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Frederick Barrett

Frederick William Barrett (10 January 1883 – 3 March 1931) was a British fireman who was one of the leading firemen aboard the RMS Titanic and was in Boiler Room No. 6 when th...

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Frederick William Barrett (10 January 1883 – 3 March 1931) was a British fireman who was one of the leading firemen aboard the RMS Titanic and was in Boiler Room No. 6 when the ship struck the iceberg, opening several compartments to the ocean. While the ship was sinking, Barrett boarded lifeboat No. 13 and was given command of it, thus surviving the disaster. He later testified before commissions of inquiry into the sinking of the ship and continued to work in the merchant marine until the 1920s.

Early life and career

Frederick William Barrett was born on 10 January 1883 in Bootle, near Liverpool. He was the only surviving child of Henry Charles Barrett (1862–1909), a Devon workman, and Mary Barrett (née Morgan) (1864-?) of Birkenhead. On 4 October of the same year, he was baptised at St. John's Church in Bootle.[1]

Little is known about his youth, but the census of 1891 indicates that he was described as being a "carman" and his father was described as being a timber labourer.[1]

The date of Barrett's first trip to sea is uncertain but it was likely around the early 1900s. In 1903, he joined the Cunard LinerRMS Campania as a stoker. In 1904, he joined the Allan LinerParisian, and then the White Star LinerRMS Cedric. In 1906, he served again aboard Campania. He then joined the American Line ship City of New York.[1]

Aboard Titanic

Crossing and collision

Barrett signed on as leading fireman aboard RMS Titanic on 6 April 1912.[a] was a lead stoker working in boiler room 6 when the Titanic struck an iceberg on the night of 14 April 1912. Boiler room 6 was at the site of the impact with the iceberg.

Barrett was talking to the second engineer John Henry Hesketh, when the red light and bells came on signalling the order to stop the engines.[3] He shouted to the men in the boiler room to shut the dampers, the doors to the furnaces and to shut off the wind for the fires. Then he felt a crash, and water came pouring in on him from a large tear in the ship's starboard side.[3][4] Barrett made his way through the watertight door into boiler room 5. He was ordered to go back into boiler room 6, but there was 8 feet of water there.[4] As some of the engineers attended the pumps, the engine room rang for all the stokers to go up on deck. Barrett was ordered to stay behind by an engineer, Mr. Harvey, in boiler room 5 to get some lamps, draw fires, and lift the manhole plate until water started to rush in.[5]

Aboard lifeboat 13

Barrett went up along a hatchway to reach the starboard side of A Deck, where there were only two lifeboats left.[4][6] He left the sinking ship on lifeboat 13, which was filled with about 65 to 70 people.[4]

As the boat touched the water, water from the main discharge caused a current which led to No. 13 drifting under Lifeboat 15 which nearly came down on top of their lifeboat, but they got out in time.[6]Lawrence Beesley, also in Lifeboat 13, recalled a fireman taking his knife and cutting away the falls just in time and averting a potential disaster. This fireman was Barrett who later testified that he had to cut the falls away and allowing No. 13 to get away from under No. 15.[7]

Barrett took charge of the lifeboat for about an hour, saying, "I did not see anybody that was going to take charge of the boat. The rudder was lying in the stern at the bottom, and I shipped the rudder and took charge of the boat till after the Titanic sank."[7] Due to wearing his thin gear only, Barrett later said he became numb with cold and let someone else take over the tiller.[4] At one point a woman put a cloak over him, and he was unable to remember anything that took place after that in the lifeboat.[6] At 4:45 am, Barrett and the others in the lifeboat were rescued by the RMS Carpathia.[1]

Inquiries

Después del hundimiento, testificó tanto en la investigación del Comisionado Británico de Naufragios como en la investigación del Senado de los Estados Unidos sobre el hundimiento del Titanic . [ 4 ] [ 3 ]

El 25 de mayo de 1912, apenas unas semanas después del hundimiento, Barrett trabajaba en el RMS Olympic , buque gemelo del Titanic , donde fue interrogado por el senador William Alden Smith como parte de la investigación estadounidense. [ 1 ] 

Vida personal

En 1915, Barrett se casó con Mary Anne Jones. Su único hijo superviviente fue Harold. En 1923, Mary falleció. Barrett nunca volvió a casarse y permaneció en Liverpool , donde trabajó en tierra como leñador. [ 1 ]

Barrett murió en Liverpool el 3 de marzo de 1931 debido a la tuberculosis . [ 1 ]

Harold Barrett fue criado por un tío en Bootle y posteriormente se casó con Josephine Teresa Berry en 1951, con quien tuvo mellizos, Frederick y Susan (nacidos en 1955). Harold falleció en Liverpool en 1974. [ 1 ]

Representaciones

Notas

  1. ↑ Barrett no debe confundirse con un compañero de tripulación, otro fogonero llamado Frederick William Barrett (nacido en 1879), que murió en el hundimiento. [ 2 ]

Referencias

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Frederick William Barrett: Bombero principal" . Enciclopedia Titanica . Consultado el 19 de enero de 2026 .
  2. ↑ "Frederick William Barrett" . Enciclopedia Titanica .
  3. 1 2 3 "Testimonio de Frederick Barrett Día 3" .
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Testimonio de Frederick Barrett Día 18" .
  5. ↑ "Testimonio de Frederick Barrett, continuación del día 3" .
  6. 123Winocour, Jack (1960). The Story of the Titanic As Told by Its Survivors. Dover Publications. pp. 253, 254. ISBN 978-0486206103.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  7. 12"British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, Day 4: Testimony of Frederick Barrett, recalled". Titanic Inquiry Project. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  8. ↑"Titanic Sinks Tonight". BBC. 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2026.