Commander Joseph Groves Boxhall (23 March 1884 â 25 April 1967) was a British merchant seaman and naval officer who was the fourth officer on the . When the ship struck the iceberg, Boxhall was on watch and subsequently became the only on-duty officer that night to survive the sinking. At the time of his death, Boxhall was the last surviving former officer of Titanic.
Boxhall was born in Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, the second child of Miriam () and Captain Joseph Boxhall. He was born into an established seafaring tradition: His grandfather had been a mariner, his uncle was a Trinity House buoymaster and Board of Trade official, and his father was a respected master with the Wilson Line of Hull.
Boxhall followed in the footsteps of his ancestors on 2 June 1899, when he joined his first ship, a barque of the William Thomas Line of Liverpool. Boxhall's apprenticeship lasted four years, during which time he travelled extensively. He then went to work with his father at Wilson Line, and obtained his Master's and Extra-Master's certifications in September 1907, giving him the highest marine certificate of any officer aboard Titanic. Afterwards, he joined the White Star Line. On 1 October 1911, he was confirmed as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve. He served on White Star's liners and before moving to Titanic as Fourth Officer in 1912; he was then 28 years old.
Like the ship's other junior officers, Boxhall reported to White Star's Liverpool offices at nine o'clock in the morning on 26 March 1912, and travelled to board the ship at Belfast the following day. Before the trials, Boxhall and Fourth Officer Herbert Pitman were tasked with inspecting the port lifeboats and their equipment. In Southampton on 10 April, Boxhall assisted with the ship's lifeboat drill.
The White Star Line operated a watchkeeping system whereby the three senior officers worked the same four-hour watches in every 12-hour period while the junior officers stood the traditional system of four hours on/four hours off with the rest of the Titanic's deck department. This was divided into two watches, designated Port and Starboard, and pairs of junior officers were assigned to each watch. Boxhall was assigned to the Starboard Watch with Sixth Officer James Moody. During delivery trip from Belfast to Southampton, and then again during departure from Southampton, Boxhall's departure position was on the navigating bridge, in charge of the engine telegraphs, as well as assisting the captain and the harbour pilot.
After the Titanic left Southampton, Boxhall â along with his fellow junior officers â settled into his regular duties; these included scheduled watches, aiding in navigation, and assisting passengers and crew when necessary.
On the evening of 14 April, Boxhall began his last watch at 8:00 PM, set to last until midnight, and spent "a great deal of time in the chartroom, evaluating previous navigational data and stellar fixes from Third Officer [Herbert] Pitman." He updated Titanics position and reported the information to Captain Smith. He updated the ship's position once again at 10:00, incorrectly determining that any ice was to the north of the ship.
When Titanic collided with an iceberg at 11:40 pm on 14 April, Officer Boxhall was on duty but was not on the bridge. At the two inquiries held into the sinking in 1912 he stated he was standing on the boat deck just outside the officers' quarters. However, in his 1962 BBC interview he stated that he was in his cabin, having gone there to have a cup of tea. Hearing the lookout bell, he headed immediately to the bridge, arriving just after the impact. Captain Smith, who had also just arrived on the bridge, assessed the situation as best he could while the senior officers gathered in the bridge. Boxhall went off to inspect the damage and on his way down he came across passengers on the forward well-deck playing with ice. He went as far as F-Deck and found no damage, but was later intercepted by the ship's carpenter who informed him that the ship was taking water, which was later confirmed by a mail clerk to Boxhall and Captain Smith. On the return trips up, he also noticed light ice scattered across the forward well deck.
Officer Boxhall sighted lights in the distance, possibly the masthead light of the cargo steamer , and attempted in vain to signal by using the morse lamp located atop Titanics starboard bridge wing cab. Boxhall once again charted Titanics position so that a distress signal could be sent out, incorrectly finding it as 41ð 46' N, 50ð 14' W. He assisted in firing eight distress rockets from the starboard bridge wing in an attempt to signal to the distant ship, though that task also proved fruitless. After asking Captain Smith about Titanics condition, he was told that she would sink in about an hour.
