Collapsible D
On page 209, Gleicher writes "Of passing interest, Lightoller did not mention the late entry of Woolner and Steffanson into Collapsible D in this testimony" (italics ours). However, just a few pages later, on page 212, Gleicher quotes from Lightoller's 1935 book about "two men passengers jumped into her (Collapsible D) from the deck below", in relation to Lightoller's differing attitudes toward First and Third Class passengers saving themselves.
Gleicher's first statement is technically correct, though misleading - in the Inquiry testimony, Lightoller doesn't mention the two men, but also doesn't contradict that statement. However, if Gleicher is going to accept Lightoller's statements as proof of one point in his book, shouldn't he also be accepting it elsewhere, rather than picking and choosing what he wants to use when it suits his argument?
Gleicher spends time on pages 209 thru 213 discussing whether or not Lightoller had a revolver the night of the sinking. Gleicher does quote Gracie's American Inquiry testimony where Gracie claimed Lightoller told him that he had fired a gun at Collapsible D (the first time a gun at was mentioned at D), but discounts it. In his book published a year later, Gracie offers up a slightly different version, saying that Lightoller had only brandished a revolver, but not fired it (the second mention of a gun at D). Then, there is Lightoller's 1935 version of events, that he "flourished my revolver", which he claimed was unloaded, at the passengers crowded into what he claimed was the port "emergency boat" (the third account of a gun). Lightoller in his account published in the Christian Science Journal in 1912, as well as in his 1935 book, recounts Smith, Wilde, Murdoch and himself receiving revolvers at the Chief Officer's request. He also vividly describes how the weight of the revolver in the pocket of his greatcoat weighed him down while he was struggling in the water. Gleicher prefers to believe that since Lightoller did not *testify* to having or firing a gun that night, he must not have had or fired one. While we agree that there is no evidence other than Gracie's initial statement that shots were fired at Collapsible D, there is little doubt that Lightoller had a revolver that night.
Relating to this, on page 212 we read that "Other than a hearsay account by Gracie, no one - including Lightoller - testified to shots on the port side shortly after 2 AM. In his book, Gracie claimed if that had there been such an incident he would have heard the shots, but he had not". Then as proof of this, we read a paragraph from Gracie's book - where Gracie very specifically states he heard no shots on the *starboard* side. Gracie's statement offers no proof whatsoever as to whether shots were fired on the port side of the ship during the loading of Collapsible D, and in fact, was specifically made to express his disbelief that Murdoch committed suicide during the loading of Collapsible A, since Gracie was on the forward starboard side of the ship at the time of the attempted launch, and said he was certain he could have heard shots fired from a few feet away. Gracie was not referring to the port side at all. While the present authors do not feel there is evidence to conclude that shots were fired at Collapsible D, this is another example of selective or misleading use of evidence on Gleicher's part.
Officer Placement Issues
Gleicher's timeline differs from the testimonies in a number of places as it relates to what officer was working at what boat.
Regarding Wilde, Gleicher says on page 151 that "Lifeboat 2 was loaded and launched almost simultaneously with Collapsible C, both under the charge of Chief Officer Wilde". Since Gleicher has Collapsible C lowering at 1:40 a.m., and #2 at 1:45, we find it extremely unlikely that this was the case, as it would have required Wilde to be running back and forth, from port to starboard, during the later, more hectic stages of the sinking.
The eyewitness statements indicate that Captain Smith was also involved in the loading of #2, which Gleicher doesn't mention, and that Wilde and Murdoch both were involved in the loading of Collapsible C, although he discounts Murdoch's involvement there. Gleicher's timeline frequently has officers in two places at once, suggesting either that: (1) the crewmember and other eyewitness statements of which officer was at which boat were all incorrect, and Gleicher's times are all right, or (2) that Gleicher's launch times are incorrect, and the eyewitnesses who were actually on the scene that night were right. We leave it up to the reader to make that determination.
We have Evans and Buley's testimony of Murdoch at #10 (both were members of the Deck Department, and Evans having worked on the Olympic with Murdoch makes it even more likely he knew who he was seeing). And Murdoch was also sighted at #1 by Symons and Horswill. But Gleicher has #1 and #10 leaving the ship at 1:10 a.m., the exact same time, and denies that Murdoch was involved with either of those boats.
Based on Lowe, we know that Moody was at #16 on the port side as it was lowered51. Gleicher's timeline says that # 16 and # 14 were lowered at 1:20 a.m., despite the fact that Fireman Threlfall and others said they were released from below at 1:20 a.m., and that he proceeded up on deck in time to board #14, which means that #14 couldn't have lowered until sometime after 1:20. There is also strong evidence that Moody was at #9 (based on Wynn's statement that he was there, and Ray seeing an officer there who later perished and was not Murdoch, the latter of whom he knew personally), and strong implications that Moody was the officer on A Deck in charge of #11, #13 and #15 on the starboard side (based on testimony Lee and the accounts of Steward Littlejohn).
Gleicher places #11 at 1:20 a.m., and #13 and #15 at 1:25. If Moody was on A Deck working on #11 thru #15 on the starboard side at 1:20, how could he possibly have been lowering #16 on the port side at the same time? Is this why Gleicher deliberately attempts to downplay Moody's presence at the port boats, including #16, and substitutes Master-at-Arms Bailey as the "officer" at #16 mentioned by Scarrott? Since his book has been published, Gleicher has admitted the possibility that Moody was the officer seen on A Deck during the loading of #13 and #15. However, he claims that this is a "trivial" issue, when in fact, the officer movements such as these are a critical piece of establishing an accurate timeline and sequence of events.