in another direction.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Are they going to try and stitch us up?
0:06:24 > 0:06:29No, of course not. This is a properly constituted legal inquiry.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34The problem that the crew of the Californian has is that
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Mr Ernest Gill's evidence...
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Ernest Gill saw nothing that night.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40He's a gold digger, peddling his lies,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43trying to make money out of them that went down with the Titanic.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45He's a lying little shit.
0:06:47 > 0:06:48Well, perhaps.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53I would advise you not to use those EXACT words
0:06:53 > 0:06:56in front of Lord Mersey, Mr...?
0:06:56 > 0:07:00Stone. Herbert Stone, my second officer.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04And this is Mr Groves, my third, and our apprentice, Gibson.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08- Mr Gill's evidence...- Allegations.
0:07:08 > 0:07:09Quite.
0:07:09 > 0:07:17Ernest Gill's allegations have, as it were, muddied the waters.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19There was nothing we could have done.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23I understand, and I am certain your evidence will bear this out.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27- And you have all of our written statements.- Yes, I do.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31But to be frank, gentlemen, the Leyland Line
0:07:31 > 0:07:36is concerned that there is a move on to put the blame on the Californian.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38The crew of the Californian.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41The whole thing had nothing to do with us.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44It was the Titanic's fault from the very start.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48We warned them about the icebergs. What did Captain Smith do?
0:07:48 > 0:07:51He just kept steaming on like some rookie officer.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54And that wasn't the only warning we gave them.
0:07:54 > 0:08:01Yes, that's good that you warned them. I'll stress that point.
0:08:01 > 0:08:07Now, you estimate that the Titanic sank
0:08:07 > 0:08:10in latitude 41 degrees 33,
0:08:10 > 0:08:16and your stated position is that you were at the time in question
0:08:16 > 0:08:19at latitude 42 05.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21Some 30 miles away.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Indeed. And at that distance,
0:08:25 > 0:08:30it would not have been possible for you to have sighted the Titanic.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31Correct.
0:08:31 > 0:08:32If we had seen the Titanic,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36we would have gone to an immediate rescue, obviously.
0:08:36 > 0:08:37I have no doubt.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42But there is this problem of the ship you DID see.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45- You mean the other ship? - The other ship.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50- That wasn't the Titanic.- Now, you're quite certain of that?- Absolutely.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54I know a passenger liner when I see one. It was much too small.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58There is no way you could have been mistaken?
0:08:59 > 0:09:00CAPTAIN SIGHS
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Anyway, as I've already said, the last reported position
0:09:03 > 0:09:06of the Titanic was some 30 miles from the Californian.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11Good. And, of course, your log book will bear this out.
0:09:11 > 0:09:12Of course.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19Excellent. So, if it definitely was NOT the Titanic,
0:09:19 > 0:09:21we have little to worry about.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Er, you also have the scrap log book?
0:09:27 > 0:09:30I'm afraid the scrap log book has gone missing.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33Missing?
0:09:35 > 0:09:37But you can't fill in this log book
0:09:37 > 0:09:42without the contemporaneous notes from the scrap log book.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45- Am I correct?- Yes.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Well, it must have been mislaid.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Well, that's a pity.
0:09:55 > 0:10:02I would urge you, gentlemen, to use your best endeavours
0:10:02 > 0:10:06and redouble your efforts and try to find it.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Well, gentlemen, you all heard Mr Dunlop.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20Let's make some enquiries,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23see if we can't find this damned scrap log book.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31I filled in the scrap log book before I went off duty that night,
0:10:31 > 0:10:32- then you took it over.- Yes.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36- Have you seen it since?- No.- Well, where do we start to look for it?
0:10:36 > 0:10:40- I've already tried and I can't find it anywhere. It's gone.- Gone?
0:10:40 > 0:10:43Yes. You know what it was like.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45In all the confusion, it must have got thrown away.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48The one thing that proves exactly where we were that night,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51- and it's lost? - Yes, it's most unfortunate.
0:10:51 > 0:10:52- More than that, surely?- How so?
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Well, you have to admit, it looks a bit...
0:10:55 > 0:10:59- A bit what, Mr Groves?- Convenient.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01On the contrary, Mr Groves.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04I'm sure the captain finds it most inconvenient.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12Captain Stanley Lord to the stand.
0:11:20 > 0:11:25Place your right hand on the Bible and repeat after me.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29- I, Stanley Lord, do solemnly swear...- Don't worry, son.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31I, Stanley Lord...
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Captain's more than a match for these stuffed shirts.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36..that the evidence I give in this inquiry will be the truth,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me, God.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Are you the captain of the SS Californian?
0:11:44 > 0:11:45Yes.
0:11:45 > 0:11:51On Sunday, April 14th, did you have to stop on account of ice?
0:11:51 > 0:11:54I had to stop and reverse engines at 10.21pm.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58- What sort of ice was it? - Field ice, right ahead of me.
0:11:58 > 0:12:05Now, close upon 11 o'clock on Sunday night, you saw a steamer's light.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07It was approaching me from the east on the starboard side.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10She was heading to the westward.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14- Did you then ask your wireless operator what ships he had?- Yes.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17And he said, "Nothing. Only the Titanic."
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Did you think that the vessel approaching you was the Titanic?
0:12:20 > 0:12:23No. I remarked at the time that she was not the Titanic.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27- How could you tell that?- It's difficult to mistake those ships.
0:12:27 > 0:12:28By the blaze of light.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33About what distance, approximately, did you consider she was from you?
0:12:33 > 0:12:37I suppose she was six or seven miles away.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40- Were there any other officers on deck?- Yes.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Mr Groves, the third officer, was on deck until 12.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47And then at 12 the second officer, Mr Stone, relieved the third officer?
0:12:47 > 0:12:48At 10 past 12.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53And did you tell him anything with regard to this vessel?
