Benoît Picard

http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/berk-pickard....

Mr. Benoît Picard

• Name: Mr. Berk Trembiskey, assumed name: Benoît Picard
• Titanic Survivor
• Born: Wednesday 27th November 1878 in Warszawa, Russian Empire (Modern Warsaw, Poland)
• Age: 33 years 4 months and 18 days (Male)
• Last Residence: in London, England
• Nationality: Russian, Ethnic Pole
• Marital Status: Single
• Occupation: Leather Worker
• 3rd Class passenger
• First Embarked: Southampton on Wednesday 10th April 1912
• Ticket No. 392078 , £8 1s
• Cabin No.: F-10 (?)
• Destination: San Francisco, California, United States
• Rescued (Boat 9)
• Disembarked Carpathia: New York City on Thursday 18th April 1912
• Died: Sunday 25th May 1941 aged 62 years
• Buried: Holy Cross Roman Catholic Cemetery, Colma, California, United States
• Reference: https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-deckplans/ deck plans of R.M.S. Titanic
• Reference: https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-lifeboat-9/ Life Boat No. 9

Mr. Benoît Picard, 32, was born in Warsaw as Berk Trembisky. He stated at the Senate hearings that he had for many years lived in France and assumed the French name, Picard. At the time of the sailing, Mr Picard was living in London, and working as a leather worker.

He boarded Titanic at Southampton as a third-class passenger. His cabin was No. 10 in the third-class section, possibly on F-deck. He first knew of the collision when it happened. He had been asleep when he felt a shock. The shock was not very big but Picard and his roommates felt something was wrong, jumped out of bed, dressed, and went out. Later, when they attempted to return for their belongings, they found they could not return, as the stewards would not allow them back. The stewards sent them forward on to the Boat Deck.

Benoît split away from the group he had been with and sought to make his way to the highest deck. He found his way to a door separating third and second-class. Finding it open, Berk made his way into the second-class section, where he could find no people, so he climbed a ladder into the first-class section. Coming to the boat deck, Benoît found them loading the lifeboats. As no women were around the boat (passenger side) he was near, he, and several other men, climbed into the boat (#9).

In the lifeboat, Benoît had a conversation with one of the seamen, where he remarked, "I would rather be on the ship." The seaman laughed at him, and he said, "Do you not see we are sinking?" Benoît recalled, "I was rather excited, and I said, "It is fortunate that the sea is nice, but perhaps in five minutes we will be turned over."

Inquiry Testimony (Courtesy of the Titanic Inquiry Project) Senate Hearings, 4 May 1912, Testimony References United States Senate (62nd Congress), Subcommittee Hearings of the Committee on Commerce, Titanic Disaster, Washington 1912

Contributors Rob Ottmers, USA

Notes aka Berk Trembisky

• Reference: Full text- https://archive.org/details/truthabouttitani00grac/page/n6 "The Truth About the Titanic" by Colonel Archibald Gracie, IV 1913 pp. 279-284

BOAT NO. 9*

fifth boat lowered on starboard side, 1.20 (Br. Rpt., p. 38),

Brice, A. B. (Am. Inq., p. 648) and Wheate, Ass't. 2nd Steward (Br. Inq.), say No. 9 was filled from A Deck with women and children only.

No disorder when this boat was loaded and lowered.

Passengers: Mesdames Aubert and maid (Mile Segesser), Futrelle (Mrs. Lily May Futrelle is listed in Englehardt Boat D. Col. Gracie may have been in error.), Lines; Miss Lines, and second and third-class.

Men: Two or three.

Said good-bye to wife and sank with ship: Mr. Futrelle.

Crew: Seamen: Haines (in charge), Wynne, Q. M., McGough, Peters; Stewards Ward, Widgery and others.

Total: 56.

