A Lifeboat Almost Crushed Lawrence Beesley
Only the first class passengers were given access to the Titanic’s gymnasium. But for a brief time before the ship departed, second-class passengers were allowed to explore first class areas. A famous picture from the pre-sailing period shows a man and woman in the ship’s gymnasium. The man is second-class passenger Lawrence Beesley, a widowed 34-year-old science teacher headed to the United States and Canada for a vacation.
Beesly stood by lifeboat thirteen when a crewman ordered him to jump into the lowering boat after the women and children visible in the area had loaded. Lifeboat thirteen found itself in its own peril when it became caught up in Titanic‘s outwash, pushing the crowded boat underneath the still-lowering lifeboat fifteen. While screaming and shouting for lifeboat fifteen to stop lowering lest they be crushed, the occupants of lifeboat thirteen cut the ropes tethering them to Titanic and quickly escaped.
