A Night to Remember

by Walter Lord

So much for the basic facts. Beyond these, much is a mystery. Probably nothing will ever equal the Titanic for the number of unanswered questions she left behind. For instance— How many lives were lost? Some sources say 1,635 … the American Inquiry, 1,517 … the British Board of Trade, 1,503 … the British Enquiry, 1,490. The British Board of Trade figure seems most convincing, less Fireman J. Coffy, who deserted at Queenstown. How did various people leave the ship? Nearly every woman survivor who was asked replied firmly, “In the last boat.” Obviously, all these women didn’t go in the same boat, yet to question the point is like questioning a lady’s age—one simply doesn’t do it. Careful sifting of the testimony at the British and American hearings shows pretty clearly how the ship was abandoned, but even here there’s conflicting evidence.

In short, about 70 percent more men and 45 percent fewer women went in the boats than even the most conservative survivors estimated. Plus the fact that the boats pulled away with 25 percent fewer people than estimated.

What did the band play? The legend is, of course, that the band went down playing “Nearer My God to Thee.” Many survivors still insist this was so, and there’s no reason to doubt their sincerity. Others maintain the band played only ragtime. One man says he clearly remembers the band in its last moments, and they were not playing at all. In this maze of conflicting evidence, Junior Wireless Operator Harold Bride’s story somehow stands out. He was a trained observer, meticulously accurate, and on board to the last. He clearly recalled that, as the Boat Deck dipped under, the band was playing the Episcopal hymn “Autumn.”

In the search for bigger game, no one bothered about Third Class passenger Daniel Buckley, who freely acknowledged that he wore a woman’s shawl over his head. He was only a poor, frightened Irish lad, and nobody was interested.