0:12:53 > 0:12:56I told him to "Watch that steamer,"
0:12:56 > 0:12:57that she had stopped,
0:12:57 > 0:13:00and then I went to my chart room at a quarter past 12.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02I told Mr Stone I was going to lie down.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06A little later, did he whistle down the tube
0:13:06 > 0:13:08and tell you whether he had seen any signal?
0:13:08 > 0:13:12- He said he had seen a white rocket. - From her?- From her.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14- Did you see it?- No.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Is it the fact that this vessel from which the rocket appeared
0:13:19 > 0:13:24was, at the time, in the position which, probably, the Titanic was?
0:13:24 > 0:13:28- No.- What is in my brain at the present time is this.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31That what they saw was the Titanic.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35That is in my brain, and I want to see whether I'm right or not.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37Clear it up, if you can.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42Can you tell us whether you saw one or two mast headlights?
0:13:42 > 0:13:44I only saw one.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48- You only saw one?- And the third officer, Mr Groves, said he saw two.
0:13:48 > 0:13:49Now, that is important.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54That is VERY important, because the Titanic would have two.
0:13:54 > 0:13:55If Mr Groves did see two lights,
0:13:55 > 0:13:59it must have been the Titanic, must it not?
0:13:59 > 0:14:04- It does not follow.- Do you know of any other vessel it might have been?
0:14:04 > 0:14:06No, I do not know.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Has Mr Groves ever expressed any opinion to you
0:14:09 > 0:14:11that it was the Titanic he saw?
0:14:11 > 0:14:13No, my Lord.
0:14:13 > 0:14:14- Never?- Never.
0:14:14 > 0:14:20- Did he say to you that she was "evidently a passenger steamer?"- No.
0:14:20 > 0:14:21And did you say to him,
0:14:21 > 0:14:25"The only passenger steamer near us is the Titanic?"
0:14:25 > 0:14:31- I might have said that. - Do collect your mind. Did you say it?
0:14:31 > 0:14:33I don't recollect saying it.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36You do not give answers that please me at present.
0:14:36 > 0:14:41Do you now suggest that you do not remember whether you said it or not?
0:14:41 > 0:14:45I don't recollect saying anything at all to him that night, my Lord.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48I have heard so many stories about the Titanic after she went down
0:14:48 > 0:14:51that I honestly don't remember what I heard that night.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56Do you know of any other passenger steamer near you except the Titanic?
0:14:56 > 0:14:59- I did not.- But you knew the Titanic was not far from you?
0:14:59 > 0:15:01I had no idea where the Titanic was.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04GASPS AND MUTTERING
0:15:06 > 0:15:10Did you know the steamer had fired a number of rockets?
0:15:10 > 0:15:11I did not.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13According to you, did she fire only one rocket?
0:15:13 > 0:15:15Only one rocket.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18Have you never heard from other officers that she fired a number of rockets?
0:15:18 > 0:15:22- Since.- When did you hear that? - The next day.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24- Who told you?- Mr Stone.
0:15:24 > 0:15:25What did he say?
0:15:25 > 0:15:30He said she had fired several rockets in his watch.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34My lord, I think it is very desirable
0:15:34 > 0:15:36that the other witnesses from the Californian
0:15:36 > 0:15:39should be out of court while this witness gives evidence.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Where are the witnesses from the Californian?
0:15:44 > 0:15:47Well, gentlemen, I think you'd better leave the court at present.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09My God, they're giving the captain a right grilling, aren't they?
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Mr Stone, where are you going?
0:16:13 > 0:16:17It's not right. What do lawyers know about the sea?
0:16:17 > 0:16:21About as much as we know about the law.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25We should put them in a bloody ice field. See how they like it.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29- Where's Mr Stone gone? - Washroom, I think.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31He was in a right hurry.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Must've been holding it in a while.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49We were dealing with the rockets.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Captain Lord, you had never been in ice before?
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Not in field ice, no.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00You were treating the ice, so to speak, with great respect
0:17:00 > 0:17:03and behaved with great caution with regard to it.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05I was treating it with every respect.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Was that the reason, perhaps,
0:17:08 > 0:17:10why you were not so inquisitive as to the rocket
0:17:10 > 0:17:12as you might otherwise have been?
0:17:12 > 0:17:14No, that had nothing to do with it.
0:17:14 > 0:17:19Do you consider it reasonable, seeing you had very little experience of ice,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22to go below to the chart room and lie there?
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Perfectly reasonable. I was looking after my own ship.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30Captain Lord, you said earlier, "I heard of one rocket.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35"I did not see it fired." And you did nothing further.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37I did nothing further myself.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39I remained in my chart room.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42This rocket, it must have been a distress signal, mustn't it?
0:17:42 > 0:17:47If it had been a distress signal, my second officer, Mr Stone,
0:17:47 > 0:17:48would have informed me.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50But Mr Stone did.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53He sent Gibson, the apprentice, down to inform you.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55So I understand.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58But you know perfectly well that he came.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01- I know now. - Did you know then?- I did not.
0:18:01 > 0:18:02I was asleep.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07Yes, but you were not asleep, at least I suppose not,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10when you said to Gibson, "What is it?"
0:18:10 > 0:18:15I was wakened by the opening of the door, the banging of the door.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18These are answers that do not do you the least good.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22Did Mr Stone send Gibson to report to you at any time?
0:18:22 > 0:18:25He told me afterwards that he had done so.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29And did you not enquire whether they were all white rockets?
0:18:29 > 0:18:31I do not know. I was asleep.
0:18:31 > 0:18:37Think. This is a very important matter.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41It is much better to tell us what happened, Captain.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43He came to the door, I understand.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45I have spoken very closely to him since.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48He said that I opened my eyes and said, "What is it?"
0:18:48 > 0:18:52He delivered the message and then I asked the time.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54And then I believe he said that I asked him
0:18:54 > 0:18:56if there were any colours in the light.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58Is he telling the truth?
0:18:58 > 0:19:01I do not know. I don't doubt it for a moment.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05Just think. You say you do not doubt it for a moment.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08Do you see what that means?
