Harry Oliver

http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/harry-oliver....

Name:

Mr Harry Oliver

• Titanic Survivor
• Born: Sunday 19th March 1871 in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, England
• Age: 41 years and 27 days (Male)
• Last Residence: at 15 Nichols Road in Southampton Hampshire England
• Occupation: Fireman / Stoker
• Last Ship: "Olympic"
• Engineering crew
• First Embarked: Southampton on Saturday 6th April 1912
• Rescued: (Boat 9)
• Disembarked Carpathia: New York City on Thursday 18th April 1912
• Died: Friday 17th March 1944 aged 72 years
• Buried: St. Mary Extra Cemetery, Southampton, Hampshire, England
• 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 H. Oliver, of 15 Nichols Road, Southampton, survived the sinking.

• References United States Senate, Washington 1912. n° 806, Crew List
• Reference https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/harry-olivers-account-of-the-... Harry Oliver's Account of the Sinking
• 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, 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.

Acknowledgements Bill Wormstedt, USA