#officer william murdoch

[melancholyromance]

My top ten reasons to watch Titanic besides Jack and Rose lol

[abcmuushroom]

Harold Lowe's is because of the infamous "why is everyone running around what do you mean we hit an iceberg no I didn't feel the collision I was busy sleeping" moment, and for the rest of them... um... just look at them

[titanic-officers]

The officers and the captain while lost in the woods

Wilde: "Well, we wouldn't be in this mess if CHARLES DIDN'T CRASH THE CAR!"

Lightoller: "I'M SORRY, that turkey came out of no where!"

Boxhall: "Somebody pass me the map and compass."

Pitman: "Wait, where's Harold?"

Lowe: *has already found his way out of the woods*

Captain Smith: "Don't worry, gentlemen. We have plenty of food in the back of the car."

Murdoch: "No we don't, because James ate it all."

Moody: *stuffing his face with a sandwich, mumbling to himself while pacing* "I'm stuck here in the middle of nowhere eating a ham sandwich!"

[elisabeth515]

Titanic Officer Barbie Movie Posters (and 1 fun fact about each of the officers!)

(Because why not)

Feel free to save as phone wallpapers 🙈

I’ve decided to include our babeypurser McElroy because the role of Purser is sometimes regarded as an officer role. Among all the officers, Lightoller (B), Pitman (5), Boxhall (2) and Lowe (14) survived the sinking. McElroy was the only officer whose body was recovered and identified; he was buried at sea.

Now to the fun facts!

Henry Wilde: he was already captain and was set to command the SS Cymric for the Liverpool to Boston Route. Unfortunately, the coal strike happened and his first voyage with Cymric was delayed to presumably 1st May. White Star Line decided to put him in onto the crew of Titanic as Chief Officer.

As you guys may know already, Henry Wilde is my favourite officer so it’s not surprising that I have been posting about him for this April. I also am currently doing a series of TikToks for his actions throughout Titanic’s maiden voyage as well🙈

Here’s my post about Wilde being made aware of joining Titanic

This is my post on the Crew Shuffle if anyone would like to read more about it

William Murdoch: Charles Lightoller thought his bestie’s moustache make him look ugly so he grew his moustache so that Will could shave. Nevertheless, we all think otherwise.

Charles Lightoller: of course, his role as one of the captains of the little ships during the Dunkirk Evacuation. He saved around 130 lives in it with his family yacht, the Sundowner.

Side note: currently, the Sundowner is a museum ship in Ramsgate but sadly, the yacht is in a bad condition and we need money to repair. I know I don’t have much high opinions on the British (yeah except Henry Wilde), despite having been living in England for almost 5 years, but Lightoller has been one of the most intriguing figures to me; being through 4 shipwrecks and fire, also living through Titanic, WWI, and Dunkirk, his story of hope and survival is worth a movie. If you would like to help preserving a piece of history, please consider donate to help save this famous getaway yacht little ship🙈

Donate here

And here’s the campaign video by our TikTok Lightoller Fan Club President Melissa on saving the getaway yacht

Herbert Pitman: despite suffering from seasickness, this son of a farmer had a more than half-century long seafaring career, retiring in 1946. He started his career as an apprentice, then a deck officer and when he could not pass the eye test due to colour blindness at one eye, White Star Line made him a purser and he stayed in this position for the rest of his career. Pitman served in both world wars on troop ships; when he retired, he was a Lieutenant-Commander of the Royal Naval Reserves and was created an MBE in 1948, in recognition of his long service in the merchant marine.

Joseph Boxhall: he had a very happy marriage with his wife Majory and they were very fond of their dogs. This may be a substitute to children given that they do not have children together but anyways if anyone asked why you haven’t had kids yet, tell them about the Boxhalls and their doggos 🐶

Harold Lowe: he was a hobby artist who works with watercolours, as well as wood carvings. This may come across as surprising but you should not be surprised given that his father was an artist. There are a few of Harold’s drawings exists today, including a sketch of Titanic (in which he messed up with the funnels). Oh yes, he was also in the church choir as well when he was young.

James Moody: During his South American runs, he would sometimes flirt with female passengers with his very patchy Spanish and well, sometimes he just dropped in some swear words by accident. Yeah, in case you wondered, he’s not that shy as you thought after watching Ed’s portrayal of our daring Jim in the 1997 movie (the real Jim was quite cheeky actually).

