I have reviewed a few early threads on here re Boxhall and in particular the following:-
What Was Boxhall Doing
As for Boxhall's assessment that Titanic was pointing westwards when she stopped, I would suggest Boxhall was ill that night and suffering from the first stages of pleurisy if we believe he was suffering from pleurisy at the USA Inquiry. I personally have my doubts over all this. Boxhall strikes me as someone very petulant and parsimonious.
However, if we were to take the view that Boxhall was already ill the evening of 14th April, then certain things fall into place quite nicely...
His being in his cabin having a cup of tea as he stated in the 1962 BBC Radio Interview when Titanic struck the ice berg. His messing up of the CQD position. His failure to be on the bridge at the time of impact. His failure to then see the iceberg clearly when he did get to the bridge.His failure to recall precisely how many Rockets were fired from Titanic. His meanderings down below to see the damage despite no orders to do this and of his own initiative. All the nonsense about Emergency Boat 2 being rowed almost underneath the stern out of the water. His failure to notice that the ship's clocks had not been set back prior to midnight.
I am not a Doctor of medicine or know a great deal about pleurisy except I have had friends suffer from pleurisy.
It seems to me arguable that Boxhall was suffering from the first stages of pleurisy on the 14th April, and that this was well known and carefully covered up, and why he had such an easy watch that evening, and why Murdoch was alone on the bridge when the ice berg was seen and struck. He might not have had pleurisy as such as we understand it today. Perhaps he had developed a chest infection with feverish episodes.
I think there is a lot more to all this that deserves closer examination.
My own view is that Boxhall was lying in significant parts of his testimony. He muddied the waters same as Groves did on The Californian. He was in emergency lifeboat 2 for some 2 hours 25 minutes in the freezing cold, and was on deck on Titanic for perhaps 1 hour 15 minutes or so prior to Titanic sinking.
In the 1962 BBC Radio Interview, Boxhall makes no reference whatsoever to his subsequent pluerisy. Lightoller at the USA Inquiry gave evidence that Boxhall could not resume/give his evidence because the Doctor had told him so, and would not give an opinion as to whether he (Lightoller) considered Boxhall unable to give evidence.
Cheers,
Julian