Titanic
First Officer William M. Murdoch

Those who have seen the recently released blockbuster movie The Titanic may well be misled by the actions of First Officer William Murdoch. In the film, Murdoch, played by Ewan Stewart, the son of the late Scottish entertainer Andy Stewart, is portrayed as a coward, who in one scene accepted a cash bribe to ensure a male passenger room on a lifeboat. He is shown flung into the crowd of fleeing passengers and finally turning the revolver on himself. This is a totally inaccurate and unfair description of events and depicts William Murdoch as a weak and corrupt officer.

A carved stone plaque on the wall of the Town Hall in the splendid granite town of Dalbeattie, Kirkcudbrightshire states: This tablet is erected to commemorate the heroism displayed by Lieut. William McMaster Murdoch R.N.R., a native of Dalbeattie, when, on her maiden Voyage, the RM. S. Titanic of which he was First Officer, collided with an iceberg and sank And 815 of her passengers and 688 of her crew, including Lieutenant Murdoch, perished, 14th and 1St" April 1912.

Murdoch was born on the 28 February 1873. the fourth child and youngest son of Jane Muirhead and Samuel Murdoch. The Scots Magazine points out that Murdoch came from a long and notable line of Scottish seafarers who sailed the world's oceans as skippers of the old windjammers and whose names, going back to the early 19th century, are noted with distinction in the ancient records of many former shipping lines. His father and grandfather were both sea captains as were four of his grandfather's brothers. William Murdoch was educated at Dalbeattie High School where he graduated top of class. Today, a plaque at the school denotes a memorial prize in the form of a bursary in his name. At school assemblies William is always depicted as a hero to the children.

At the age of 23 Murdoch qualified for his Master's Certificate. He sailed in the old barques with his first ship being the iron barque. the St Cuthbert. He later served under his father as Chief Officer of the Iquique, a large full steel rigger. He achieved his Extra Master's Certificate and was comrnissioned a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve. He moved to steamships and served on troopships to the Cape during the Boer War. He joined the prestigious White Star Line and served on five of their ships before being transferred to their largest and grandest, the Titanic. He was initially appointed as Chief Officer but stood down for Henry Wilde who was senior in service. By the time Murdoch served the Titanic,  he had sixteen years experience. He is known to have had the ability to keep a cool head in a crisis; to think quickly and act effectively. Diane Bristow in her book refers to Murdoch as "the best and smartest sailor afloat." She quotes from a captain who served under him: "There never was a better officer. Cool, capable, on his toes always." In another book, Michael Davie says that "Murdoch seems to have been the only officer who took any special action before the collision" - referring to his instructions to the ship's lamp-trimmer, some hours before the collision, to eliminate the glow from the fore scuttle in order to improve visibility by having "everything dark before the bridge."

William McMaster Murdock

It was Murdoch who was duty officer on the bridge at 11:40 p.m. on 14th April 1912 when the lookout's warning of, "Iceberg right ahead" was called and it was he who responded and attempted to avoid the iceberg and then closed the watertight doors in the boiler and engine rooms.

The Scots Magazine reminds us that historians who have studied the disaster, agree that if there was a true hero that night it was William Murdoch. Two inquiries conducted into the disaster did not place any blame on Murdoch. The British Board of Trade inquiry under Lord Mersey did not specifically blame anyone, and the U.S. inquiry by Senator William Smith, indicated Captain Edward Smith, accusing him of indifference to danger and over-confidence. Following the collision with the iceberg, Murdoch was in charge of loading lifeboats on the starboard side and snippets of his actions during this time are brief but entirely honourable. For example, he is known to have stopped a rush by men on Lifeboat No.15: "Stand Back! Stand back! It's women first!" and to have dealt strictly with two men who sneaked into a boat: "Get out of this! Clear out of this!"

He instructed Third Officer Pitman to take charge of Lifeboat No.5 and shaking hands with him and smiling said, "Good-bye, good luck." Dr. Eric Kentley, curator of last year's Titanic exhibition at the National Maritime Museum, says: "All the historical facts point to Murdoch behaving impeccably. He was one officer who not only let women and children take lifeboats, but also let men go if there was any room left."

The precise details of Murdoch's death are not known but he did perish along with over 1,500 others in the icy waters of the North Atlantic on that tragic night. Murdoch was married but had no children at the time of his death. However, his nephew Scott Murdoch is reported to be the last surviving member of the Dalbeattie family bearing the Murdoch name and still lives in the town. He has little financial means to clear his uncle's name but hopes that an apology will be forthcoming. Murdoch has been cruelly portrayed in the film but at least readers of The Urlar can be assured that Lieutenant William McMaster Murdoch - the First Officer of the Titanic lived and died a hero and is remembered as such in his hometown of Dalbeattie.

Copyright © 1998 Clan Macpherson Association All rights reserved.
Revised: May 24, 2006.