Scarborough’s Titanic Connections
Sixth Officer James Paul Moody was on duty on board the RMS Titanic.
At 11.40pm on the 14th April 1912, he received the dramatic message ‘Iceberg, right ahead!’ from the crow’s nest.
Within a few hours he and almost 1,500 other passengers would perish.
Sixth Officer Moody was the only junior officer serving on the Titanic to lose his life, aged just 24.
His bravery saved many lives at the cost of his own.
James Paul Moody was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire on 21st August 1887.
He was the youngest of four children born to John Henry Moody and Evelyn Louise Lammin Moody.
His father was a solicitor, and his grandfather had been the town clerk from 1845 to 1878.
James studied at the Roseberry house School in Scarborough prior to the premature death of his mother in 1898.
After his mother’s death, the family moved to the village of Cayton near Scarborough.
James then went to live with an aunt in Grimsby before being sent to the sea training ship HMS Conway in 1902.
He graduated in December 1903 and from 1908, he continued his training onboard steam ships.
Later, he obtained his First Mate’s certificate in February 1909 and in April 1910 he passed his Master’s certificate.
He joined the White star Line in 1911, serving on the Oceanic. In march 1912 he was transferred to RMS Titanic.
On April 10th, Titanic set sail on her maiden – and final – voyage.
Sixth Officer Moody was on board: he was the officer responsible for the removal of the last gangway at Southampton.
On board Titanic he had a cabin to himself.
He wrote in a letter of Titanic’s size: “I have been here a week, chiefly occupied trying to find my way about the big omnibus.”
First Officer Murdoch and Quartermaster Hitchens were among the officers on duty with James on the fateful evening of 14th April 1912.
In the crow’s nest, there were two lookouts, Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee. At 11.40pm, three chimes (meaning ‘object ahead’) rang out from the crow’s nest into the still North Atlantic night.
The telephone on the bridge was behind where James stood and he answered it directly.
“What do you see?”
“Iceberg, right ahead.”
“Thank you”.
He repeated the message to Mr Murdoch, who issued the command, ‘hard a starboard.’
James repeated the command to QM Hitchens, and then confirmed these commands were met to Mr Murdoch. “Hard a-starboard. The helm is hard over, sir.”
Hitchin’s testimony after the disaster recalls how at the same moment the ship was already crushing ice: “… we could hear the grinding noise along the ship’s bottom.”
Within moments of the collision, the vessel was listing five degrees to starboard and two degrees down by the head.
At 12.05pm on the 15th April, James’s first task was to oversee the preparation of the lifeboats on the boat deck.
During the following three hours, James criss-crossed the upper decks helping hundreds of passengers into the lifeboats and saving many lives.
Then at 12.15am, the radio operator started to tap out the international distress signal CQD (CQ = All Stations, D = Distress) followed by the ship’s call letters MGY.
The Carpathia acknowledged at 12.25am, but she was 58 miles distant.
At 1.15am, James helped to fill lifeboats 12, 14 and 16.
Here he met Fifth Officer Lowe who, in the aftermath of the sinking, was the only officer to return his lifeboat to pick up survivors from the icy waters.
Mr Lowe had noted that several lifeboats were already afloat without an officer commanding them, and he considered that one officer should accompany the lifeboat that was now being prepared for launch.
James answered Mr Lowe’s suggestion: “You go; I will get in another boat.”
So Mr Lowe told James to gin lifeboat 16 when it was prepared. Mr Lowe boarded Boat 15 and bot 16 floated away successfully – without James on board.
After helping lifeboat 16 pull away, James joined first office Murdoch.
He helped fill lifeboats 9 and 13 alongside Reginald Lee. Lee describes Mr Moody as being ‘tall and spare’ with a fresh complexion. Lee later suggested that James drowned.
James, when satisfied that boat 3 was ready, issued the order “Lower away. That will do.”
He then helped to free the last of the remaining collapsible lifeboats.
Lamp Trimmer Hemming was the last known person to have spoken to James as collapsible A pulled away.
Hemming gave a chilling account of Titanic’s final moment that may well have been shared by James; “…. I went to the bridge and looked over and saw the water climbing upon the bridge. I went and looked over the starboard side and everything was black. … I could not see any boats.”
This took place at around 2.18am. Titanic sank at 2.20am. How James finally passed away is unknown. One can safely suggest he died long before Carpathia came into view.
The local weekly newspaper, the Scarborough Mercury, gave considerable coverage to the disaster.
Reporting on the disaster on 19th April 1912, the article described James as a native of Scarborough and a well-known figure in the town, being ‘tall, clean-shaven, smart looking” and one that would be missed.
A memorial service for all the victims of the tragedy was held in St Mary’s Church, attended by the Mayor and other dignitaries.
Also, a brass plaque in the lifeboat house on Scarborough’s seafront commemorates Sixth Office Moody’s bravery.
A memorial plaque in St Martin’s on the Hill church on Scarborough South Cliff was erected by the Moody Family.
His mother’s gravestone in Manor Road cemetery also bears the inscription in memory of her brave son.
There is a blue plaque marking the spot where James Moody lived.
Thank you to Inger Sheil and Mary Conlon for their help with the article.
Visits www.nautical-papers.com/on watch and www.titanicinquiery.org for more info.
Scarborough’s other Titanic connections include Edward Harland, owner of the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast which built Titanic.
He was born in Scarborough and there is blue plaque marking the spot and where M&S stands today.
He was fascinated by the town’s shipbuilders which inspired him for the rest of his life.
In 1858, having moved to Belfast, where in 1862 a partnership was formed with Gustav Wolff, so Harland & Wolff came into being.
As well as building the Titanic, the shipyard built other White Star Line vessels including The Oceanic.