Cosmo Duff-Gordon significant event sinking of the RMS Titanic
Titanic voyage
Duff-Gordon is best known for the circumstances in which he survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, along with his wife and her secretary, Laura Mabel Francatelli. Duff-Gordon and his wife had cabin A16 in the First Class quarters on the Titanic.The three were among only 12 people who escaped in Lifeboat #1, which had a capacity of 40. The ladies had earlier turned down places in two other lifeboats for women and children because Lucy refused to be separated from her husband.
Duff-Gordon was a witness at the inquiry into the sinking. He was not "on trial" but received much press criticism which claimed that he bribed the sailor in charge of the lifeboat with a £5 note not to return to rescue people struggling in the water. Other witnesses confirmed that the lifeboat had ample space and that he had indeed given the sailor £5. Duff-Gordon stated that the money was to allow the sailor to buy new clothes. Cosmo denied the allegation that he disobeyed orders, maintaining there had been no women or children in the immediate vicinity when his boat was launched, as was confirmed by others. Moreover, Duff-Gordon denied his offer of money to the lifeboat's crew was a bribe (although he could not deny passing the money), and the British Board of Trade's inquiry into the disaster accepted his explanation that it was a charitable contribution for crew members who had lost not only their possessions but their jobs.
The inquiry nonetheless concluded that, if the lifeboat had returned to the wreck site, it might have been able to rescue others (the lifeboat had official space for 28 additional persons). Regarding the bribery allegation, the report stated: "The very gross charge against Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon that, having got into No. 1 boat he bribed the men in it to row away from the drowning people, is unfounded". Despite being cleared of wrongdoing, Duff-Gordon's reputation never recovered.