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Herbert Pitman
ThirdOfficerHerbertPitman
Biological Information
Full name

Herbert John Pitman

Nicknames

None

Gender

Male

Born

20 November 1877

Death

7 December 1961

Cause

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Background Information
Family

Henry Pitman (father) Sarah Née Marchant Pitman (mother)

Romances

Mildred Kalman (wife)

Hometown

Sutton Montis, England

Titanic Statistics
Boarded

Belfast Ireland

Destination

New York, U.S.A.

Occupation

Third officer

Class

Titanic Crew

Fate

Survived the sinking in Lifeboat 5

Production
Classification

Historical Character

Portrayal

Kevin De La Noy

Herbert John Pitman was the Third Officer of the Titanic.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

He was born in the village of Sutton Montis in Somerset, England, and joined the White Star Line in 1906. He was the son of farmer Henry Pitman and Sarah (née Marchant) Pitman. After his father's death in 1880, his mother remarried, to Charles Candy. In 1881, a census shows Herbert Pitman was living on a 112-acre (45 ha) farm on Sutton Road with his brother, sister, and widowed mother.

RMS Titanic[]

Pitman received a telegram early in 1912 directing him to report to White Star's Liverpool office at nine in the morning on 26 March of that year. There he collected his ticket for Belfast; he arrived there at noon the following day and reported to Officer William Murdoch. As the Titanic departed Southampton on 10 April, Pitman was assisting Officer Murdoch at the stern of the ship in supervising the casting-off of mooring ropes and taking on of tug lines. While the Titanic was at sea, Pitman's duties included working out celestial observation and compass deviation, general supervision of the decks, looking to the quartermasters, and relieving the bridge officers when necessary.At the time of the Titanic's collision with the iceberg, Pitman was off-duty, half-asleep in his bunk in the Officers' Quarters. He heard and felt the collision, later testifying that it felt like the ship "coming to an anchor." He was dressing for his watch when Fourth Officer Boxhall rushed in and informed him they had struck an iceberg and were taking on water. Pitman was then ordered to report to the starboard side of the ship to assist in uncovering lifeboats. After receiving the command to lower the boats, Murdoch ordered Pitman to take charge of Lifeboat No. 5. Before Pitman entered the lifeboat, Murdoch shook his hand saying "Goodbye; good luck." Pitman at this point did not believe that the Titanic was seriously endangered, and thought the evacuation of passengers was precautionary. He stepped into the lifeboat and it was lowered to the water. Murdoch had ordered Pitman to take the lightly loaded lifeboat to the gangway doors to take on more passengers there, but (as Pitman later testified) the doors failed to open as the lifeboat waited for this about 100 yards off from the ship.

Later Life[]

Pitman continued to serve with the White Star Line following the Titanic disaster. He served on the liners RMS Oceanic and Titanic's older sister Olympic, later moving from deck officer to purser because of his failing eyesight. early 1920s, he moved from White Star to Shaw, Savill and Albion Company Ltd. and also took a wife inred "Mimi" Kalman from New Zealand. During the Second World War, he served as purser on board the SS Mataroa, and finally retired in the spring of 1946 after over fifty years at sea. He spent his retirement living in the village of Pitcombe, in the county of Somerset, with his niece (his wife having preceded him in death).

Pitman died of a subarachnoid hemorrhage on 7 December 1961 at the age of 84. He was buried in the Graveyard of Pitcombe Paris Church, Somerset.

Behind the scenes[]

In James Cameron's 1997 film, Titanic he was portrayed by Kevin De La Noy, in an uncredited non-speaking role. He was the only one of the seven head officers to not have any dialogue. He was shown to be clean-shaved unlike the real Pitman who had a moustache. In the film, he can be seen in the background when First Officer Murdoch begins lowering lifeboat 7, the first lifeboat to be lowered. Pitman is ushering two passengers toward lifeboat 5, which he is subsequently put in charge of. He is also seen walking past Murdoch and Lightoller on the bridge when they are discussing the missing binoculars. After lifeboat 5 is launched, you can see him rowing with the passengers and crew, and even hear him calling "pull" several times to crew rowing. His most prominent scene is the beginning of the church scene; he is standing to the right of Captain Smith, with 4th Officer Boxhall, both of them not wearing their uniform hats. The rest of his scenes were cut, including a rumored scene where Murdoch places Pitman in charge of lifeboat 5, shakes his hand and says "Goodbye. Good luck."

Externl links[]

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