Boxhall was ordered into lifeboat No. 2 by Captain Smith, which was lowered from the port side at 1:45 am with 18 people aboard out of a possible 40. Boxhall was ordered to pull towards the starboard aft gangway doors, which he attempted to do but eventually the lifeboat rowed away from the ship for fear of being pulled down by suction. Boxhall later stated that he did not actually see Titanic founder, as her lights had gone out and his lifeboat was about distant.
Boxhall spotted the on the horizon around 4:00 am and guided her towards Titanics lifeboats with green flares he had placed into the boat just before getting into it himself. As the lifeboat pulled alongside Carpathia, a passenger in the boat named Mahala Douglas, whom Boxhall had placed in charge of the tiller, called out "The Titanic has gone down with everyone aboard!" Boxhall quickly replied with "Shut up!" He later apologised for his outburst, and Douglas agreed that it was acceptable, given the circumstances they had just endured and their current conditions.
Once aboard the ship, Boxhall was taken to Captain Arthur Rostron who asked him where the Titanic was. According to eyewitnesses, Boxhall's voice choked as he responded with, "Gone. She sank at 2.20 A.M." He subsquently informed Rostron the other lifeboats were nearby and assisted Carpathias crew as they came up to the rescue ship one by one.
After arriving in New York on April 18, Boxhall, along with his fellow surviving officers, were served with subpoenas to testify at the American inquiry into the sinking. Initially, he testified on Day 3 of the hearings and was noted to be unwell. Soon after, he was examined by a doctor who diagnosed him with pleurisy due to exposure whilst in the lifeboats. He would testify again about a week later. He and his fellow surviving officers were allowed to leave New York on the on 2 May.
After returning to England, Boxhall bore witness again, this time at the British inquiry. Much of his testimony concerned details of the lifeboat lowerings and Titanics navigation, including the many ice warnings. He was also the first person to testify that he saw another vessel in proximity while Titanic sank.
Following the sinking of Titanic, Boxhall briefly served as Fourth Officer on White Star's and then as Third Officer of the . In November 1912, Boxhall received a promotion to senior officer, becoming Second Officer aboard the of the Dominion Line, on the Australian route.
He was promoted to lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve on 27 May 1915. During the First World War, he was commissioned to serve for one year aboard the battleship before being dispatched to Gibraltar, where he commanded a torpedo boat.
Boxhall returned to White Star following the war in May 1919, having married Marjory Beddells two months prior. On 27 May 1923, he was promoted to lieutenant-commander in the RNR. He signed on as second officer on board the lead ship of the three Olympic-class vessels which Titanic was the second ship constructed on 30 June 1926. After the White Star-Cunard merger in 1933, he served in senior capacity as First and later Chief Officer of the , although he was never made a captain in the merchant marine. He also served as First Officer on and as Chief Officer on .
After 41 years at sea, Boxhall retired in 1940. Boxhall was a generally taciturn and quiet man, usually reluctant to speak about his experiences on Titanic. However, in 1957, he acted as a technical advisor for the film adaptation of Walter Lord's historical account, A Night to RememberâÂÂlater to attend the film's worldwide premiere in Odeon Leicester Square alongside Third Officer PitmanâÂÂand also gave a BBC interview in 1962.
His health deteriorated rapidly in the 1960s, and he was eventually hospitalised. The last surviving deck officer of Titanic, Boxhall died of cerebral thrombosis on 25 April 1967 at the age of 83. His body was cremated and according to his last wishes, his ashes were scattered to sea at 41ð46N 50ð14WâÂÂthe position he had calculated as Titanics final resting place over 50 years earlier.
He is commemorated with a green plaque located at his former home at The Avenues, Kingston upon Hull.