0:19:08 > 0:19:11It means that the boy did go to the chart room to you,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14he did tell you about the rockets from the ship,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17you asked him whether they were white rockets and told him to report
0:19:17 > 0:19:19if anything further occurred.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22So he said. That is what he said.
0:19:22 > 0:19:23Have you any reason to doubt it?
0:19:23 > 0:19:26I was very likely half-awake.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30I have no recollection of Gibson saying anything to me at all that morning.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34Why did you enquire whether they were white rockets?
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Well, I suppose this is something to do with
0:19:36 > 0:19:38whether or not they were company signals.
0:19:38 > 0:19:39Do just think.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Company signals usually have some colour in them.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44So that if they were white,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47it would make it quite plain to you that they were distress signals?
0:19:47 > 0:19:50No, not necessarily. Some companies use white.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Really do try to do yourself justice.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55I am trying to do my best.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58MUTTERING AROUND COURTROOM
0:20:00 > 0:20:03I must ask you something more.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07Do you remember Mr Stone reporting at 2:40 that morning through the tube?
0:20:07 > 0:20:09I do not.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11Listen to this.
0:20:11 > 0:20:12This is Mr Stone's statement.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17He report at 2:40 through the tube and told you that the steamer
0:20:17 > 0:20:20had disappeared bearing southwest half-west.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21Do you remember that?
0:20:21 > 0:20:25I do not remember it. He has told me that since.
0:20:25 > 0:20:26Have you any reason to doubt it?
0:20:26 > 0:20:29- I do not know anything at all about it.- Listen to this.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31"The captain again asked me
0:20:31 > 0:20:35"if I was sure there was no colours in the light that had been seen."
0:20:35 > 0:20:37- Do you remember that?- I do not.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42And that he, Mr Stone, assured you they were white lights.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44He has told me all of this since
0:20:44 > 0:20:46but I have not the slightest recollection
0:20:46 > 0:20:48of anything happening that way.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53- You have no reason to doubt it? - If he's telling the truth I do not.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37They're taking a long time with the captain.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39- They're just being thorough. - Thorough?
0:21:39 > 0:21:41They're making out like it was our fault.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44They're trying to make us the scapegoat.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49- Everyone knows it was Captain Smith's fault. - The captain of the Titanic is dead.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Dead men don't make good scapegoats.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Is there any reference in your log
0:21:58 > 0:22:00to your steamer having seen these rockets?
0:22:00 > 0:22:05- No, sir.- Or this mysterious ship that was not the Titanic?
0:22:05 > 0:22:06No, sir.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Is it not usual to record these things in the log?
0:22:10 > 0:22:13We never realised what these rockets were, my lord.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15If they'd been distress rockets then, yes,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17we would have entered them in the log.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20But the next morning you knew that the Titanic had gone down.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24- Yes.- Did you make no record then in your log of the signals you'd seen?
0:22:24 > 0:22:27- No.- Why not?
0:22:27 > 0:22:30We never took them to be distress rockets.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35Do you mean to say nobody on your ship supposed that they might be distress signals?
0:22:35 > 0:22:42The second officer, the man in charge of the watch,
0:22:42 > 0:22:47said most emphatically that they were NOT distress rockets.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50GASPS AROUND THE COURTROOM
0:22:55 > 0:23:01Did you question Mr Stone as to why you had not been called?
0:23:01 > 0:23:02I did.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05What was his explanation to you?
0:23:05 > 0:23:06He said that he had sent Gibson down
0:23:06 > 0:23:09and that Gibson had told him I was awake
0:23:09 > 0:23:13and that I had said, "All right, let me know if anything is wanted."
0:23:13 > 0:23:16I was surprised that he hadn't called me out,
0:23:16 > 0:23:18considering rockets had been fired.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20He said if they had been distress rockets
0:23:20 > 0:23:23he would most certainly have called me himself.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27But he was not a little bit worried about it at all.
0:23:27 > 0:23:32And it was his view that they were not distress rockets?
0:23:32 > 0:23:35That was apparently his view.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37MUTTERING
0:23:45 > 0:23:47Mr Stone.
0:23:47 > 0:23:53Captain...I didn't expect to see you.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55I know they want to keep us apart
0:23:55 > 0:23:57but they can't stop me going to the washroom.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02Dunlop was right. It's a witch-hunt.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05They're trying to pin the blame on us.
0:24:05 > 0:24:06Us?
0:24:06 > 0:24:08When they ask about the rockets,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11I should warn you that I said you only told me
0:24:11 > 0:24:15about the one white rocket that wasn't a distress signal.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18- But, sir, I told you about the other rockets.- I was asleep.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20But it's in my statement, sir.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22I know you SAY you told me but I was asleep.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25But Gibson went down and told you, he went into the chart room.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27So he says. I didn't hear him.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32"When Pilate saw he could prevail nothing but rather a tumult was made.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34"He took water and washed his hands saying,
0:24:34 > 0:24:36"I am innocent of the blood of this just person."
0:24:36 > 0:24:39You never struck me as a man steeped in the Bible, Stone.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Oh, I'm full of surprises, me, sir.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45I want to know what you were saying about us in there.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49- Washing your hands of us, were you? - You're forgetting yourself, Mr Stone.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51The captain is supposed to look out for his crew.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Last man to leave the ship and all that.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56And what boy's own comic did you read that in?
0:24:56 > 0:25:00I thought you were a man of the world, Stone,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03not some dewy-eyed apprentice like Gibson.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05But, sir, I told you about the rockets.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Forget the damned rockets.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11You were the senior officer on deck.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14- It was your responsibility. - My responsibility?
0:25:14 > 0:25:18- You never told me that the ship was in distress.- I didn't know...
0:25:18 > 0:25:20Meantime the Titanic sank, Mr Stone.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24Well, if I'm to be blamed, I'm dragging you down with me.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28Why did you stay below decks? Why could you not give any orders?
0:25:28 > 0:25:29I was asleep.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32- Oh, is that what they call it now? - Be careful, Stone.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36You say you never sup at sea but did you that night? Did you?
