Cyril Furmstone Evans
Encyclopedia
Cyril Furmstone Evans was a 20th century wireless telegraphist
notable for his involvement in the Titanic tragedy. Cyril Evans was 20 years old in April, 1912 when Titanic embarked on her doomed maiden voyage and was the sole Wireless Operator on the SS Californian
which was also crossing the Atlantic
at the time.
On the night of April 14, 1912, Evans was on duty aboard the Californian when his Captain, Stanley Lord
, entered the Wireless Operator's Cabin and informed him that they had stopped due to ice in the vicinity and ordered him to warn all other ships in the area, which he did. Meanwhile, in the Wireless Room of Titanic, Senior Operator, Jack Philips and Harold Bride, Junior Operator, were tirelessly working to clear a backlog of passenger's private messages that were to be relayed to the Cape Race
wireless station.
When Philips received Evans' ice warning, he was almost deafened by the sudden interference in his headset and sent an angry response telling Evans to keep out of the airwaves. Philips also never passed this message to the bridge, but in his defence, Evans had not prefixed the message, with the letters, 'MSG' which stood for Master Service Gram and was customary for all messages intended for the Bridge. Evans, feeling that he had done what was asked of him despite Philips' rude apparent rejection of the message, then switched off his wireless equipment and went to bed. This exchange was to prove serious, as it could have avoided Titanic's collision with the iceberg later on that night.
In the early hours of the morning of April 15, 1912, Philips communicated with the nearest ship responding to the SOS call he sent out on the orders of Smith. This ship was RMS Carpathia
who steamed to the rescue of the stricken liner, but whilst she was 4 hours away, the Californian was much closer to Titanic and although Lord's officers informed him of the large ship which had stopped and was visible to them, firing rockets, Lord never thought to wake Evans (although he did try communicating with Titanic by Morse Lamp). Evans was only woken once it was too late and he learned via his headset what had happened to Titanic. The Californian then, after looking for any survivors that had been missed by Carpathia, but finding none, continued its route to America, where upon arrival, several key crew members, including Lord and Evans were summoned to give evidence at the American Enquiry. Evans also gave evidence at the British enquiry into the Titanic tragedy and, like others involved in the disaster, was offered a lot of money from newspapers for his story, but refused.
Evans continued service with the Marconi Wireless company and its successor companies (Eastern Telegraph Company and Cable & Wireless) for the rest of his life. He also served at sea in World War 1 and World War 2, running mobile telecommunications for the British Army in North Africa and then Italy, and married and raised a family. Evans died of a heart attack in 1959.
Wireless telegraphy
Wireless telegraphy is a historical term used today to apply to early radio telegraph communications techniques and practices, particularly those used during the first three decades of radio before the term radio came into use....
notable for his involvement in the Titanic tragedy. Cyril Evans was 20 years old in April, 1912 when Titanic embarked on her doomed maiden voyage and was the sole Wireless Operator on the SS Californian
SS Californian
SS Californian was a Leyland Line steamship that is best known for the controversy surrounding her location during the sinking of the RMS Titanic on 15 April 1912. The Californian was later sunk herself, in 1915, by U-34.-History:...
which was also crossing the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
at the time.
On the night of April 14, 1912, Evans was on duty aboard the Californian when his Captain, Stanley Lord
Stanley Lord
Stanley Lord was captain of the SS Californian, a ship that was in the vicinity of the RMS Titanic the night it sank on 15 April 1912.- Early life :...
, entered the Wireless Operator's Cabin and informed him that they had stopped due to ice in the vicinity and ordered him to warn all other ships in the area, which he did. Meanwhile, in the Wireless Room of Titanic, Senior Operator, Jack Philips and Harold Bride, Junior Operator, were tirelessly working to clear a backlog of passenger's private messages that were to be relayed to the Cape Race
Cape Race
Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", or "bare"...
wireless station.
When Philips received Evans' ice warning, he was almost deafened by the sudden interference in his headset and sent an angry response telling Evans to keep out of the airwaves. Philips also never passed this message to the bridge, but in his defence, Evans had not prefixed the message, with the letters, 'MSG' which stood for Master Service Gram and was customary for all messages intended for the Bridge. Evans, feeling that he had done what was asked of him despite Philips' rude apparent rejection of the message, then switched off his wireless equipment and went to bed. This exchange was to prove serious, as it could have avoided Titanic's collision with the iceberg later on that night.
In the early hours of the morning of April 15, 1912, Philips communicated with the nearest ship responding to the SOS call he sent out on the orders of Smith. This ship was RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. Carpathia made her maiden voyage in 1903 and became famous for rescuing the survivors of after the latter ship hit an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912...
who steamed to the rescue of the stricken liner, but whilst she was 4 hours away, the Californian was much closer to Titanic and although Lord's officers informed him of the large ship which had stopped and was visible to them, firing rockets, Lord never thought to wake Evans (although he did try communicating with Titanic by Morse Lamp). Evans was only woken once it was too late and he learned via his headset what had happened to Titanic. The Californian then, after looking for any survivors that had been missed by Carpathia, but finding none, continued its route to America, where upon arrival, several key crew members, including Lord and Evans were summoned to give evidence at the American Enquiry. Evans also gave evidence at the British enquiry into the Titanic tragedy and, like others involved in the disaster, was offered a lot of money from newspapers for his story, but refused.
Evans continued service with the Marconi Wireless company and its successor companies (Eastern Telegraph Company and Cable & Wireless) for the rest of his life. He also served at sea in World War 1 and World War 2, running mobile telecommunications for the British Army in North Africa and then Italy, and married and raised a family. Evans died of a heart attack in 1959.