Faces of the Titanic: Daniel Buckley was saved after a woman hid him in a lifeboat

Woman threw her cloak of the 21-year-old as other men were turned away from the boats

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Daniel Buckley survived the Titanic

Photo by Mercier Press

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I got my clothes on as quick as I could, and the three other fellows got out. The room
was very small, so I got out, to give them room to dress themselves. Two sailors came along, and they were shouting: ‘All up on deck! Unless you want to get drowned.’

When I heard this, I went for the deck as quick as I could. When I got up on the
deck I saw everyone having those lifebelts on only myself; so I got sorry, and said I would go back again where I was sleeping and get one of those life preservers; because there was one there for each person.

I went back again, and just as I was going down the last flight of stairs the water was
up four steps, and dashing up. I did not go back into the room, because I could not. When I went back toward the room the water was coming up three steps up the stairs, or four steps; so I did not go any farther. I went back on the deck again, and just as I got there, I was looking around to see if I could get any of those lifebelts, and I met a First-Class passenger, and he had two. He gave me one, and fixed it on me.

Then the lifeboats were preparing. There were five lifeboats sent out. I was in the sixth. I was holding the ropes all the time, helping to let down the five lifeboats that went down first, as well as I could.

When the sixth lifeboat was prepared, there was a big crowd of men standing on the
deck. And they all jumped in. So I said I would take my chance with them.

Who were they?

Passengers and sailors and firemen, mixed. There were no ladies there at the same time. When they jumped, I said I would go too. I went into the boat. Then two officers came along and said all of the men could come out. And they brought a lot of steerage passengers with them; and they were mixed, in every way, ladies and gentlemen. And they said all the men could get out and let the ladies in. But six men were left in the boat. I think they were firemen and sailors.

I was crying. There was a woman in the boat and she had thrown her shawl over me,
and she told me to stay in there. I believe she was Mrs Astor. Then they did not see me, and the boat was lowered down into the water, and we rowed away from the steamer.

The men that were in the boat at first fought, and would not get out, but the officers
drew their revolvers, and fired shots over our heads, and then the men got out. When the boat was ready, we were lowered down into the water and rowed away from the steamer. We were only about 15 minutes out when she sank.

What else happened?

One of the firemen that was working on the Titanic told me, when I got on board the
Carpathia and he was speaking to me, that he did not think it was any iceberg; that it was only that they wanted to make a record, and they ran too much steam and the boilers bursted. That is what he said.

We sighted the lights of the big steamer, the Carpathia. All the women got into a
terrible commotion and jumped around. They were hallooing and the sailors were trying to keep them sitting down, and they would not do it. They were standing up all the time.

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