Herbert Pitman

Herbert John "Bert" Pitman

Pitman, left, with Second Officer Charles Lightoller
Born (1877-11-20)20 November 1877
Sutton Montis, Somerset, England, UK
Died 7 December 1961(1961-12-07) (aged 84)
Pitcombe, Somerset, England, UK
Occupation Third Officer on board the boat of RMS Titanic

Herbert John "Bert" Pitman MBE (20 November 1877 – 7 December 1961) was the Third Officer on board the RMS Titanic. He was the second to last surviving officer of the Titanic.

Early life and career

Pitman was born in the village of Sutton Montis near Castle Cary, Somerset, England. He was the son of farmer Henry Pitman and Sarah (née Marchant) Pitman. After his father's death in 1880, his mother remarried, to Charles Candy. In 1881, a census shows Herbert Pitman was living on a 112 acres (0.45 km2) farm on Sutton Road with his brother, sister, and widowed mother. He first went to sea in 1895 at the age of 18 by joining the merchant navy. He received the shore part of his nautical training in the navigation department of the Merchant Venturers' Technical College, under Mr E. F. White, and qualified as a master mariner in August 1906. He served a four-year apprenticeship with James Nourse Ltd. followed by five years as a deck officer. From 1904, he served one year as a deck officer with the Blue Anchor Line before moving to the Shire Line, where he served for six months. He moved to the White Star Line in 1906. While with White Star, he served as Fourth, Third and second officer on the vessels Dolphin and Majestic and as Fourth Officer on the Oceanic.

Titanic

Like the other junior officers, Pitman received a telegram early in 1912 directing him to report to White Star's Liverpool office at nine in the morning on 26 March of that year. There he collected his ticket for Belfast; he arrived there at noon the following day and reported to (then) Chief Officer William Murdoch. As the Titanic departed Southampton on 10 April, Pitman was assisting (now First) Officer Murdoch at the stern of the ship in supervising the casting-off of mooring ropes and taking on of tug lines. While the Titanic was at sea, Pitman's duties included working out celestial observation and compass deviation, general supervision of the decks, looking to the quartermasters, and relieving the bridge officers when necessary.

At the time of the Titanic's collision with the iceberg, Pitman was off-duty, half-sleeping in his bunk in the Officers' Quarters. He heard and felt the collision, later testifying that it felt like the ship "coming to an anchor." He was dressing for his watch when Fourth Officer Boxhall rushed in and informed him they had struck an iceberg and were taking on water. Pitman was then ordered to report to the starboard side of the ship to assist in uncovering lifeboats. After receiving the command to lower the boats, Murdoch ordered Pitman to take charge of lifeboat No. 5. Before Pitman entered the lifeboat, Officer Murdoch shook his hand saying, "Goodbye; good luck." Even then, Pitman did not himself believe that the Titanic was really going to sink. Pitman stepped into the lifeboat and it was lowered to the water. Murdoch had ordered Pitman to take the lightly loaded lifeboat to the gangway doors to take on more passengers, but Pitman later testified that the doors were not opened as the boat waited about 100 yards away.[1]

Up to this point, Pitman had expected the ship to remain afloat. After an hour in the lifeboat, however, he realised that Titanic was doomed. He watched her sink from about 400 yards away, and was one of the few to claim that she sank in one piece. As the stern slipped under water, he looked at his watch and announced, "It's 2.20," to his fellow lifeboat passengers. Hearing the screams of those in the water, Pitman immediately decided to row back and rescue whomever he could. However, the others in his lifeboat were fearful of being mobbed and capsized, and Pitman eventually remanded his order, although later in life he would admit to tremendous guilt for doing so. He was rescued by the RMS Carpathia along with the other survivors, arriving at Pier 54 in New York on 18 April. While in New York, he served as a witness in the American inquiry into the sinking. He and his fellow surviving officers were allowed to leave New York on the Adriatic on 2 May. After returning to England, he served as a witness for a second time, this time for the British inquiry.

Later years

Pitman continued to serve with the White Star Line following the Titanic disaster. He served on the liners RMS Oceanic and Titanic's older sister Olympic, later moving from deck officer to purser because of his failing eyesight. In the early 1920s, he moved from White Star to Shaw, Savill and Albion Company Ltd. and also took a wife in 1922 – Mildred "Mimi" Kalman from New Zealand. During the Second World War, he served as purser on board the SS Mataroa, and finally retired in the spring of 1946 after over 60 years at sea. He spent his retirement living in Pitcombe, Somerset, with his niece (his wife having preceded him in death). Pitman died of a subarachnoid haemorrhage on 7 December 1961. He was 84 years old. In April 1998, several items relating to Pitman were sold at auction by Sotheby's.

Media

References

  1. ↑ Pitman H. Testimony, Question 15004 et seq. at British Wreck Commission enquiry transcript

Further reading

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