Hugh McElroy: as the ship’s purser, he was there to take care of passengers’ needs (like he’s basically the “manager”). From parrot-tending (yes, and he trained the parrot to do morse code) to organising marriage ceremonies for runaway couples, he’s there to try to help. And as a result, he was a very popular man on the ship and passengers were honoured to share a table with him.

-

Sources:

TitanicOfficers.com

@/Melissafairlady on tiktok (the revenge ‘stache fact)

Encyclopaedia Titanica forum (the discussion thread on Moody)

[oneaugustevent]

I believe she is gone, Hardy.

First Officer William Murdoch, as related by survivor John Hardy during the US Senate Inquiry

[austerulous]

Just been to see Titanic in the cinema and it’s just as emotionally devastating all these years later. The elderly couple cuddling in bed as their room floods? The mother tucking in her children and telling them a story of Tír na nÓg? Fucks me up every time. 😭 I’m going to sleep off a headache and hopefully I’ll be around more tomorrow. Mwah. ♡

[if-not-now-tell-me-when]

Bro!!! BRO!!!!! This is so incredible!!! The incredible level of detail, those tiny historically based moments you managed to capture and expand from the film (I never noticed Fred Barrett on the Carpathia until you pointed him out!) So happy to meet a fellow Titaniac who is as obsessed with the minutiae as I am 🩵🩵🩵

“The actual story of the Titanic, you couldn’t have written it better. It’s like a great novel. It’s like a great novel that really happened. The people were so alive, so fascinating, the emotion that they must have experienced in those last couple of hours as the ship went down… […] There’s a stateliness to the way we perceive the sinking of the Titanic. It was not stately.  We wanted to convey some sense of the rapid destruction to the interiors of the ship, that would have happened when it really took its final plunge.  Pressure differentials built up very rapidly, water came blasting in the windows, into the glass dome… I wanted it to be more visceral, more primal. And quite frankly, to be more terrifying.”

- James Cameron

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V

[jensens-ackles]

"C.Q.D. Help! Help! We are sinking." The RMS Titanic sank in the early morning hours of 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City 14th-15th April 1912

At 11:40 pm on 14 April, lookout Frederick Fleet spotted an iceberg immediately ahead of Titanic and alerted the bridge. First Officer William Murdoch ordered the ship to be steered around the obstacle and the engines to be reversed, but it was too late; the starboard side of Titanic struck the iceberg, creating a series of holes below the waterline.

The hull was not punctured by the iceberg, but rather dented such that the hull's seams buckled and separated, allowing water to rush in. Five of the ship's watertight compartments were breached. It soon became clear that the ship was doomed, as she could not survive more than four compartments being flooded.

Titanic began sinking bow-first, with water spilling from compartment to compartment as her angle in the water became steeper. Between 2:10 and 2:15 a.m., a little over two and a half hours after Titanic struck the iceberg, her rate of sinking suddenly increased as the boat deck dipped underwater, and the sea poured in through open hatches and grates. As her unsupported stern rose out of the water, exposing the propellers, the ship broke in two main pieces between the second and third funnels, due to the immense forces on the keel. With the bow underwater, and air trapped in the stern, the stern remained afloat and buoyant for a few minutes longer, rising to a nearly vertical angle with hundreds of people still clinging to it, before foundering at 2:20 am.

[snug-as-bugalugs-in-rugalugs]

Is it just me or when you rewatch older seasons of Murdoch do you really start to feel like both William and Julia have lost a lot as characters over the years? I admit he was never exactly one of my faves, but at least at the beginning Murdoch felt like a somewhat fun + interesting protag. He shot arrows in his office and tested theories on dead pigs and recreated murder scenes in his mind and it was!! Genuinely entertaining!! And Julia was constantly working to open her mind and push the restraints around her-- be it through coming up with new ways to identify poisions or protesting for women's suffrage or even crossdressing! But now, Julia seems to have hardly any push left in her and Murdoch is just plain... well, dry. Then, after watching full episodes of Julia tagging along passively and Murdoch listing suspects dryly, we can always look forward to them ending it with the exact same flirting lines as have been said every episode since season 10.