0:25:36 > 0:25:41I'm not going to dignify that with a response.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45The fact is that if the rockets you saw that night were distress rockets,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48you should have woken me no matter what.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51- But I told... - If our positions were reversed,
0:25:51 > 0:25:53I would have dragged you from the chart room.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55So, what, I'm to be blamed, is that it?
0:25:55 > 0:25:57Oh, think, Stone!
0:25:59 > 0:26:01The point is not that rockets were fired
0:26:01 > 0:26:03but whether they were distress rockets.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05If they were not distress rockets,
0:26:05 > 0:26:08there was no need for you to do anything.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10And no need for you to inform me.
0:26:14 > 0:26:15I see, sir.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19You're a good officer, Stone.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Now pull yourself together, man.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Yes, sir.
0:26:38 > 0:26:44On the night of the 14th April, was it your watch from 12 to 4?
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Yes.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51Did Mr Groves make any communication to you about the steamer when you relieved him?
0:26:51 > 0:26:54He told me he had called her up on the Morse lamp and got no answer.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57After a time, did you make any communication to the captain?
0:26:57 > 0:27:01- Yes.- How? - By means of the speaking tube.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03What did you communicate?
0:27:03 > 0:27:06I communicated that I had seen white lights in the sky
0:27:06 > 0:27:09in the direction of the other steamer
0:27:09 > 0:27:11which I took to be white rockets.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15- How many more did you see? - I saw four more then.
0:27:15 > 0:27:16In quick succession?
0:27:16 > 0:27:20At intervals of about three or four minutes.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24You saw five rockets go up in fairly quick succession.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27What did you think at the time that they meant?
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Well, I knew they must be signals of some sort.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32Of what sort did you think?
0:27:32 > 0:27:36- I did not know at the time. - Now, try to be frank.
0:27:36 > 0:27:37I am trying.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40If you try, you will succeed.
0:27:40 > 0:27:46What did you think those rockets were going up at three to four minute intervals were for?
0:27:46 > 0:27:49I just took them as white rockets and informed the captain
0:27:49 > 0:27:50and left him to judge.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54You mean to say that you didn't think for yourself?
0:27:54 > 0:27:57Did you think that they were distress signals?
0:28:02 > 0:28:03No.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06MUTTERING AROUND THE COURTROOM Did that not occur to you?
0:28:06 > 0:28:09- It did not occur to me at the time. - When DID it occur to you?
0:28:09 > 0:28:12After I had heard about the Titanic going down.
0:28:12 > 0:28:13So, throwing your mind back,
0:28:13 > 0:28:15you thought that they WERE distress signals?
0:28:15 > 0:28:19I thought they possibly might have been distress signals.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21From the Titanic.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Not necessarily. They might have been from some other steamer.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27I did not think that vessel was the Titanic.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29You communicated these facts to the captain?
0:28:29 > 0:28:32Yes, through the speaking tube.
0:28:32 > 0:28:33What was his answer?
0:28:33 > 0:28:36He asked me, "Are they company signals?"
0:28:36 > 0:28:37What was your answer?
0:28:37 > 0:28:41I said, "I do not know but to me they appear to be white rockets."
0:28:41 > 0:28:46Did the captain tell you that you were to report to him any news
0:28:46 > 0:28:48and give him any information that you'd got?
0:28:48 > 0:28:52When I received more information to send Mr Gibson down with it.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55- After Mr Gibson had come did you see more rockets?- Yes.- How many?
0:28:55 > 0:28:59Three. In the direction of this steamer.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02- In quick succession? - About the same period as before.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06Did anything pass between you and Gibson when those rockets went up?
0:29:06 > 0:29:09He remarked to me once that he did not think they were being sent up for fun.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11And I quite agreed with him.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13Did either Gibson suggest to you or you suggest to Gibson
0:29:13 > 0:29:16that that ship over there is in trouble
0:29:16 > 0:29:17and might require assistance?
0:29:17 > 0:29:19I made no remark about that at all.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22About the ship being in distress the whole time.
0:29:24 > 0:29:25Did it never occur to you?
0:29:25 > 0:29:29It did not occur to me after what the captain said.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32He emphasised the fact about company signals.
0:29:32 > 0:29:33Wait.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36You did not think that they were company signals?
0:29:38 > 0:29:39No.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42You did not think that they were being sent up for fun?
0:29:42 > 0:29:45- No.- WHAT did you think?
0:29:45 > 0:29:49I just thought they were white rockets, that is all.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52HE TUTS
0:29:52 > 0:29:55When you saw her disappear,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58did you think that something had happened to her?
0:29:58 > 0:30:01No, nothing except that she was steaming away.
0:30:01 > 0:30:06In view of the fact that this vessel had been sending up rockets,
0:30:06 > 0:30:09did you not think at the time that this ship was in distress?
0:30:09 > 0:30:13- No.- It never occurred to you? - It did not occur to me
0:30:13 > 0:30:17because if there had been any grounds for supposing the ship
0:30:17 > 0:30:20would have been in distress, the captain would have expressed it to me.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25Never mind about the captain. You were being asked about what you thought yourself.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29Do you mean to tell us that neither you nor Gibson expressed
0:30:29 > 0:30:32any opinion that there was something wrong with that ship?
0:30:32 > 0:30:37- No. Not wrong with the ship. - You want me to believe that notwithstanding those rockets,
0:30:37 > 0:30:41neither you nor Gibson thought there anything wrong on board that ship?
0:30:41 > 0:30:45- Yes.- You mean to tell His Lordship that you did not know
0:30:45 > 0:30:49that the throwing up of rockets or shells, throwing stars of any colour
0:30:49 > 0:30:52or description, fired one at a time at short intervals
0:30:52 > 0:30:57is the proper method for signalling distress at night?
0:30:57 > 0:31:00Yes, that is the way it is always done, as far as I know.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04Is not that exactly what was happening?
0:31:04 > 0:31:08The very thing was happening that you knew indicated distress?
