Alfred White's Letter to Rev. M. Langley

I knew Mr. Parr very well for the short time we were together. I was with him nearly till the last, that was at twenty to two on the 15th April in the main-light room of the Titanic. You are asking me if he was on deck when the ship went down. I can honestly say that he was not and all the rest of the engineers were below. That was the last I saw of them.

At one o'clock Mr. Parr and Mr. Sloan came below. I was on watch at that time and he said to me, "We are going to start one more engine." I generally did that. They went to the main switch-board to change over. We knew that the ship had struck something but took no notice. Work was going on as if nothing had happened.

When, at twenty to two, the ship seemed as if she had started again, and flung us off our feet, Mr. Sloan & Mr. Parr said to me, "Go up and see how things are going on and come and tell us." Telling you the truth Sir, I had a job to get up the engine room ladder. I had to go up the dummy tunnel – there is a doorway there.

The sight I saw I can hardly realise it. The second funnel was under water and all the boats had left the ship. I could not get back as the boat was sinking fast. We did not know they were all at boat stations. I am sure that that was where Mr. Parr was and so would I have been if they had not sent me up.

Curator's note: This transcription is an excerpt from the full letter that is preserved in the archive of the collections of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. This transcription has been lightly edited for readability. Line breaks, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization have been adjusted to conform to modern conventions. These changes have been made solely to enhance clarity, and the original intent, tone, and content of the letter have been carefully preserved.