I mean, I do understand why this could be happening-- for one, it's been, yk, 17 seasons of the same protag and his same partner/love interest. But also, hot take, if the writers can't keep writing them in ways that feel interesting, they just shouldn't. It's high-time that Murdoch retired/switched workplaces and Watts and Miss Hart were able to take over as the prime crime-solving duo! They've both only been around for 6-7 seasons and still have SO much more development to be had, especially if they were finally giving the time + space.

Even the problem of repeating murder mystery plots would probably be improved. Watts obviously has VERY different investigative methods (when he's even allowed to use them, since ofc Murdoch as protag HAS to solve 99% of the crimes :/) and thus pretty much the entire trajectory of the murder plotlines would be shifted. New stories/solutions would be opened up, since maybe Watts' methods would be more likely to yield them than Murdoch's. Or maybe he'd just be more likely to be around certain murders. The point is, having a character who was literally created to be almost the 'opposite' of Murdoch as the new detective would certainly add some much-needed variety.

Unironically, I think getting rid of Murdoch might be the only way to save Murdoch Mysteries at this point.

[septima-severa]

A high time to edit my old Titanic fanfic

I think I started writing it before I moved to the countryside, which would now be an astonishing amount of six and half years. I have been fascinated by the ill-fated ship since childhood (thanks to Cameron's movie), and later discovered tons of fanfiction on the ye olde internet. Now, after reading and rereading On the Edge of Daylight by Giselle Beaumont multiple times over the past few years (and I have known this story since it was "just another" fanfic on AO3), I have finally rediscovered my old file - where there have been more notes than text itself - and dove into the On a Sea of Glass to make even more notes.

After all these years, my goals changed. I have worn the period-accurate garments - including a corset - long enough that I'm finally comfortable to continue my tale. And I don't want to write only some another officer appreciation smutty story. I want to introduce more of those half-forgotten characters. I want to overcome the hardships of the Edwardian era as a female doctor on board. I want to...

So many things.

But one stays the same - infamous prankster Charles Herbert Lightoller. And THIS is giving me a hard time.

It will take a lot of time yet before I will be comfortable enough to post the first chapter. In the end, I have written a completely new one just today. But there is an excerpt with Lights that I want to share now.

---

“I’m afraid that Captain Smith’s arrival is not due for another hour,” he informed her, watching her expression fall slightly. “But I’m sure you can wait in the Officers’ Mess, maybe with some tea to ward the morning chill off?”

“Wonderful,” she smiled, warmth returning to her eyes.

Instead of simply trusting her with instructions, the man insisted on accompanying her to the boat deck.

“Oi, William!” came from behind them when they walked towards the Officers’ Mess on the starboard side of the Boat Deck. The male voice was accompanied by rather hastened steps as its owner chased after them. They both turned in unison to see another officer running in their direction, blindly adjusting his tie. “I thought I’ve heard you and –“ he stopped abruptly, eyeing the newcomer. “Sneaking women on board dressed in the uniform now, Will? While on duty? And what would Ada say?”

“Lights!” Murdoch elbowed him in warning, a hint of blush creeping to his cheeks.

Alexandra picked on the newcomer’s teasing tone. “His wife would say absolutely nothing, as she is an occasional patient of mine,” she brushed him off, offering her hand in greeting. “Alexandra Metcalfe, your Assistant Surgeon for the maiden voyage and beyond.”

Now was the time for him to stand there flabbergasted, his mouth hanging open.

“May I introduce the First Officer, Charles Lightoller,” Murdoch said with exasperation, watching his comrade losing his marbles in real time and, frankly, enjoying every moment of it.

Said man’s eyes widened slightly in disbelief, masked by a question. “Surgeon? But… but you are a… uh, a woman.” He was still in shock, if judging by his stammering over words. And it was not just an effect of early hour of her arrival.

“Excellent observation, Mr Lightoller. Indeed, I am, but in case you would need some stitches, I bet you wouldn’t tell mine apart from my male counterparts. Or maybe I shouldn’t apply anaesthetics before I have a go at it?” she grinned at him, returning the jest.

“Oh my God,” Lightoller muttered, face red as a tomato. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to assume –”

“No offense taken. I sincerely hope there is no problem with that.”

“With what?”

