Eyewitness account of the Titanic sinking by Jack Thayer – 17yrs old. Written in 1932.

The spectacle of nearly 1,500 people struggling in the ice-cold waters of the Atlantic, and the steady roar of their voices, which kept up for 15 or 20 minutes, is a memory that does not become dim, even after 20 years. I was one of those who had managed to climb on an overturned lifeboat. I saw the masses of people who had backed steadily toward the stern of the big ship as her nose slowly sank, fall into the ocean as the vessel went up on end and disappeared beneath the water.

Held up perfectly by their life preservers, they were all around us, their massed cries and shouts intermingling with the few distinguishable words and entreaties from those who were nearest to us, and the crashing, as boilers let go and engine parts broke loose while the liner slowly sank. The life boats, only a quarter of a mile away, were afraid to come in for fear the people in the water would swamp them. I was 17, traveling first class with my father and mother. When the ship struck, if one had a brim-full glass of water in hand the shock was so slight not a drop would have been spilled. As soon as I felt the shock and the engines stop, I immediately threw an overcoat on over my pajamas and ran on deck saying "that I was going out to see the fun."

We were then ordered to go back to our cabins and dress fully and put on life preservers. Dressed, we went on deck, my mother, my father and myself, and stood around talking with other passengers for some time. Mr. Ismay and the engineers from Harlan & Wolf [sic], the firm which built the ship, advised us they didn't give the ship more than an hour. In going out the doorway to get to the deck, the crowd pushed between mother and father, who were walking ahead of myself and a friend, Milton C. Long, of New York, who were following, and I never saw my father again. Thinking they had both gone off in a boat, I was not looking for him and stood with Long watching the loading of boats on the starboard side.

There was no disturbance to speak of. The crowd was orderly. All the stokers and all second class and steerage passengers had come to the upper deck. Around the third starboard boat, from the bow, several shots were fired by Purser McElroy who was superintending loading, as one or two of the stewards jumped into the boat as it was being loaded. It was the only disturbance during the whole disaster. All the boats had been lowered by about 1:40 A. M. and pulled away a quarter mile. Two collapsible boats which were unable to be launched until just as the ship sank, remained.

All the women and children had gone off into the boats. Any man was entitled to go into one of the last two or three boats as it was everyone for himself. Long and myself did not press our way into either of the last boats as it did not look as if they would reach the water right side up and we preferred to take our chances with the ship. Long and I stood on the starboard side trying to avoid the crowds. Several times I thought of attempting to jump out to the empty davits, sliding down the ropes into the water and swimming to the unfilled lifeboats I could see a quarter mile away, but Long persuaded me from doing this. I did not realize the temperature of the water was 26 degrees Fahrenheit. Eyewitness account of the Titanic sinking by Jack Thayer – 17yrs old. Written in 1932. The water by this time was up to the crow's nest and the ship was down at the head substantially. Occasionally we heard the noise of a bulkhead breaking. The lights were on and there was a roar of escaping steam. Long and I stood by the rail away from the crowd, about midship, and talked over many things, the ship all this while sinking faster and faster, seeming to move forward in the water as it went down by the head. Long said good-bye to me and slid down the side of the ship. I never saw him again. Shortly afterwards I sat on the rail, pushing myself as far down as I could, and jumped into the water. The suction took me down until I could have stood it very little longer. I came up, swimming desperately. My life preserver sustained me excellently.

I was trying to get away from the ship. I looked back and the second funnel fell and missed me by about ten yards. This funnel, large enough for two automobiles to go through abreast, made a tremendous additional wash and suction. I was drawn down again. As I rose, my hand struck the cork fender of one of the overturned collapsible lifeboats which had been unsuccessfully launched from the ship. There were about three or four men on that boat whom I afterwards found out were a wireless operator, Second Officer Lightoller and I believe either [the] Chief Engineer or Captain Smith.

I pulled myself up onto the boat aided by the other men. In all we helped 28 onto the boat, which we were on the remainder of the night. The Titanic in the meanwhile seemed to hang and with the roar of boilers and engines breaking loose in the hold slipping to the forward part of the ship the stern bulkheads held and the ship, pivoting and moving in an almost perpendicular position, was sticking up in the air almost 300 feet.The ship then corkscrewed around so that the propeller, rudder and all seemed to go right over the heads of us on the upturned boat. Of course the lights now were all out. The ship seemed to hang in this position for minutes. Then with a dive and final plunge, the Titanic went under the water with very little apparent suction or noise.