Cyril Evans was the telegraph operator on board the SS Californian.
After the Titanic sink, the mobile operator of the nearest ship didzed as it made distress calls.
Expert analysis concluded that Cyril Evans who was the telegraph operator on the SS Californian could have not saved the victims.
Evans, who has been condemned by history, went to bed at 11.30pm on April 14, 1912 – only minutes before the Titanic hit an iceberg.
Later, a US investigation determined that if he had “remained just a little longer at his position”, the Californian might have been able to rescue the lives of passengers and crew.
The Californian, however, remained inactive for a mere few miles before the sinking. This left the Carpathia, some 60 miles distant, to rescue the Titanic.
In the end, over 1,500 passengers drowned in Atlantic waters when Titanic went down. 705 of those who survived were saved by Carpathia.
Parks Stephenson has now done a forensic review of Evans’ actions and concluded that he had failed to fulfill his duties that night.
Stephenson, a historian, specializes in the role of telegraph operators during the sinking.
Cameron is best known for his 1997 film Titanic. This movie told the story about the sinking, and focused on the love story between the fictional characters played by Kate Winslet or Leonardo Di Caprio.
His book, Exploring The Deep, which he co-authored along with Stephenson, detailed all of the dives that he did to the Titanic wreck before and during production.
After the Titanic sink, the radio operator on the nearest ship didzed as it made distress calls. Above: Titanic leaving Southampton in 1912 for the doomed maiden journey.
Cyril Evans manned the telegraph equipment on the SS Californian (pictured), which sat idle only a few miles from the sinking
He explained that before the Titanic catastrophe, it was not necessary for marine telegraph station to be operated 24 hours per day.
“I doubt Evans shutting down his radio station every night at night. But, he sure stood up each night to get his sleep.
“It looks like Evans had shut down his station that night as the Californian didn’t go anywhere throughout the night.”
According to the given time, this was not an unusual result.
Additionally, Marconi operator who owned a single station had to sign off at 11pm.
Mr Stephenson continued: ‘If Evans had remained at his station and received Titanic’s distress call, could the Californian – arguably the closest ship – have come to the rescue before Carpathia?
“Could Californian have avoided the terrible loss of life?” No.
“In daylight it took her more than two hours to slowly move through the ice and clear water, reaching the site of the accident. The process would take much longer at night.
“In other words, if Evans had heard Titanic’s distress message, Titanic would be already in trouble and many of its passengers would have drowned from exposure and cold shock. Californians would not have arrived until then.
Parks Stephenson’s expert appraisal, which he co-authored with James Cameron, has found that Evans acted unprofessionally and failed in his duties that night. He could have not reduced the death toll.
“At worst, Californian might have recovered Titanic’s lifeboats earlier than the Carpathia. They would also have likely had to move some survivors from Carpathia to ensure there was enough room for everyone.
Many speculate about Evans’ reaction to Jack Phillips, the Titanic’s counterpart, who rebuked him earlier in the night.
Phillips was notified by Evans that Evans tried to warn him with ice, but he refused to listen to his message.
The blame here lays with Evans, said Mr Stephenson, who should have prefixed his message with the letters MSG – indicating that it was a message for the captain concerning navigation.
“Here’s where I accuse Evans for negligence,” the historian stated.
Phillips rejected Evans’ message because it was not formatted correctly. He assumed Evans was simply looking to have a little chit-chat.
“Phillips had a right to tell Evans that he was done.
Evans ought to have restarted the process at that point and prefixed his message by MSG according to regulations.
Some speculate also about Evans’ reaction to Jack Phillips’ (pictured) rebuke earlier in the night.
Phillips might have responded appropriately to the navigation message if he had.
He went to bed instead, thus failing to follow his instructions to Titanic, which had told him that Californian was stuck in the ice.
“This one incident is where I believe a telegraphist aboard any ships on that night failed their duty and was acting unprofessionally.
Stephenson said that there was no evidence Evans identified himself in the message and it rendered this useless.
“It wasn’t a professional act on Evans’s part,” he stated.
But, historians believe that Evans’ ice warning was irrelevant to the historical course.
The Titanic had already received several ice warnings that day, including an earlier one sent by Evans – on that occasion, properly formatted.
Harold Bride, Phillips junior colleague had intercepted Phillips earlier message and sent it to Captain Edward Smith who accepted it.
Stephenson stated, in addition, that steaming full speed into known ice regions is a common practice if the weather is clear.
“As a veteran man, Evans is to be blamed, but I am not too harsh with him.
The Titanic had already received several ice warnings that day, including an earlier one sent by Evans – on that occasion, properly formatted. Harold Bride, Phillips’ junior colleague had received the earlier message from Evans and sent it to Captain Edward Smith who accepted it.
“He wasn’t the first to call his peer informally at night. He didn’t know this would prove so crucial.
“But, it’s a valuable lesson in professionalism and the importance of being professional in all your duties because you never know what may happen.”
Evans, just twenty-five when the Titanic was struck, served as a seaman in both World Wars, but died from heart attacks in 1959.
Phillips was drowned in the sinking. However, his friend Bride survived. He later went on to become a Glasgow salesman, and he passed away from lung cancer in 1956. He was 66.
In the 1912 US Senate inquiry, Evans was censured. Stanley Lord was also criticised for his inaction on the Californian.
RMS Carpathia saved 705 of the Titanic’s survivors by rescuing them from lifeboats. Pictured: The lifeboats of some survivors
After being onboard, the Carpathia passengers made clothes for survivors.
According to their report, “Such conduct, regardless of whether it arises from indifference, gross carelessness or both, is the most reproachable, and places on the commander.” [of]The Californian has a great responsibility.
The British inquiry into the tragedy did not condemn Evans, but it said that the Californian could have organized a rescue.
It said: “Had she done that, she may have saved many of those lives.
Stephenson was a co-author of Exploring the deep with James Cameron’s 2003 Titanic documentary Ghosts of the Abyss.
Titanic (1997 film by Cameron) won 11 Academy Awards. It also held the title for highest grossing film ever, and was the most watched film in history, for more than ten years.
Cameron and Stephenson co-authored Exploring The Deep, a book detailing his many dives to Titanic before and after filming.
Tragic Titanic disaster of 1912.
Constructed by Belfast-based shipbuilders Harland and Wolff between 1909 and 1912, the RMS Titanic was the largest ship afloat of her time.
Owned and operated by the White Star Line, the passenger vessel set sail on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on April 10, 1912.
The liner made two short stops en route to her planned Atlantic crossing — one at the French port of Cherbourg, the other at Cork Harbour, Ireland, where smaller vessels ferried passengers on and off board the Titanic.
Just five days into her journey, the Titanic collided with an iceberg.
Just before midnight, on April 14, 1912 the RMS Titanic was travelling from Southampton to New York when it collided with an iceberg. The ‘unsinkable ship’ had fallen under the Atlantic Ocean’s waves within three hours and killed more than 1,500 people.
The Titanic was swept away fifteen times more quickly than the ship could pump out. Due to its extensive hull damage, the bulkheads were unable to prevent the water from reaching the compartmentalised lower decks.
Two-and-a half hours later, the vessel split into two pieces and began to sink. Each section settled on the seafloor about a third mile away.
The tragedy claimed the lives of approximately 1,500 people, 815 passengers and crew members included.
The luxurious Titanic, which was launched in 1912, was the biggest ship ever built. It carried some of the most wealthy people on the planet, along with hundreds of immigrants from Britain and Ireland who wanted to start a new life in America.