0:31:08 > 0:31:14I knew that rockets fired at short intervals, one at a time, meant distress signals, yes.
0:31:14 > 0:31:19Do not speak generally. On that very night, you knew, did you not, when you saw
0:31:19 > 0:31:24- those rockets being sent up that they were signals of distress?- No.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27Now, do think about what you are saying.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31You have just told me that what you saw from that steamer was exactly
0:31:31 > 0:31:34what you had been taught to understand were signals of distress.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39- You told me so!- Yes. - Well, is it true?
0:31:39 > 0:31:42It is true that similar lights are distress signals, yes.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46And you had seen them from that steamer!
0:31:46 > 0:31:49A steamer that is in distress does not steam away from you, M'Lord.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06Judging from the appearance of the lights,
0:32:06 > 0:32:10could she have possibly been the Titanic, in your opinion?
0:32:10 > 0:32:12Not by any means.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15Had you heard of any other steamer
0:32:15 > 0:32:18- that was in the neighbourhood at that time?- No.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22- But you knew the Titanic was there?- Yes.
0:32:40 > 0:32:45They've called lunch. So I will see you gentlemen later.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48Chin up, Gibson.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52Chin up? Did you see what they did to Mr Stone?
0:32:52 > 0:32:54They gave him a right going over.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57I hope to God they don't go after me like that.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01All you have to do is say what you saw.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03Me and Mr Stone were on the bridge,
0:33:03 > 0:33:06we didn't know what those rockets were.
0:33:06 > 0:33:11- Then tell them that.- These lawyers, they twist things.
0:33:11 > 0:33:16That's what they're paid to do. Very well paid.
0:33:16 > 0:33:21- I'm not up to it, Mr Groves. I know I'm not up to it.- Steady on, Gibson.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25You saw the rockets and you went down and informed the captain.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27That's true, isn't it?
0:33:27 > 0:33:31Mr Lee tells me you're all off the Californian.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33Yes, that's right.
0:33:33 > 0:33:37That is for my husband, sir!
0:33:37 > 0:33:42He went down on the Titanic. A good man. And a fine officer.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46He remained on his ship. He gave his life to save as many as he could.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50He did his duty. Why didn't you do yours?
0:33:50 > 0:33:52Why didn't you do yours?
0:33:52 > 0:33:55This is not the way, Margaret. I'm sorry, sir.
0:33:55 > 0:34:00Come on, Margaret. We'll get someone to take you home.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20I just came to wish Gibson luck.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23How is our young friend?
0:34:23 > 0:34:29Nervous as hell. He's gone to the toilet for the 25th time since lunch.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33He'll be all right. He'll not let us down.
0:34:33 > 0:34:38You did well in there. It mustn't be easy.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41You'll find out soon enough.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45- Pleased with yourself?- What?
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Are you happy with what you had to say?
0:34:48 > 0:34:51If you have something to say to me, Mr Groves,
0:34:51 > 0:34:54have the courage to say it plainly.
0:34:54 > 0:34:55You know the truth. We all do.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59The truth is the ship we saw was not the Titanic.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02She fired up eight rockets, the same as the Titanic.
0:35:02 > 0:35:09- Coincidence. It was another ship. - These were distress rockets. Why didn't you do...something?
0:35:09 > 0:35:12The captain gives the orders pertaining to our ship, Mr Groves.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15We were in the middle of an ice field.
0:35:15 > 0:35:20- We could have gone down, like the Titanic.- We could have saved them. - Nonsense.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25- We were too far away. - Were we?- What do you mean?
0:35:25 > 0:35:28The scrap log book will show exactly where we were.
0:35:28 > 0:35:33It would show the whole world we're telling the truth. What happened to it?
0:35:33 > 0:35:37- I don't know. - I don't believe you.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40Take care what you are saying, Mr Groves.
0:35:42 > 0:35:47I do care, Mr Stone. I care a great deal!
0:35:57 > 0:36:01- Were you an apprentice on the Californian?- Yes.
0:36:02 > 0:36:07On this night, between Sunday the 14th and Monday the 15th,
0:36:07 > 0:36:09what time did you go on watch?
0:36:09 > 0:36:14- 12 o'clock midnight.- Which of the officers was in charge?
0:36:14 > 0:36:19- Mr Stone.- Did you form any view as to how far away this ship was?
0:36:19 > 0:36:21From four to seven miles.
0:36:21 > 0:36:26Did Mr Stone say anything to you about this ship?
0:36:26 > 0:36:31That she had fired five rockets. He told me he'd reported it to the captain.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35Did he tell you what the captain had instructed him to do?
0:36:35 > 0:36:38- To call her up on Morse light. - What had been the result?
0:36:38 > 0:36:42She had not answered him, but had fired more rockets.
0:36:42 > 0:36:48- Did you see her fire these rockets? - I saw three rockets.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51- What colour rockets were they? - White ones.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55Did you think yourself that there was anything wrong?
0:36:55 > 0:36:58We had been talking about it together.
0:36:58 > 0:37:04I should very much like you to tell me what you had been saying to the Second Officer.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06He remarked to me
0:37:06 > 0:37:11that a ship wasn't going to fire rockets at sea for nothing.
0:37:12 > 0:37:18A ship was not going to fire rockets at sea for nothing.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21- Yes. - I daresay you agreed with him.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25- Yes.- Do I understand from you that Mr Stone came to the conclusion
0:37:25 > 0:37:28that this was a ship in distress?
0:37:28 > 0:37:31No, sir. Not exactly.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35What do you mean by "not exactly"?
0:37:35 > 0:37:41- Mr Stone said a ship does not fire rockets at night for nothing.- Yes.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45Does not that convey to you in his opinion this ship was in distress?
0:37:45 > 0:37:48- Not exactly in distress, sir. - What then?
0:37:48 > 0:37:53- That everything was not all right with her.- In trouble of some sort?
0:37:53 > 0:38:00- Yes.- Did you know when the rockets were being sent up that they were being sent up as danger signals?
