Herbert Pitman
Herbert John "Bert" Pitman (born November 20, 1877 in Sutton Montis , Somerset , England , † December 7, 1961 in Pitcombe , Somerset, England) was the third officer of the RMS Titanic . He was the second most senior officer to survive the downfall.
Career
Pitman was born in the village of Sutton Montis, near Castle Cary . He was the third child of Henry Pitman and his wife, Sahra Marchet Pitman. After Henry's death in 1880, Sahra married Charles Candy.
Pitman joined the Merchant Navy in 1895 at the age of 18. In 1906 he switched to the White Star Line . There he served on the Majestic and the Oceanic before joining the Titanic .
Titanic
When the Titanic collided with an iceberg on April 14, 1912 at 11:40 p.m., Pitman was off duty and was informed of the accident by fourth officer Joseph Boxhall in his cabin. Then he helped clear the lifeboats . He, together with First Officer William M. Murdoch, ordered the evacuation on the starboard side when he received the order from Murdoch at about 0:50 a.m. to fill lifeboat No. 5 and to manned it himself. In the boat, which was lowered by fifth officer Harold Lowe at 12:55 a.m., there were only 45 people, 65 would have had space in it.
When the Titanic went under, Pitman checked his watch and announced the exact time at 2:20 a.m. His plan to return to the place of the sinking in order to search for possible survivors met with violent opposition from the passengers, who feared that the boat would capsize. The lifeboat was finally picked up by the RMS Carpathia .
Another life and death
After he was questioned during the subsequent investigations into the sinking, Pitman continued to sea, among other things as an officer on the RMS Olympic , one of the two sister ships of the Titanic . In 1922 he married Mildred Kalman from New Zealand . As his eyesight deteriorated over time, he later switched to the position of Purser for many years . In this capacity he also served on the Mataroa during World War II .
In 1946 he finally retired and received the Member of the British Empire award for “long and meritorious service at sea and in dangerous waters during the war”.
In 1961 Herbert Pitman died of a stroke at the age of 84 .
media
In the 1997 film adaptation of the Titanic , Pitman was played by Kevin de la Noy , but his role only appeared marginally there.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pitman, Herbert |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Pitman, Herbert John (full name); Pitman, Bert |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British seaman, third officer on the RMS Titanic |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 20, 1877 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Sutton Montis , Somerset , England |
| DATE OF DEATH | 7th December 1961 |
| Place of death | Pitcombe , Somerset , England |