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20th July 1955 letter from Alfred Pugh:
"At the time she struck the iceberg, I & some more us were playing cards in our room, [eventually? hesitantly?] every body said "Whats that." I said she had dropped a propeller, as that what it felt like to me. We continued playing for quite a while until the order came down to muster at the boats. on arriving on the Crew Deck I saw a steward with a large clump of ice in his hands also a lot of 3rd Class passengers who were all making their way to the Boat Deck. On arriving at the boat deck I met the 6th Officer "Mr.Moody." Knowing each other he called to help him to get the passengers in the Lifeboat 15. We filled up No 18 boat, then did the same to No 16 Boat. We met the 5th Officer there (Mr.Webb) [sic-Lowe]. After filling the boat Mr.Moody remarked that he would go and see if he could be of help elsewhere telling me to stand by. Mr.Webb then detailed the crew to man the boat and asked me if I could manage the oars (being large and me very small) I said yes, as I had already done so at Boat Drill before leaving Southampton. Right he said jump in, and he followed taking charge. We cleared the ship alright and up to then there was no panic. I had not heard the Band playing but in the distance I could hear people singing "For those in peril on the sea" after a while Mr.Webb got all the lifeboats to keep together as he said there was a better chance to be seen. We transferred our 58 passengers to the other boats then started to search for any survivors after the ship had disappeared. Before she sank we could see her well down at the forepoint + her stern well out of the water. Some lights were still showing + continued to do so until she took the final plunge. It was at Daybreak when we saw the "Carpathia" + eventually we were taken on Board. It was some days before I could realise what had happened especially as I found that my Brother had gone down with the ship.
Notes:
1. Spelling and punctuation have been preserved, where possible.
2. Alfred Pugh's brother does not appear on the crewlist, although he may have been a substitute
for another crewmember.