0:38:00 > 0:38:04- No.- What did you think the rockets were being up for?
0:38:04 > 0:38:07I thought they were some sort of private signal.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10Who told you they were private signals?
0:38:12 > 0:38:15Nobody told me.
0:38:15 > 0:38:21- Had you ever seen private signals of this kind?- No.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25What took place after that between you and Mr Stone?
0:38:25 > 0:38:31About twenty minutes past one, Mr Stone remarked to me
0:38:31 > 0:38:35that she was slowly steaming away towards the southwest.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39Then Mr Stone remarked to me...
0:38:39 > 0:38:42"Look at her now, she looks very queer in the water.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45"Her lights look queer."
0:38:47 > 0:38:53- Did you look at her then through your glasses?- Yes.- What did you see?
0:38:53 > 0:38:57That she seemed to be heavily listed to the starboard.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01She seemed to have a list and you thought to starboard?
0:39:01 > 0:39:04Yes.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Did you call Mr Stone's attention to this?
0:39:06 > 0:39:09Yes. He remarked it to me at the time.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12He told me to look through the glasses at it.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16He told you to look through the glasses at that very thing?
0:39:16 > 0:39:20- Yes.- When did you first make that statement?
0:39:20 > 0:39:25The statement you've just made, that you were told to look through the glasses at this list.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28When did you first tell anybody that?
0:39:29 > 0:39:32This is the first time.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35You never told anybody until now in the witness box?
0:39:35 > 0:39:41I have spoken to Mr Stone about it since. That is all.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44Have you a clear recollection of that?
0:39:44 > 0:39:50- Yes.- Just tell us. You say you spoke to Mr Stone about it.
0:39:50 > 0:39:55- What did he tell you?- He said, "Look at her now, Gibson.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57"Her lights look queer."
0:39:57 > 0:40:03I told him... "She seems rather to have a big side out of the water."
0:40:03 > 0:40:07We were talking about it all the time, sir.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10Until five minutes past two, when she disappeared.
0:40:10 > 0:40:15- What were the orders that Mr Stone gave you when she disappeared? - "Call the captain and tell him
0:40:15 > 0:40:21"the ship has disappeared in the southwest. And she's fired altogether eight rockets."
0:40:21 > 0:40:25- Did you report that to the captain? - Yes.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28- Where did you go? - Into the chart room.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31- Did you find the captain there?- Yes.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35- Was he awake?- Yes, sir.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39Did you give him the report that you were ordered to give him?
0:40:39 > 0:40:44- Yes.- What did the captain say?
0:40:44 > 0:40:46He asked me, "Were they all whites?"
0:40:46 > 0:40:49- The rockets?- Yes.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53- He asked whether there was any colour in them at all. - What did you tell him?
0:40:53 > 0:40:59- I told him they were all white. - Did he give any instructions?- No.
0:41:01 > 0:41:06Will you ask him what he understood by the word "disappeared"?
0:41:06 > 0:41:11Yes, M'Lord. You say you were told to report that the ship had disappeared.
0:41:11 > 0:41:16- What did you mean by "disappeared"? - That we could not see anything more of her.
0:41:16 > 0:41:21A ship goes out of sight when she goes down to the bottom.
0:41:21 > 0:41:26What did you understand by the word "disappeared"?
0:41:26 > 0:41:29That is all I could understand about it.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32A ship that has been sending up rockets has disappeared.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36Did you understand from Mr Stone to mean that she had gone down to the bottom?
0:41:36 > 0:41:41- No.- Well, what did you understand? That she'd steamed her way through the ice?
0:41:41 > 0:41:43COURT MURMURS
0:41:46 > 0:41:50At any time, did Mr Stone say to you, "This vessel seems to be in distress"?
0:41:50 > 0:41:54No... He said, "There must be something the matter with her."
0:41:54 > 0:41:59Did he make any remarks to you as to the captain taking no action?
0:41:59 > 0:42:01Did he say anything to you at all?
0:42:01 > 0:42:04- No.- Are you sure?
0:42:04 > 0:42:05Yes.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07Did you say anything to yourself about it?
0:42:07 > 0:42:10I only thought the same that he thought.
0:42:10 > 0:42:11And what was that?
0:42:11 > 0:42:14That a ship would not fire rockets at sea for nothing
0:42:14 > 0:42:16and there must be something the matter with her.
0:42:16 > 0:42:21Then you thought it was a case of some kind of distress?
0:42:23 > 0:42:24Yes.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28PEOPLE IN THE GALLERY MURMUR
0:42:41 > 0:42:44I'm sorry, captain, I did my best.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47Quite.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50It's just, there were so many questions and it's hard to...
0:42:50 > 0:42:52I know you did your best.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54It's over now.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56Go and have your smoke.
0:43:21 > 0:43:22Mr Groves.
0:43:22 > 0:43:23Sir.
0:43:23 > 0:43:28Mr Stone informed me about what passed between you earlier.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31You will apologise to Mr Stone.
0:43:37 > 0:43:42He is your superior officer, Mr Groves. And you will apologise.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47My apologies, Mr Stone.
0:43:52 > 0:43:54You may leave us now, Mr Stone.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56Yes, sir.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06So...
0:44:06 > 0:44:08I understand you may have some misgivings
0:44:08 > 0:44:11about the evidence you'll give today.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13Yes, sir.
0:44:13 > 0:44:14That's understandable.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18We have, all of us, been under the most intolerable pressures.
0:44:18 > 0:44:22Even the strongest of us might begin to doubt himself.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24I don't doubt myself.
0:44:24 > 0:44:26Excellent.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31Then you will know that for the good of your comrades
0:44:31 > 0:44:34and the greater good of the service you must do your duty today.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38That is all that is required.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41And that is the only loyalty you owe anyone.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48I can see that you are troubled.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51You have compassion, Mr Groves,
0:44:51 > 0:44:54and that is a good thing in an officer.
