Murdoch

Richard Edkins mentions Mr. Hugh Woolner as a “key witness.” Titanic historian Don Lynch also refers to Woolner in regard to possibly disproving the suicide myth writing that Woolner “stated that the first officer had only fired into the air to warn off a crowd just before the boat was lowered” (Illustrated History, p.195 (2.)). Woolner’s evidence has already been considered in the chapter entitled Starboard Evacuation and it is abundantly clear that the events he described took place at the loading of collapsible C, not A (refer to the section on collapsible C, especially the quote from A Night to Remember, p.66 (20.) ). This is confirmed in his United States Inquiry evidence when he describes his escape, jumping into collapsible D as it is lowered on the port side. Collapsible D, the last officially launched boat (collapsibles B and A floating away rather than launched) left the ship well before collapsible A. Even so, Woolner is sure that Murdoch was the one who fired his gun into the air during the loading of collapsible C and he does not state anything to disprove allegations of suicide.

Did Not See a Suicide

In addition to those who have defended Murdoch by saying that they did not see him commit suicide, there are also some survivors who were in the general vicinity but who never reported any such incident. For instance, Don Lynch, in his Illustrated History, mentions Nellie Becker, a 36 year-old woman from second class, “who spent each day on the Carpathia discussing the sinking with other survivors, [and] met no one who had actually seen anyone shot” (Illustrated History, p.195). To clarify this, these four accounts are courtesy of Bill Wormstedt’s Shots in the Dark and are quoted directly from his web- site. (12.)

Edward Brown, Steward

“He never mentioned any shooting, but did concede that there was ‘a great scramble’ to get into the boat.”

“Edward Brown was helping cut the aft falls of Collapsible A when the event occurred. He never mentioned any shooting, but did concede that there was ‘a great scramble’ to get into the boat. He never detailed this ‘scramble.’ (testimony from the British Inquiry, excerpted in Archibald Gracie’s book The Truth About the Titanic (43.)) Brown escaped in Collapsible A.”

Gunnar Isidor Tenglin, Third Class passenger

“There was no shooting on our side of the boat, but we heard the sound of shots from the other side”

“Tenglin gave numerous press accounts of his escape including this one from the April 25, 1912 issue of the Burlington Daily Gazette. In this account he claimed to have been near Collapsible A from the time it was brought down from the roof of the officer’s quarters, until the time it floated off the ship. He does not report any shooting at A:

‘We walked along from one lifeboat to another, but officers and crew were keeping the men back and loading the women and children. I noticed a number of boats that had been loaded on the upper deck stop at the second deck to take on women there. In many of these boats were men, but the officers made them get out and give place to the women. The lifeboats all gone, it looked to us as if we were doomed to perish with the ship, when a collapsible lifeboat was discovered. This boat would hold about fifty people and we had considerable trouble getting it loose from its fastenings. The boat was on the second deck and the ship settled the question of its launching as the water suddenly came up over the deck and the boat floated.’

“The same account does mention ‘There was no shooting on our side of the boat, but we heard the sound of shots from the other side’, which could be a reference to Lowe firing shots at No.14… Other accounts Tenglin gave seem to indicate he left in a lifeboat further astern, probably lifeboat No.15.

Jack Thayer, First Class

“Thayer was part of the crowd being pushed back by the water coming over the Boat Deck, and jumped overboard. Like Gracie, he was in the appropriate area of the ship to see or hear gunshots at this time, but he mentions nothing of the kind.”

“Jack Thayer was another who was on the forward starboard Boat Deck as it dipped under. In his 1940 memoirs The Sinking of the S.S. Titanic, he claims to have seen Purser McElroy firing a weapon, but this was a bit earlier, as a lifeboat (Collapsible C?) was being loaded from the forward A Deck. Thayer was part of the crowd being pushed back by the water coming over the Boat Deck, and jumped overboard. Like Gracie, he was in the appropriate area of the ship to see or hear gunshots at this time, but he mentions nothing of the kind. He does mention, however, a ‘rumbling roar, mixed with muffled explosions’, which could cover the sounds of any shots.”

August Weikman, Barber

“Weikman was helping to launch the next boat, Collapsible A, when he was washed off the ship by the rush of water onto the Boat Deck. As such, he was in a position where he could have seen or heard any gunshots, but he never mentioned anything of the kind.”

“After seeing Collapsible C leave the ship with Bruce Ismay, Weikman was helping to launch the next boat, Collapsible A, when he was washed off the ship by the rush of water onto the Boat Deck. As such, he was in a position where he could have seen or heard any gunshots, but he never mentioned anything of the kind. Mr. Weikman submitted an affidavit to the US Inquiry, detailing his experiences the night of the sinking.”