“Why, Mr Lightoller, with the third surgeon being a woman, of course! I wouldn’t want to distract you fine men from your duties!”

Mr Murdoch snorted at that. Since they had resumed their walk, he was now clutching the door handle from the Officers’ Mess, battling with himself to not double over in fits of laughter. He had known this woman, although they had met only fleetingly on board the Olympic the previous year. However, even then she had been known for her sharp wits and brusque tongue.

He opened the door to reveal the Fifth Officer slumped over his breakfast, watching his mug of coffee with bleary eyes, blinking slowly. The knot of his tie hang loosely around his neck, the shirt collar unbuttoned and crooked.

“Mr Lowe, for God’s sake,” he growled at the poor lad who reacted too slowly to snap at attention.

“Sod off…” the dishevelled man grumbled.

“Our Fifth Officer is out of sorts today, I’m afraid,” Murdoch turned to the woman standing beside him.

“He looks a bit green in his face,” she mused.

Lightoller was peeking inside the room over their joined shoulders. “Captain on deck!” he shouted, the loudness of it making Alexandra wince. At that, the man at the table stood abruptly, overturning his chair. “Here, everything’s in order again, minus Mr Lowe’s shirt,” the First Officer smirked.

[grandhoff]

Murdoch mysteries rewatch / catch up from the beginning - part 3

We're back at it again folks

EP 11

- you know, people being killed by arrows easily is the main reason crossbows are outlawed commonly in Canada 

- 11 episodes in and two of the main characters have had their lives at stake, our dear show is developing a reputation 

- oof! The sexism just Oozes from this doctor, and more so than just "of the time". This man gives super creepy vibes 

- Don't try to kill William, he gets quite testy about it 

- why do we gotta pretend to be an invalid? Why do we gotta be evil?

- this chemistry between William and Julia is killing me 

EP 12

- our favourite buddy cops set to protect the future king, what could go wrong?

- the Prince just made young George's life 

- I love when we learn new things about the previous lives of our main characters 

- Georgie dressing up round 3: fancy boy clothes, AND ALSO HENRY IN A COSTUME 

- poor Will getting double crossed by his old friend

- not Will losing his childhood best friend 

EP 13

- but how did he get in the tree? 

- the train station sign and them being in "rouge valley" doesn't match

- freaking Terrance Meyers finally showing up

- I love how George lies about being able to ride a horse 

- why do we gotta remove organs? Who is eating these people?

- ooooh airship 

- and another near death for Murdoch 

- freaking government secrets

So, season 1 is done and dusted, good as always 

13/163

S2 EP1

- another accessory for our dear Georgie

- can't even go to the fair these days 

- the fact that Brackenreid just hides things in Murdoch's office is just *chef's kiss*

- Brackenreid is such a flirt! Literally anytime he has to talk to a woman on a case

- we gotta stop stealing body parts, okay? 

- Thomas, don't be tempted by the wiles of Annie Oakley 

S2 EP2

- if you were a better detective you would have caught your serial killer, do better

- of course every woman alone at night is obviously a trollop *eyeroll* 

- poor William cannot dance, the Jesuit brothers were not keen on it obviously 

- I do not trust this Scotland Yard detective, but that fringe doctor at the incurable hospital is pretty on the nose 

- AND NOW HE ATTACKED JULIA, HOW DARE HE 

S2 EP3

- THE BALL, GUYS 😍

- very exciting: religious zealot and a body in a dino jaw

- stupid Americans, screwing things up again

- I love how everyone is just "it isn't *technically* breaking the rules to do ____*

- he's a phony, a big fat phony!

- i knew that fancy blowhard was bad news!

16/163

Making some progress now, I hope for more costumes for George, they are always such a treat! 

[melancholyromance]

four happy moments before tragedy (titanic) struck (an iceberg)

[abcmuushroom]

first mate murdoch being relatable

[titanic-officers]

Wilde: "You know what, I think I'll take the job. Titanic is a wonderful ship and the other officers seem like nice chaps."

Murdoch: *having a mental breakdown*

Lightoller: *pranking everyone*

Pitman: *makes confused noises*

Boxhall: *slams face into the wall*

Lowe: *aggressively pressing buttons*

Moody: *running around screaming*

Wilde: ......

Wilde: "This is fine."

