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Commander Joseph Groves Boxhall RD,
RNR The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...
(23 March 1884 – 25 April 1967) was the fourth officer on the , and later served as a naval officer in World War I. Boxhall was the last surviving former officer of the ''Titanic''.


Early life

Boxhall was born in Hull in the
East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...
, England, the second child of Miriam and Captain Joseph Boxhall. He was born into an established seafaring tradition: His grandfather had been a mariner, his uncle was a
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buoymaster and Board of Trade official, and his father was a respected master with the Wilson Line of Hull. Boxhall followed in the footsteps of his ancestors on 2 June 1899, when he joined his first ship, a
barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...
of the William Thomas Line of
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. Boxhall's apprenticeship lasted four years, during which time he travelled extensively. He then went to work with his father at Wilson Line and, after obtaining his Master's and Extra-Master's certifications in September 1907, joined the
White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between t ...
. On 1 October 1911, he was confirmed as a sub-lieutenant in the
Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...
. He served on White Star's liners and ''Arabic'' before moving to the ''Titanic'' as Fourth Officer in 1912; he was then 28 years old.


RMS ''Titanic''

Like the ship's other junior officers, Boxhall reported to White Star's Liverpool offices at nine o'clock in the morning on 26 March 1912, and travelled to board the ship at
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
the following day. After the RMS ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...
'' departed
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
on 10 April, Boxhall settled into his regular duties; these included scheduled watches, aiding in navigation, and assisting passengers and crew when necessary. When ''Titanic'' collided with an iceberg at 11:40 pm on 14 April, Officer Boxhall was on duty but was not on the bridge. At the two inquiries held into the sinking in 1912 he stated he was standing on the
Boat Deck A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary or upper deck is the horizontal structure that forms the "roof" of the hull, strengthening it and serving as the primary working surface. V ...
just outside the officers' quarters. In his 1962 BBC interview he said he was in his cabin, having gone there to make
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
. Hearing the lookout bell, he headed immediately to the bridge, arriving just after the impact. Capt. Smith, who had also just arrived on the bridge, ordered Boxhall to perform an inspection of the forward part of the ship. He found no damage, but was later intercepted by the ship's carpenter, who informed him that the ship was taking water. A mail clerk confirmed this to Boxhall and Captain Smith. Later, it was Boxhall who calculated the ''Titanic''s position so that a distress signal could be sent out. It was also Boxhall who sighted the masthead lights of a nearby vessel (possibly the ) and attempted in vain to signal by Morse lamp and distress flares. Officer Boxhall was placed in charge of lifeboat No. 2, which was lowered from the port side at 1.45 am with 18 persons aboard out of a possible 40. He rowed away from the ship for fear of being pulled down by suction. Boxhall did not actually see the ''Titanic'' founder, as her lights had gone out and his lifeboat was about distant. Boxhall spotted the on the horizon at 4.00 am and guided her to the lifeboats with a green flare. After being collected by the ''Carpathia'', Boxhall and the other survivors arrived at Pier 54 in New York on 18 April. While in New York, he served as a witness in the American inquiry into the sinking. He and his fellow surviving officers were allowed to leave New York on the ''Adriatic'' on 2 May. After returning to England, Boxhall bore witness again, this time at the British inquiry. Much of his testimony concerned details of the lifeboat lowerings and ''Titanic''s navigation, including the many ice warnings. He was also the first person to testify that he saw another vessel in proximity while ''Titanic'' sank.


Later years and death

Following the ''Titanic'' disaster, Boxhall briefly served as Fourth Officer on White Star's ''Adriatic''. He was promoted to
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
in the RNR on 27 May 1915. During the First World War, he was commissioned to serve for one year aboard the battleship before being dispatched to
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, where he commanded a
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
. Boxhall returned to White Star following the war in May 1919, having married Marjory Beddells two months prior. On 27 May 1923, he was promoted to
lieutenant-commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...
in the RNR. He signed on as second officer on board the lead ship of the three ''Olympic''-class vessels which ''Titanic'' was the second ship constructed on 30 June 1926. After the White Star-
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merger in 1933, he served in senior capacity as first and later chief officer of the , although he was never made a captain in the merchant marine. (The White Star line never promoted any of the surviving ''Titanic'' officers to command rank.) After 41 years at sea, he retired in 1940. Boxhall was a generally taciturn and quiet man, usually reluctant to speak about his experiences on the ''Titanic''. However, in 1957, he acted as a technical advisor for the film adaptation of
Walter Lord John Walter Lord Jr. (October 8, 1917 – May 19, 2002) was an American author, lawyer, copywriter and popular historian best known for his 1955 account of the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'', '' A Night to Remember''. Biography Early life Lor ...
's documentary-style novel, '' A Night to Remember'', and also gave a BBC interview in 1962. His health deteriorated rapidly in the 1960s, and he was eventually hospitalised. The last surviving deck officer of ''Titanic'', Boxhall died of a cerebral thrombosis on 25 April 1967 at the age of 83. According to his last wishes, his ashes were scattered to sea at 41°46N 50°14W – the position he had calculated as ''Titanic''s final resting place over 50 years earlier (within about of the actual ''Titanic'' wreck site at 41°43N 49°56W). He is commemorated with a green plaque on
The Avenues, Kingston upon Hull The Avenues is an area of high status Victorian housing located in the north-west of Kingston upon Hull, England. It is formed by four main tree-lined straight avenues running west off the north-north-east/south-south-west running ''Princes Ave ...
.


Portrayals

*
Jack Watling Jack Stanley Watling (13 January 1923 – 22 May 2001) was an English actor. Life and career The son of a travelling scrap metal dealer, Watling trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts as a child; and made his stage debut in ''Where ...
(1958) ('' A Night to Remember'') Boxhall himself acted as a technical consultant to the film's writers and set designers. *
Warren Clarke Warren Clarke (born Alan James Clarke; 26 April 1947 – 12 November 2014) was an English actor. He appeared in many films after a significant role as Dim in Stanley Kubrick's ''A Clockwork Orange''. His television appearances included '' Dalz ...
(1979) ('' S.O.S. Titanic'') (TV movie) *Gerard Plunkett (1996) (''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...
'') (TV miniseries) Boxhall is inaccurately portrayed as going down with the ship (due to his character being merged with that of Sixth Officer James Moody.) *
Simon Crane Simon Crane (born 1960) is a British stuntman, stunt coordinator, second unit director and film director. Biography Born in Twickenham, Middlesex, England. Crane was originally a law student, but not liking it, he dropped out after one year and w ...
(1997) (''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...
'') Boxhall appears in scenes such as on the bridge and being ordered by Captain Smith to put the ship's engines to a stop following the collision. He's also in charge of firing the flares and lifeboat No. 2. Boxhall only has two lines which occurs in the scenes: "Aye-aye, sir!" on the bridge and "Bloody pull faster and pull!" when he orders lifeboat No. 2 to row away from the ''Titanic's'' stern, which rises dangerously behind him. *Glen McDougal (1998) (''Titanic: Secrets Revealed'') (TV documentary) * Emmett James (1999) (''The Titanic Chronicles'') (TV documentary; voice only) *Cian Barry (2012) (''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...
'') (TV miniseries)


References


Titanic-TitanicEncyclopedia Titanica


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boxhall, Joseph 1884 births 1967 deaths Military personnel from Kingston upon Hull Royal Navy officers of World War I Deaths from cerebral thrombosis Seamen from Kingston upon Hull British Merchant Navy officers RMS Titanic survivors Royal Naval Reserve personnel Burials at sea