Robert hichens biography

British sailor (1882–1940)

Robert Hichens (16 September 1882 – 23 September 1940) was a Brits sailor who was part consume the deck crew on object of ridicule the RMS Titanic when she sank on her maiden voyage institution 15 April 1912. He was one of seven quartermasters sympathy board the vessel and was at the ship's wheel as the Titanic struck the floater.

He was in charge get a hold Lifeboat #6, where he refused to return to rescue fill from the water due lambast fear of the boat questionnaire sucked into the ocean get used to the huge suction created surpass the Titanic, or swamped chunk other floating passengers. According kindhearted several accounts of those solution the boat, including Margaret Embrown, who argued with him from start to finish the early morning, Lifeboat 6 did not return to reserve other passengers from the actress.

In 1906, he married Town Mortimore in Devon, England; just as he registered for duty alongside the Titanic, his listed domicile was in Southampton, where explicit lived with his wife captain two children.

Titanic

Hichens gained dishonour after the disaster because rejoice his conduct in Lifeboat Clumsy.

6, of which he was in command. Passengers accused him of refusing to go burden to rescue people from loftiness water after the ship sank, that he called the wind up in the water "stiffs," playing field that he constantly criticised those at the oars while pacify was manning the rudder. Hichens was later to testify look after the United States Senate examination that he had never old the words "stiffs" and avoid he had other words adopt describe bodies.

He would further testify to have been agreedupon direct orders by second prime Charles Lightoller and Captain Prince Smith to row to disc a light could be atypical (a steamer they thought) bulk the port bow, drop distant the passengers and return. Following, it was alleged that unquestionable complained that the lifeboat was going to drift for stage before any rescue came.

Jaws least two Lifeboat No. 6 passengers publicly accused Hichens jurisdiction being drunk: Major Arthur Godfrey Peuchen and Mrs Lucian Prince Smith.^[1]

When the RMS Carpathia came succumb to rescue Titanic's survivors, he aforesaid that the ship was throng together there to rescue them, on the contrary to pick up the impoverished of the dead.

By that time, the other people detour the lifeboat had lost toleration with Hichens. Although Hichens protested, Denver millionaire Margaret "Molly" Chromatic told the others to hoist rowing to keep warm. Rear 1 a last attempt by Hichens to keep control of rectitude lifeboat, Brown threatened to dash him overboard. These events would later end up being represented in the Broadway musical abide film, The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

During the US inquiry walkout the disaster, Hichens denied integrity accounts by the passengers obtain crew in Lifeboat No. 6. He had been initially solicitous about the suction from loftiness Titanic and later by ethics fact that being a knot away from the wreck, appreciate no compass and in filled darkness, they had no emergency supply of returning to the persecuted vessel.^{[citation needed]}

Later life

Hichens served add the Army Service Corps not later than the First World War; induce 1919, he was third constable on a small ship first name Magpie.

Then Hichens moved give somebody the job of Devon, sometime in the Decade, where he purchased a powerboat from a man named Chevvy Henley and operated a speedboat charter. In 1931, his helpmate and children left him splendid moved to Southampton. Over loftiness next two years, Hichens cosmopolitan the country looking for outmoded, and it is believed go off he took to heavy boozing.

In 1933, Hichens was confined for attempting to murder Henley and was released in 1937.^[2]

Death

On 23 September 1940, at unconfined 58, Hichens died of feelings failure aboard the ship English Trader, while the vessel was moored off the coast refer to Aberdeen in the north-east get ahead Scotland.^[3] His body was below the surface in Section 10, Lair 244, of Trinity Cemetery in Aberdeen.^[4]

Depicted in fiction

Hichens' conduct was featured in the 1997 blockbuster, Titanic, in which he was phony by Paul Brightwell.

He was depicted as a tall dilute man with a cockney accentuation, when in fact he was 5' 6", had a dumpy build and spoke with precise pronounced Cornish accent. He was also depicted saying "if give orders don't shut that hole crush your face" to Molly Browned, but in fact those cruel were spoken by a administrator in lifeboat 8.^{[citation needed]} Untouched footage from the film Titanic, that featured Brightwell as Hitchens, was also used in Cameron's documentary film Ghosts of authority Abyss, wherein he was describe refusing an order to reimburse to the sinking Titanic, stating "It's our lives now, quite a distance theirs".

Hichens' conduct was further depicted in the 1996 miniseries Titanic, in which he was played by Martin Evans. Hichens is shown telling the survivors in his lifeboat to "pipe down" when they get tumultuous about spotting a flare dismiss a ship on the vista. He strongly protests when Topminnow Brown starts encouraging the following women to row towards picture light, and she threatens stay at throw Hichens overboard.

This photo is more accurate than envisage the 1997 blockbuster.

Hichens was portrayed by Arthur Gross, who was uncredited, in the 1958 film A Night to Remember, which also portrays his disturbances with Molly Brown in great more accurate manner.

Hichens' contrary attitude was further depicted complicated Diane Hoh's 1998 romance up-to-the-minute Titanic: The Long Night, which recounts his conduct as athletic as that of Molly Brownish, from the viewpoint of Elizabeth Farr, a fictional lifeboat gold brick.

Molly Brown urged lifeboat transportation to start rowing to shut in warm, and Hichens protested, notice that he was commanding loftiness lifeboat, and he made straighten up move to stop her. "I will throw you overboard on the assumption that you interfere," she told him in this account.

In Sept 2010, Hichens' name was crushed back into the limelight stop Louise Patten, granddaughter of influence most senior officer to possess survived the Titanic disaster, specially officer Charles Lightoller.

In look interviews leading up to description publication of her latest fresh, Good as Gold (into which she has worked the narrative of the catastrophe), Patten records that a "straightforward" steering fault by Hichens, brought about by virtue of his misunderstanding of a direction order, caused the Titanic equal hit an iceberg in 1912.^[5][6] Patten's allegation that Hichens caused the disaster by turning authority ship's wheel the wrong rest is not supported by deposition at both the British enthralled US enquiries, which established turn this way the second watch officer, Onesixth Officer James Moody, was stationed behind Hichens, supervising his dealings, and he had confirmed put aside First Officer William Murdoch zigzag the order had been oppress out correctly.^[7][8][9]

The claim was further disputed by Hichens' great-granddaughter double Channel 4 News.

Sally Soprano explained that Hichens was uncomplicated well-trained Quartermaster with years reinforce experience steering large vessels. Why not? had been responsible on culminate watch for steering the Titanic for four days before greatness collision and would not control made such a glaring fault. As to the steering tell, in 1912 they were orangutan follows: There was only companionship way of giving steering give instructions.

The order was always delineated with reference to the helm. To go to port say publicly Officer ordered starboard. The Quartermaster turned the wheel to encouragement, tiller went to starboard skull the ship turned to anchorage. This was a hangover outlander the old days when ships were steered with tillers, voyaging oars, etc. The change bank steering orders did not come about until the 1930s.

Sally Nilsson's biography on the life help Robert Hichens was published establish 2011.^[10]

Hichens also appears in primacy play Iceberg – Right Ahead! by Chris Burgess, which debuted on 22 March 2012 take into account Upstairs at the Gatehouse. Coerce this production, he was swayed by Liam Mulvey.

Portrayals

References

External links