Frederick Barrett
| Frederick Barrett | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Frederick Barrett 1884 Liverpool, England |
| Died | unknown |
| Residence | Southampton, England |
| Other names | Frederick William Barrett, Fred Barrett |
| Occupation | Lead Stoker |
| Known for | RMS Titanic survivor |
Frederick Barrett (1884 – unknown) is best known as a survivor of 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic in Lifeboat No. 13.[1][2]
Early life
Frederick Barrett was born in Liverpool in 1884. Barrett was a coal miner and local pit collier from Hanley, near Stoke-on-Trent, England.[3][4] Some say Barret took up a life at sea after discovering his wife was unfaithful.[3][4] Before working on the RMS Titanic he had worked on a ship called the New York and lived in Southampton.[1]
Sinking of the Titanic
Frederick Barrett was a Lead Stoker working in boiler room 6 when the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912. Boiler room 6 was at the site of the impact with the iceberg.
Barrett was talking to the second engineer, Mr. Hesketh, when the red light and bells came on signalling for the order to stop the engines.[5] He shouted to the men in the boiler room to shut the dampers, the doors to the furnaces, to shut off the wind off the fires. Then he felt a crash and water came pouring in on him from a large tear in the ship's starboard side.[5][2] Barrett got through the water tight door into boiler room 5. He was ordered to go back into boiler room 6, but there was 8 feet of water there.[2] As some of the engineers attended the pumps, the engine room rang for all the stokers to go up on deck. Barrett was ordered to stay behind by an engineer, Mr. Harvey, in boiler room 5 to get some lamps, draw fires, and lift the manhole plate until water started to rush in.[6]
Barrett went up along a hatchway to reach the starboard side of A Deck where there were only two lifeboats left.[2][7] He escaped the sinking ship on lifeboat 13, which was filled with about 65 or 70 people.[2] Lifeboat 15 nearly came down on top of their lifeboat, but they got out in time.[7] He was put in charge of the lifeboat for about an hour, until he got cold he had to let someone else take over.[2] He was so cold that a women put a cloak over him and he couldn't remember anything after that.[7] At 4:45am Barrett and the others in the lifeboat were rescued by the RMS Carpathia.[1]
After the sinking, he testified at both the British Titanic inquiry and United States Senate inquiry into the sinking of the RMS Titanic.[2][5]
Life After Titanic
On May 25, 1912, just a few weeks after the sinking, Barrett was working on Titanic's sister ship the RMS Olympic where he was questioned by Senator William Alden Smith as part of an investigation.[1]
Portrayals
- Maurice Roëves (1979) (S.O.S. Titanic)
- Derek Lea (1997) (Titanic (1997 film))
- Phil Cheadle (2011) "Way Sank Titanic" Curiosity (TV series)
- Brian d'Arcy James (1997) (Titanic (musical))
See also
- RMS Titanic
- United States Senate inquiry into the sinking of the RMS Titanic
- British Titanic inquiry
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 "Mr Frederick Barrett".
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Testimony of Frederick Barrett Day 18".
- 1 2 Compton, Nic (2012). Titanic on Trial: The Night the Titanic Sank, Told Through the Testimonies of Her Passengers and Crew. Adlard Coles. p. 297. ISBN 978-1408140284.
- 1 2 Leigh, Fred. "City's Unsung Titanic Hero".
- 1 2 3 "Testimony of Frederick Barrett Day 3".
- ↑ "Testimony of Frederick Barrett, cont. Day 3".
- 1 2 3 Winocour, Jack (1960). The Story of the Titanic As Told by Its Survivors. Dover Publications. pp. 253, =254. ISBN 978-0486206103.