Ronald Ferguson,
senior Marconi operator, Empress of Ireland,
Sworn.
By Mr. Aspinall:
3508. Mr. Ferguson, you were the senior Marconi operator on board the Empress of Ireland?
- Yes.
3509. And you had a colleague?
- I had an assistant, Mr. Bamford.
3510. I believe he luckily was saved as well as you?
- Yes, we were both saved.
3511. Where were you housed on the Empress of Ireland?
- On the upper boat deck, after the second funnel.
3512. Is that the room in which you operate?
- Yes.
3513. And also the room in which you live?
- We have two rooms, a living-room and an operating-room with a passageway between.
3514. Do you remember the collision happening?
- Yes, I was in my bunk at that time.
3515. You were in your bunk at the time of the collision?
- Yes.
3516. Awake?
- Yes, I had turned in five minutes previously.
3517. And was the machine at the time in charge of Mr. Bamford?
- It was.
351S. Did you feel the collision?
- Yes, I was up when the collision actually happened. I got up as soon as I heard the whistles on the Storstad.
3519. And what did you do?
- I was looking out through the port in my cabin, which was on the port side. I was looking to see if I could see the ship that I heard whistling and I felt the engines going astern, and I shouted through to my junior that she was clearing out of the road of something, and after a short while, whilst I was still looking through the port, he shouted ‘Here she is ’. . . . that was after she had struck.
3520. And where was she?
- On the starboard side.
3521. You were looking out of the port side and could see nothing, and you heard your junior shout ‘Here she is,’ on the starboard side?
- Yes, after she had struck.
3522. And she hit you on the starboard side?
- I went to the starboard side into our operating cabin and saw the lights passing.
3523. What did you do?
- I immediately took up the phone, which Mr. Bamford had put down to look at the ship passing, and called up all stations, and told them to stand by for a distress signal which I expected to be sent from the bridge. That, of course, would stop anything at the time, so that I would have a clear way to get any assistance possible. In reply I received a message from Father Point saying ‘O.K. here we are.’ Meanwhile, I told Mr. Bamford to get me some clothes, as I was in my pyjamas of course, and he brought me those clothes, and I told him to run along the bridge and ask if I was to call distress signals, S.O.S. to call for assistance, and then I put on my clothes and I saw the chief officer’s head passing the window
I was looking out of course, and I went out and met him at the door and I asked him if I was to call S.O.S. and he said I was, because she was sinking. So I went and took up the phones and called S.O.S. saying that we had struck something and were sinking fast, that the ship was listing terribly. I sent it out very slowly, because I knew that at that time there would be no senior operators on watch, so I sent it very slowly to give the junior operators a chance to understand. Father Point replied saying ‘O. K.’ and asking where we were. I thought a minute for no one had told me the position, but I remembered them putting down the pilot, and I said we were about twenty miles past Rimouski. He then said: ‘Twenty miles,’ wanting me to confirm it, to show that he had it right, and while I was saying yes, the power shut right off, and my handle went back and I was left without any power, and the lights went out too.
By this time I was standing with one foot on the bulkhead and one on the floor, she had listed so terribly, and of course all my papers and books were strewn all over. Then I went out on the deck and was holding on to the rail, and was shouting through my hands as a megaphone that there were plenty of ships coming, I saw Mr. Jones the first officer and the second officer, and others, attending to the boats, and the chief officer came alongside and said: ‘What’s that?’ and I told him . . . . I repeated to him that we would have assistance in less than an hour, and he said to clear to my boat. Then I went back into the cabin to work my emergency to see if I could get another call in. I omitted to mention that Father Point said he was sending the Eureka in reply to my calls, and also the Lady Evelyn. I got that after my power was shut off. As I was saying, a few minutes ago, I went to get the emergency gear in working order, and the first thing I knew the drawer had come out from under the desk and it hit me, and the emergency gear could not be used, the accumulators burst, and the ship was lying on her side practically by this time, and I went outside and got hold of a deck chair, that was lying there and intended to jump for it, for I had no belt, and then she gave a sudden lurch and jerked me into the water. But previous to this, I had heard a terrible clattering of all the boats from the port side crashing across the deck to the starboard side. I landed in the water and was there about a quarter of an hour possibly, it seemed a long time to me, and I was picked up by one of our boats running into me, and I caught hold of the gunwale, and eventually managed to get into the boat.