INCIDENTS

A. Haines, boatswain's mate (Am. Inq., 755) :

Officer Murdoch and witness filled boat 9 with ladies. None of the men passengers tried to get into the boats. Officer Murdoch told them to Stand back. There was one woman who refused to get in because she was afraid. When there were no more women forthcoming the boat was full, when two or three men jumped into the bow. There were two sailors, three or four stewards, three or four firemen and two or three men passengers. No. 9 was lowered from the Boat Deck with sixty-three people in the boat and lowered all right. Officer Murdoch put the witness In charge and ordered him to row off and keep clear of the ship. When we saw it going down by the head he pulled further away for the safety of the people In the boat: about lOO yards away at first. Cries were heard after the ship went down. He consulted with the sailors about going back and concluded with so many in the boat it was unsafe to do so. There was no compass in the boat, but he had a little pocket lamp. On Monday morning he saw from thirty to fifty icebergs and a big field of ice miles long and large bergs and "growlers, the largest from eighty to one hundred feet high.

W. Wynne, Q. M. (Br. Inq.) :

Officer Murdoch ordered witness Into boat No. 9. He assisted the ladles and took an oar. He says there were fifty-six all told in the boat, forty- two of whom were women. He saw the light of a steamer — a red light first, and then a white one — about seven or eight miles away. After an interval both lights disappeared. Ten or fifteen minutes afterwards he saw a white light again in the same direction. There was no lamp or compass in the boat.

W. Ward, steward (Am. Inq., 595) :

Witness assisted in taking the canvas cover off of boat No. 9 and lowered it to the level of the Boat Deck.*

Officer Murdoch, Purser McElroy and Mr. Ismay were near this boat when being loaded. A sailor came along with a bag and threw it into the boat. He said he had been sent to take charge of it by the captain. The boatswain's mate, Haines, was there and ordered him out. He got out. Either Purser McElroy or Officer Murdoch said: "Pass the women and children that are here into that boat." There were several men standing around and they fell back. There were quite a quantity of women but he could not say how many were helped into the boat. There were no children. One old lady made a great fuss and absolutely refused to enter the boat. She went back to the companionway and forced her way in and would not get into the boat. One woman, a French lady, fell and hurt herself a little. Purser McElroy ordered two more men into the boat to assist the women. When No. 9 was being lowered the first listing of the ship was noticeable.

From the rail to the boat was quite a distance to step down to the bottom of it, and in the dark the women could not see where they were stepping. Purser McElroy told witness to get into the boat to assist the women. Women were called for, but none came along and none were seen on deck at the time. Three or four men were then taken into the boat until the officers thought there were sufficient to lower away with safety.

No. 9 was lowered into the water before No. II. There was some difficulty in unlashing the oars because for some time no one had a knife. There were four men who rowed all night, but there were some of them in the boat who had never been to sea before and did not know the first thing about an oar, or the bow from the stern. Haines gave orders to pull away. When 200 yards off, rowing was stopped for about an hour. Haines was afraid of suction and we pulled away to about a quarter of a mile from the ship. The ship went down very gradually for a while by the head. We could just see the ports as she dipped. She gave a kind of a sudden lurch forward. He heard a couple of reports like a volley of musketry; not like an explosion at all. His boat was too full and it would have been madness to have gone back. He thinks No. 9 was the fourth or fifth boat picked up by the Carpathia. There was quite a big lot of field ice and several large icebergs in amongst the field; also two or three separated from the main body of the field.

J. Widgery, bath steward (Am. Inq., 602) : Witness says that all passengers were out of their cabins on deck before he went up.

When he got to the Boat Deck No. 7 was about to be lowered, but the purser sent him to No. 9. The canvas had been taken off and he helped lower the boat. Purser McElroy ordered him into the boat to help the boatswain's mate pass in women. Women were called for. An elderly lady came along. She was frightened. The boatswain's mate and himself assisted her, but she pulled away and went back to the door (of the companionway) and downstairs. Just before they left the ship the officer gave the order to Haines to keep about 100 yards off. The boat was full as it started to lower away. When they got to the water he was the only one that had a knife to cut loose the oars. He says that the balance of his testimony would be the same as that of Mr. Ward, the previous witness.