David Blair (mariner)
David Blair | |
|---|---|
 David blair (1874 - 1955) | |
| Born | 11 November 1874 |
| Died | 10 January 1955 (aged 80) |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Davy |
| Occupation | Merchant seaman |
David Blair (or Davy) (11 November 1874 – 10 January 1955) was a British merchant seaman with the White Star Line, which had reassigned him from RMS Titanic just before her maiden voyage. Due to his hasty departure, he accidentally kept a key to a storage locker believed to contain the binoculars intended for use by the crow's nest lookout. The absence of any binoculars within the crow's nest is considered by some to be a contributory factor in Titanic’s ultimate demise.
Titanic posting and rearrangement
[edit]Blair, from Broughty Ferry, Scotland was originally appointed the second officer of Titanic.[1] He had been with the ship, following her construction in Belfast, during her trial voyages to test seaworthiness, and the positioning voyage from Belfast to Southampton.
The White Star Line, however, decided that with Titanic's sister ship, RMS Olympic, undergoing layovers, Olympic's Chief Officer, Henry Wilde, should take that position on Titanic due to having had experience with ships of her class, unlike most of Titanic's officers.[2] Chief Officer William Murdoch and First Officer Charles Lightoller were consequently each demoted one rank, and Blair was removed from the officer line-up. Blair wrote about the disappointment of losing his position on Titanic in a postcard to his sister-in-law days before the ship left for Southampton,[3] remarking, "This is a magnificent ship, I feel very disappointed I am not to make her first voyage."
Key to the binoculars
[edit]When Blair left Titanic on 9 April 1912, he took with him the key to the crow's nest locker, presumably inadvertently. This is believed to be a reason why there were no binoculars available to the crew during the voyage. According to other versions, the binoculars were not in the locker, but were left behind in his cabin,[1] or he took them along with him when he left the ship, as they belonged to him.[4] The possibility of the absence of binoculars being a factor in the sinking of Titanic became a point of investigation in the subsequent inquiries into the sinking.
The lookouts on watch at the time of the collision, Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee, maintained during the inquiries that they were informed they were to have no binoculars during the voyage.[5] However, according to legal expert Gary Slapper, Blair's "forgetfulness wasn't a material reason for the disaster" as there were other intervening causes.[6]
The key itself survived and was donated by Blair's daughter to the International Sailors Society.[7] On 22 September 2007, it was sold in a group of items including a postcard Blair wrote on board Titanic via an auction held by Henry Aldridge, including a ticket from Belfast that fetched £32,000 and a postcard sent by a passenger which sold for £17,000.[8] The key was purchased by Shen Dongjun, the CEO of jewellery retailer TESIRO's Chinese division for £90,000, and was put on display in Nanjing.[9]
On the importance of the key, the auctioneers said that it was a conjecture that the key could have saved Titanic had it not left the ship. They also said that the money from the auction of the key would be used to set up bursaries and scholarships in Blair's name.[7]
Later events
[edit]Blair was First Officer on the SS Majestic in 1913 when a coaler jumped overboard; the night before, a fellow crew member had succeeded in drowning himself. While a lifeboat was organized, Blair jumped into the ocean waters and swam toward the man, who was now swimming for the ship. Though the boat reached the man first, Blair was commended for his action in The New York Times and received money from the passengers[10] and a medal from the Royal Humane Society.[11]
Both Blair and Charles Lightoller, who had survived the Titanic disaster, were serving aboard RMS Oceanic when she ran aground in 1914. As the navigator, Blair was blamed for the grounding at the resulting enquiry.
He captained the SY St George during the expedition to the South Pacific in 1924-1925.[12]
Blair died on 10 January 1955 in Hendon, Middlesex, and was survived by his son, Donald, a school teacher and author of Lake District hiking books.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Encyclopedia Titanica. David Blair.
- ^ "Titanic Officer Reshuffle". titanic-titanic.com. 2015. Archived from the original on 6 November 2015.
- ^ Tibbetts, Graham (31 August 2007). "Key that could have saved the Titanic". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007.
- ^ The Maiden Voyage, by Geoffrey Marcus c.1969
- ^ "Testimony of Frederick Fleet". United States Senate inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic. 23 April 1912. Day 4. Retrieved 10 November 2021 – via Titanic Inquiry Project.
- ^ Slapper, Gary (5 September 2007). "The Law Explored: the law of causation". Times Online. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011.
- ^ a b Titanic 'crow's nest key' auction.
- ^ "Titanic key is sold for £90,000". BBC News. 22 September 2007.
- ^ Chinese buys key that killed 1,522 on Titanic
- ^ "Leaped from Liner at Sea to Save Man". The New York Times. 9 May 1913. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
- ^ "Royal Humane Society Bronze Medals Taken from the RHS Annual Report 1913". Bill Fevyer. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
- ^ "Titanic's Officers - RMS Titanic - Second Officer Blair". Retrieved 4 May 2025.