0:44:54 > 0:44:58But you must not allow your emotions to sway you.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01Concern yourself only with the facts.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06The ship had a list, a list to starboard.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11It was the Titanic that we saw.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15It was not.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20- And you must not say that it was. - You know that it was.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23I know no such thing.
0:45:24 > 0:45:28That's why there was no mention of the rockets in the logbook.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30That's why the scrap logbook has gone missing,
0:45:30 > 0:45:32so that you could put in the co-ordinates that suited you
0:45:32 > 0:45:36the next day to say that we were nowhere near the Titanic.
0:45:36 > 0:45:39Those are the facts.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42Mr Groves, you lose the run of yourself.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45And once the logbook is doctored to set the position we want to be in
0:45:45 > 0:45:47then we can go ahead with the denials.
0:45:47 > 0:45:49Deny we saw the Titanic,
0:45:49 > 0:45:52deny we know what a distress rocket is.
0:45:52 > 0:45:54Dear God, even the rawest recruit
0:45:54 > 0:45:56knows a distress signal when he sees one.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59I didn't know about any damned rockets.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01Stone told you,
0:46:01 > 0:46:03Gibson told you...
0:46:03 > 0:46:04I was asleep!
0:46:04 > 0:46:08And while you slept, the Titanic sank!
0:46:08 > 0:46:11How dare you?
0:46:24 > 0:46:28The Titanic sank because the captain chose to ignore iceberg warnings,
0:46:28 > 0:46:30warnings that we gave him.
0:46:31 > 0:46:33He made a mistake
0:46:33 > 0:46:36and he paid for that mistake with the lives of his crew
0:46:36 > 0:46:37and his passengers.
0:46:39 > 0:46:44Mistakes can have terrible consequences, Mr Groves.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47And you must not make one today.
0:46:48 > 0:46:51We saw a ship,
0:46:51 > 0:46:53that's all.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59It was not the Titanic.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02They are dead.
0:47:02 > 0:47:03We are living.
0:47:03 > 0:47:05And there is nothing,
0:47:05 > 0:47:09nothing that you can do to help bring any of them back.
0:47:15 > 0:47:16Now.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21Do your duty, Mr Groves.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25Your duty to your captain and your crewmates.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28Aye, sir.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40Good man.
0:47:56 > 0:47:57Mr Groves?
0:47:58 > 0:47:59Yes.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01The name's Lee.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04I wanted to apologise.
0:48:04 > 0:48:05Sorry about what happened.
0:48:05 > 0:48:07The lady who slapped you.
0:48:09 > 0:48:10Margaret's not herself.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12Hasn't been herself since.
0:48:12 > 0:48:13I understand.
0:48:13 > 0:48:18And I want you to know that I, that we, in the Titanic,
0:48:18 > 0:48:20don't harbour any grudge.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23I know you would have helped us if you could.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26If you'd known it was us, you would've come straight for us.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29Ice or no ice.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32Just like if our situation were reversed,
0:48:32 > 0:48:34- we'd have come for you.- Yes.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38We have an understanding,
0:48:38 > 0:48:41a code of honour to look out for each other.
0:48:41 > 0:48:42It's part of who we are.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20HE HEARS EXPLOSIONS AND SCREAMS
0:49:26 > 0:49:28Charles Victor Groves,
0:49:28 > 0:49:31Charles Victor Groves to give evidence.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56Your name is Charles Groves.
0:49:58 > 0:50:00About 11:10, ship's time,
0:50:00 > 0:50:04I made out a steamer coming up on our starboard.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06Did you report that to the captain?
0:50:06 > 0:50:09Yes, I went to the lower bridge and I told him.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12Did you say what kind of steamer you thought she was?
0:50:12 > 0:50:16I said she is evidently a passenger steamer.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19Did you say why you thought she was a passenger steamer?
0:50:19 > 0:50:23Yes, I told him I could see her deck lights and that that made me
0:50:23 > 0:50:28pass the remark that she is evidently a passenger steamer.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31How many deck lights had she? Had she much light?
0:50:31 > 0:50:34Yes, a lot of light.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37There was absolutely no doubt in her being a passenger steamer,
0:50:37 > 0:50:39at least, in my mind.
0:50:39 > 0:50:41You could see two masthead lights?
0:50:41 > 0:50:43I did see two masthead lights.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47Did you have any more conversation with the captain about the steamer?
0:50:47 > 0:50:49He came up on the bridge and said,
0:50:49 > 0:50:51"That does not look like a passenger steamer."
0:50:51 > 0:50:56I said, "It is, sir. She put her lights out a few minutes ago."
0:50:56 > 0:50:58Was anything said at the time about the Titanic?
0:50:58 > 0:51:04He said, "The only passenger steamer near us is the Titanic."
0:51:04 > 0:51:06Did the steamer continue on her course after that?
0:51:06 > 0:51:10No, she stopped.
0:51:10 > 0:51:11That was about 11:40,
0:51:11 > 0:51:14her lights appeared to go out.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17At 11:40, the engines were stopped on the Titanic.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19Yes, my lord.
0:51:19 > 0:51:26I stayed on the bridge until sometime between 12:10 and 12:15.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30And you were then relieved by Mr Stone.
0:51:30 > 0:51:31I was.
0:51:31 > 0:51:35You were the officer of the watch from 8pm to midnight.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38Would you, then, be keeping the scrap log?
0:51:38 > 0:51:40I was keeping the scrap log.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42Is the scrap log here?
0:51:42 > 0:51:43No.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46It is not kept.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48Is it destroyed from time to time?
0:51:48 > 0:51:51There is one log always kept, of course.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55But the scrap log is destroyed from time to time.
0:51:55 > 0:51:59It is copied from the scrap log into the printed log.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02Into this fair copy, this book which I have here?
0:52:02 > 0:52:04Yes.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06Where is the scrap log book?
0:52:08 > 0:52:10I expect it was thrown away.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13Where was it thrown away to?
0:52:14 > 0:52:17I expect it went over the side.
0:52:17 > 0:52:18Did you throw it over the side?