[elisabeth515]

Titanic slander

Some of them are James Cameron movie-related, some of them are history-related. My heart goes to the victims and survivors of the disaster.

-

Time traveller going back in time on 14th April, 1912, in attempt to find Rose deWitt Bukater and Jack Dawson on RMS Titanic

-

Wilde, after launching the very last lifeboat and on the way to go down with the ship

-

Murdoch on the bridge when the ship was going towards an iceberg (he has just asked quartermaster Hitchens to hard-a-starboard)

-

Lightoller when Dunkirk (he’s driving your getaway yacht)

-

Herbert Pitman

-

Boxhall escaping from unwanted female attention on the ship for the 2749302748194th time

-

Lowe at home (*he almost drowned)

-

Moody when found out that his application for holiday leave has been rejected

-

J. Bruce Ismay explaining why White Star Line wasn’t responsible for any claims of lost luggage

-

Bonus

normies explaining why the ship that sank was actually Olympic not Titanic

[set-phasers-to-whump]

a doctor's care

prompt: examination (alt no.7)

whumpee: william murdoch

fandom: murdoch mysteries

remember how yesterday i said i might possibly write a follow up to my fic? well. i did that immediately lol. (the first part can be found here btw). hope you enjoy!!

Dr. Grace is fortunately not busy when William enters the morgue. She is cleaning a scalpel, and sets it down with a rather loud clatter when he nearly stumbles and has to grab onto the doorframe for support. 

“What’s wrong?” she asks, hurrying to his side. 

“I was struck over the head.”

“With what?” She gestures further into the morgue, and William follows her, gratefully sitting down in a chair in the doctor’s office space. 

“I don’t know. Something made of metal.”

“Well, I’m glad that you came to me,” Dr. Grace says. “Too often, people think that a head injury isn’t even worth noticing.”

William does not understand how anyone could fail to notice such a painful injury. He rather wishes he was capable of this himself.

“Where on the head were you struck?”

He does not remember. The only thing he recalls is that a man had hit him. He does not know how it had happened. 

“I…can’t seem to remember.”

“A bit of memory loss is quite common in cases like this,” Dr. Grace says. This is reassuring, a bit. Still, he is not accustomed to being unable to remember things. He does not like it.

Dr. Grace feels for an injury, her fingers carefully threading into his hair. It does not take long for her to discover the place where the metallic object had struck him. 

“There’s a bit of blood on your head, near the hairline. The wound has stopped bleeding now, though, no need to worry.”

“Oh.” He hadn’t felt any blood. It makes sense that it would be there, he supposes. 

“Now, when he hit you, did you fall unconscious?”

“Yes.”

“Have you been hearing any strange noises?”

He recalls the noise in his head when he’d first attempted to sit up. “Yes.”

“Have you experienced any strange visions?”

The black spots come to mind. “Yes.”

Dr. Grace nods. “All quite common. Have you been vomiting?”

“No.” 

“Have you felt at all nauseous?”

“Yes.”

Another nod. “It is my professional opinion, Detective, that you most definitely have a concussion.”

“What is the recommended treatment?”

“Rest, first of all. I’m afraid you may need to take a few days away from work. You should lie down as much as possible, and keep your extremities warm.”

He can do these things. Even the thought of missing work does not seem so terrible in the face of recovery. 

His head throbs insistently, as though to prove this point. 

“Can anything be done for the headache?”

“I can give you an injection of strychnine or camphor. This ought to lessen the symptoms, but I’m afraid only rest can truly eliminate them.”

Even a lessening of the pain sounds quite good. He gives his consent for an injection and watches attentively as Dr. Grace slides the needle into his arm. 

The drug starts working almost immediately. The pain in his head dulls and fades, though, just as Dr. Grace had explained, it is still very much there. This is still quite the improvement, and he relaxes, very slightly. 

“I can administer more medication in a few hours, should you need it,” Dr. Grace says. “I’ll stop by after work, if that is agreeable to you.”

“It is. Thank you, Dr. Grace.” 

“You’re welcome. Feel better, Detective Murdoch.”

He makes his way to the door and nods to her before he exits. His head does not spin as it had before, and he breathes a sigh of relief.

With that, William steps outside into the sun and sets a course for home. 

thanks for reading! i did my best in terms of turn of the century concussion treatments, hope it was alright <3