Much the most interesting of the personal statements given in answer to questions was made to me by William Clarke, a fireman of Liverpool - actually a survivor of the Titanic disaster - a quiet, matter-of-fact old man with a grey moustache and kindly eyes, rather toil-worn. He said:

"I was a fireman on both the ships. It was my luck to be on duty at the time of both accidents. The Titanic disaster was much the worst of the two. I mean it was the most awful. The waiting was the terrible thing. There was no waiting with the Empress of Ireland. You just saw what you had to do and did it.

"The Titanic went down straight, like a baby goes to sleep. The Empress rolled over like a hog in a ditch. I was shovelling coals when the Empress was struck. I heard the engines stop. I ran up to my boat, No. 5. We swung her down, but the list of the ship threw her out from the side into the water, and then the hooks of the davits loosed off and she floated away.

"I had to dive into the water to catch her. By that time the ship was just going. I heard screaming and then helped to pull people out of the water. We were picked up by the Storstad."