0:52:20 > 0:52:21I did not.
0:52:21 > 0:52:22Who did?
0:52:23 > 0:52:24I do not know.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28You would know that this book was the book which contained
0:52:28 > 0:52:31the real record for 14 April.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33Of course I knew that.
0:52:33 > 0:52:34And by that time, of course, you knew,
0:52:34 > 0:52:37and others on your ship knew that a very serious enquiry
0:52:37 > 0:52:40was being made as to the position of your ship
0:52:40 > 0:52:43and what she was doing on 14 April.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45Certainly.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47And by that time you knew that there was some discussion
0:52:47 > 0:52:51as to whether that ship was the Titanic or some other ship?
0:52:51 > 0:52:54That was a discussion amongst ourselves.
0:52:54 > 0:52:59You must have seen the scrap log book the next day when he came on duty.
0:52:59 > 0:53:04Do you know whether it contains any record of these rockets being seen?
0:53:04 > 0:53:06I saw none myself.
0:53:06 > 0:53:08If you had been keeping the scrap logbook
0:53:08 > 0:53:13and had seen a succession of white rockets fired from this vessel,
0:53:13 > 0:53:16would you have made a record in your scrap log?
0:53:16 > 0:53:20Most decidedly, that is what the scrap logbook is for.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22So I should have thought.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25Then it would have been the business of the man who had this book
0:53:25 > 0:53:27to record those facts.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30I think so, my lord.
0:53:30 > 0:53:31Who was he?
0:53:33 > 0:53:35Mr Stone was on watch.
0:53:35 > 0:53:40Therefore if Mr Stone did what you think was his duty
0:53:40 > 0:53:44then this scrap logbook which was thrown away,
0:53:44 > 0:53:47or in all events cannot be found,
0:53:47 > 0:53:52would contain a record of those rockets having been seen?
0:53:52 > 0:53:53Yes, my lord.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55I must ask you something more -
0:53:55 > 0:54:01if the Titanic was in latitude 41 degrees, 33...
0:54:01 > 0:54:04and your vessel was, as stated in the log,
0:54:04 > 0:54:06in latitude 42 degrees, 5,
0:54:06 > 0:54:10the Titanic would be some 33 miles to the southward
0:54:10 > 0:54:12of the position where you were lying stopped?
0:54:12 > 0:54:14Yes, about 30 miles.
0:54:14 > 0:54:18And if the Titanic was 30 miles to the southward,
0:54:18 > 0:54:22I don't suppose you could see any navigation lights at that distance?
0:54:22 > 0:54:23No, none whatsoever.
0:54:23 > 0:54:28If this vessel which you did see was only some four or five miles
0:54:28 > 0:54:33to the southward of you, do you think she could have been the Titanic?
0:54:33 > 0:54:36That is a question I want this witness to answer.
0:54:37 > 0:54:42Speaking as an experienced seaman, and knowing what you know now,
0:54:42 > 0:54:45do you think that the steamer that was throwing up rockets
0:54:45 > 0:54:50and that you say was a passenger steamer was the Titanic?
0:55:05 > 0:55:08Most decidedly...
0:55:08 > 0:55:09I do.
0:55:10 > 0:55:14CLAMOUR OF VOICES
0:55:27 > 0:55:31So that is British justice, is it?
0:55:31 > 0:55:33I demand to appeal.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36I'm afraid you don't have the right to appeal.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38You're merely a witness.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41You'd have to get the inquiry reopened,
0:55:41 > 0:55:45and I don't think anyone wants to do THAT, do you?
0:55:45 > 0:55:47So they can blacken my name forever?
0:55:47 > 0:55:49These men, who have never even been to sea -
0:55:49 > 0:55:51they can tarnish my reputation?
0:55:53 > 0:55:56We haven't heard the findings of the inquiry yet.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00Perhaps you fret prematurely, Captain.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07Every officer and every man of my crew was an Englishman.
0:56:08 > 0:56:13And no Englishman will stand by and see anyone or anything in distress
0:56:13 > 0:56:15without trying to lend assistance.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30- LORD MERSEY: - 'These circumstances convince me...'
0:56:30 > 0:56:36that the ship seen by the Californian was the Titanic.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40When she first saw the rockets,
0:56:40 > 0:56:43the Californian could have pushed through the ice
0:56:43 > 0:56:47into open water without serious risk...
0:56:48 > 0:56:52..and so have come to the assistance of the Titanic.
0:56:52 > 0:56:57Had she done so, she might have saved many -
0:56:57 > 0:57:01if not all - of the 1,500 lives that were lost.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13'Captain Lord was blamed for failing to help the Titanic,
0:57:13 > 0:57:15'and was sacked as captain.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19'However, he managed to obtain a new command straight away
0:57:19 > 0:57:22'and retired comfortably in 1927.
0:57:23 > 0:57:26'Lord publicly blamed Stone for failing to tell him
0:57:26 > 0:57:29'that the rockets he had seen were distress rockets.
0:57:32 > 0:57:36'Herbert Stone was never seen fit to have command of a ship.
0:57:36 > 0:57:39'Tormented by guilt, he left the Merchant Navy
0:57:39 > 0:57:42'and ended his days as a dock labourer.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44'He died in poverty.
0:57:47 > 0:57:52'James Gibson had a successful career spanning 46 years
0:57:52 > 0:57:53'and made second mate.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00'Charles Groves eventually was promoted to captain
0:58:00 > 0:58:03'and served with distinction in both World Wars.
0:58:08 > 0:58:12'A century later, it has never been definitively proven
0:58:12 > 0:58:16'whether the ship sighted from the deck of the Californian WAS the Titanic,
0:58:16 > 0:58:19'but many experts believe that it was.
0:58:20 > 0:58:22'If it was the Titanic,
0:58:22 > 0:58:25'the reason why the Californian did not go to her
0:58:25 > 0:58:27'remains a mystery to this day.
0:58:28 > 0:58:32'Over 1,500 people lost their lives that night.'
0:58:54 > 0:58:57Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd