Robert Hichens (seaman)

Robert Hichens (before 1919)

Robert Hichens (born September 16, 1882 in Newlyn , Cornwall , England , † September 23, 1940 at sea ) was a British seaman. As " Quartermaster " he was helmsman of the RMS Titanic when it collided with an iceberg on April 14, 1912 on its maiden voyage and went down two hours and 40 minutes later.

Life

Hichens comes from a fishing family from Newlyn in the county of Cornwall. He was the eldest of eight children of Philip Hichens and Rebecca Hichens (née Wood). As quartermaster he served on various mail ships of the Union-Castle Line and the British India Steam Navigation Company . Shortly before joining the RMS Titanic , he served on the troop ship Dongola , which shuttled between Britain and Bombay . During the First World War he was a reservist in the Royal Navy . In 1937 Hichens hired on the merchant ship English Trader , on which he died in 1940 as a result of a heart attack .

Titanic

Robert Hichens was hired as one of six quartermasters on April 6, 1912 on the Titanic . On April 14, 1912, at 10:00 p.m., he replaced Quartermaster Alfred Olliver as helmsman. At about 11.40 p.m. the Titanic was on a collision course with an iceberg. Since the two officers who were on the bridge at that time did not survive the sinking, Hichens was an important witness in the subsequent investigation of the events. He proved that it was Sixth Officer James P. Moody who received the warning message "Iceberg directly ahead!" From the crow's nest and passed it on to First Officer William M. Murdoch . This is said to have instructed Hichens with the helm command “hard to starboard” to turn to port. However, the collision could no longer be prevented.

Around 0.23 a.m., Hichens was relieved of quartermaster Walter John Perkins to take command of lifeboat No. 6, which left the Titanic at around 0.55 a.m. and was only about a third manned. Also on board was the lookout Frederick Fleet , who first saw the iceberg and reported it to the bridge. Although later during the investigations the processes in this boat were given special attention, it is more likely to be attributed to the realm of legends that the first-class passenger Molly Brown took the lead and Hichens threatened to throw him, Fleet, overboard than this tried to regain command.

On April 24, he testified before the US Senate Commission of Inquiry and returned to Great Britain on May 4, 1912 on board the Celtic . On May 7, he was a witness before the British Commission of Inquiry into which Hichens had to endure 492 questions.

media

Paul Brightwell played his role in the 1997 film adaptation of the Titanic . Here again he threatens to throw Molly Brown overboard.

literature

• Stephen Spignesi: Titanic - The ship that never sank. Chronicle of a legend of the century . Goldmann-Verlag, ISBN 3-442-15068-X .

Web links

• Robert Hichens in the Encyclopedia Titanica