George Alfred Hogg
28 years old, RMS Titanic, Lookout/Watchman, Survivor
After the accident,
my shipmate, Evans, and I reported to the crow’s nest at midnight
to relieve lookouts Fleet and Lee.
Our shift had just begun when we noticed passengers wearing lifejackets.
I telephoned the bridge to ask if we were still needed in the nest.
Nobody answered.
Evans and I decided to abandon our post
and we rushed to the boat deck to help uncover the lifeboats.
At boat No. 6, on Port side,
the boatswain immediately sent me to fetch a rope ladder.
Upon my return, as I hurried past Lifeboat No. 7 on Starboard,
First Officer Murdoch called for my assistance.
“See that those plugs are in that boat,” he said.
Dropping the rope ladder, I bounded into the empty craft and set the drain plugs right.
As I leaped back onto the deck,
Murdoch ordered me back in to help load passengers.
Twenty-eight women and men from first-class entered.
Officers Murdoch and Harold Lowe urged others passengers to follow,
but they felt safer aboard Titanic.
Sailors lowered our boat and we shoved away from the ship.
Taking command of the skiff,
I asked a lady if she was able to steer and she assured me she could,
so I gave her my seat at the rudder and I took the stroke oar and pulled.
After the ship dove under,
we circled back toward the wreckage.
Another boat pulled us over, and the men stated,
“We have done all in our power and we cannot do anymore.”
We turned around and rowed away at least a quarter mile.
We met another boat with at least seventy passengers aboard.
Tying our boats together, we transferred some of the people into ours.
There were four ladies and a baby,
and I requested a gentleman to help us with the oar-pulling.
It was icy cold, and our arms were heavy with exhaustion.
We stayed off the oars and tried to keep warm.
Then around 4 o’clock in the morning,
we caught a glimpse of our rescuer’s lights.
“It’s alright now, ladies,” I said. “Do not grieve. We are picked up.”
NOTE: A ship’s watchmen were its eyes. Titanic had six lookouts. Each pair worked a two-hour shift every four hours. They were stationed in the crow’s nest high above the forecastle deck. Lookouts were Frederick Fleet and Reginal Lee, Archie Jewell and George Symons, and Alfred Evans and George Hogg. Frederick Fleet and Reginal Lee were on duty at the time Titanic struck an iceberg, at 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912, during its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York. All six lookouts survived.
28 years old, RMS Titanic, Lookout/Watchman, Survivor
After the accident,
my shipmate, Evans, and I reported to the crow’s nest at midnight
to relieve lookouts Fleet and Lee.
Our shift had just begun when we noticed passengers wearing lifejackets.
I telephoned the bridge to ask if we were still needed in the nest.
Nobody answered.
Evans and I decided to abandon our post
and we rushed to the boat deck to help uncover the lifeboats.
At boat No. 6, on Port side,
the boatswain immediately sent me to fetch a rope ladder.
Upon my return, as I hurried past Lifeboat No. 7 on Starboard,
First Officer Murdoch called for my assistance.
“See that those plugs are in that boat,” he said.
Dropping the rope ladder, I bounded into the empty craft and set the drain plugs right.
As I leaped back onto the deck,
Murdoch ordered me back in to help load passengers.
Twenty-eight women and men from first-class entered.
Officers Murdoch and Harold Lowe urged others passengers to follow,
but they felt safer aboard Titanic.
Sailors lowered our boat and we shoved away from the ship.
Taking command of the skiff,
I asked a lady if she was able to steer and she assured me she could,
so I gave her my seat at the rudder and I took the stroke oar and pulled.
After the ship dove under,
we circled back toward the wreckage.
Another boat pulled us over, and the men stated,
“We have done all in our power and we cannot do anymore.”
We turned around and rowed away at least a quarter mile.
We met another boat with at least seventy passengers aboard.
Tying our boats together, we transferred some of the people into ours.
There were four ladies and a baby,
and I requested a gentleman to help us with the oar-pulling.
It was icy cold, and our arms were heavy with exhaustion.
We stayed off the oars and tried to keep warm.
Then around 4 o’clock in the morning,
we caught a glimpse of our rescuer’s lights.
“It’s alright now, ladies,” I said. “Do not grieve. We are picked up.”
NOTE: A ship’s watchmen were its eyes. Titanic had six lookouts. Each pair worked a two-hour shift every four hours. They were stationed in the crow’s nest high above the forecastle deck. Lookouts were Frederick Fleet and Reginal Lee, Archie Jewell and George Symons, and Alfred Evans and George Hogg. Frederick Fleet and Reginal Lee were on duty at the time Titanic struck an iceberg, at 11:40 p.m. on April 14, 1912, during its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York. All six lookouts survived.