By Lord Mersey:
3524. You say you put on what clothing?
- A pair of trousers, a jacket, and a pair of shoes which my junior had brought to me, and my overcoat was hanging up in the room and I put that on too.
3525. Which you got rid of, of course?
- I got rid of those in the water.
3526. Wouldn’t you have been better with only your pyjamas?
- I certainly would. When I put them on I had no intention of going into the water, my Lord.
3527. You would have been better if you had not?
- I wish I had not, because it stopped me getting into the boat when I first attempted to do so.
By Mr. Aspinall:
Mr. Bamford the junior operator is here, but I don’t propose to call him, he can add nothing to your 'statement.
3528. Did he give you every assistance?
- Yes, sir, he did.
By Mr. Haight:
3529. Mr. Ferguson, as I understood you, you got out of your bunk when you heard the Storstad blowing her whistle, and before the vessels collided?
- I did.
3530. What whistles did you hear?
- I heard one whistle. I cannot say if it was a long blast from her.
3531. You only heard her blow once?
- Yes.
3532. And when you got out of your bunk and looked for the Storstad in the fog I understood you to say that you then felt your engines going astern?
- No, I felt them going astern when I got out of my bunk.
3533. Do you know how long they had been going astern before you got out of your bunk?
- No, I cannot remember at all coherently, I can remember the facts.
3534. You had noticed the astern vibration before that?
- I don’t remember that, I remember my feeling the vibration, but I cannot place it in order.
3535. Now, when you first looked out you looked to the port side?
- I looked through the port on the port side.
3536. Did you see the Storstad?
- I saw it but not until after the jar, the lights were passing astern then.
3537. Was the jar forward of your room or aft as the point of contact?
- It must have been forward because the lights were passing aft at the time.
3538. As soon as you felt the jar of the collision you went to the starboard side?
- There is a passage way that leads behind a kind of funnel that comes up from the cabins down below and this separates the two rooms, with an alleyway alongside.
3539. But it was only a matter of a few seconds before you got to the starboard side after the collision?
- Just a second of course.
3540. How much of a jar was there?
- Practically nothing.
3541. And when you got to the starboard side you then saw the Storstad going astern?
- Yes, that is right.
3542. How far had she got on your starboard side, abreast of your room or aft?
- She must have been abreast because I did not look close to the window. I just saw her as she came by the window.
3543. Hid you see the lights of her?
- That is all I did see.
3544. Did you see any coloured lights?
- No, I did not.
3545. Did you see the Storstad enough to know how she was heading at the time she went by?
- I never saw the way she was heading. I just saw a blaze of lights passing the window. I saw them as I was picking up the phone.
3546. When you got on deck did you see the Storstad?
- No, I saw nothing but the people on the deck, except when I was in the boat of course.
3547. From the time you stepped out of your bunk up to the time of the collision how much time approximately elapsed?
- I could not tell you.
3548. Was it under a minute? Was it a matter of seconds?
- I could not comprehend a minute at the time but it certainly was not long.
3549. You just had time to slip on your gown and go to the port side?
- I was looking out from the port side and saw nothing. I cannot say how long I was looking there until Mr. Bamford shouted and said ‘Here she is’ after she had bumped. He must have seen her just as she was banging.
By Mr. Newcombe:
3550. There is a question framed here which I wish to ask you now. What installations for receiving and transmitting messages by wireless telegraphy were on the Empress of Ireland?
- Marconi, standard, one and a half killowat installation, with a complete emergency gear.
3551. You have stated that there were two operators?
- Yes, both with first-class British Government certificates.
3552. And they would be in attendance upon the transmitters and apparatus continuously?
- Yes, we keep six hours' watch, six on and six off.
3553. Were these installations in good and effective working order at the time?
- In perfect working order all the time.
3554. Is the number of operators quite sufficient to attend to the apparatus?
- Yes, the same as supplied on every ship, even the largest ship.
3555. None of the ships carry more than two?
- No, none of the British ships.
3556. So that the arrangements were satisfactory for communicating messages at any time, day or night?
- Oh, absolutely, yes.
Lord Mersey:
Is there any other witness you can conveniently dispose of to-night, Mr. Aspinall?
Mr. Aspinall:
No, my Lord.
By Lord Mersey:
3557. Where is that gentleman, the Marconi operator. Will you come back one moment? Did you hear any crash or tearing as the Storstad passed you?
- No, I did not, my Lord.
35fi8. Was there a great deal of noise?
- No, not that I noticed, my Lord.