Herbert Pitman was born in Sutton Montis near Castle Cary, Somerset, England on the 20th of November in the year 1877. His mother was Sarah Marchant Candy and his father Henry Pitman. He had two siblings, William Henry and Ida Mary. In 1880, his father died, and their mother eventually remarried to Charles Candy. Pitman's elder brother William was sent to live with other relatives.

Pitman went to sea at 17 years old, and was a veteran of seventeen years at sea when he sailed on the Titanic as the Third Officer.

Pitman had served for three years as an officer on a sailing ship before going into steam. He had then served twelve months in the Blue Anchor Line, six months in the Shore Line, and five years in the White Star Line.

Pitman was transferred from the Oceanic to the Titanic as the Third Officer in March 1912. At the time he was 34.

Of the six ice messages received on the 14th, there was firm information about only the first two. The Caronia's sighting, received at 9 A.M., appeared to have been noted by Fourth Officer Boxhall. Pitman distinctly remembered seeing him jot the single word "ice" on a slip of paper, with the Caronia's sighting underneath, and then tuck the slip into a frame above the chart room table.

On the ice messages received by Marconi operators, there seemed to be no standard practice at all. According to Third Officer Pitman, every captain had his own system, but it was hard to explain the system on the Titanic. As for the messages received by Titanic, Pitman thought there was only a berg or two. Nobody on the bridge visualized the great berg-studded floe drifting slowly across the ship's path. The missed messages told a lot. Pitman saw the chit marked "ice" above the chart room table, but it failed to stir his interest - "I only looked at it casually."

Pitman saw the Captain on the Bridge at 7PM and heard nothing of ice until later. In fact, he only first saw ice at 3AM while in a lifeboat.

That night instead of turning west at "the corner". Smith had the ship travel an additional forty five minutes which allowed the ship to travel an additional sixteen miles southwest. Third Officer Pitman calculated that when the Titanic turned the corner, the ship was ten miles south of the normal shipping route.

On 14 April, he was on duty from 6pm until 8pm The Officer of the Watch (O.O.W) took a set of stars as it was coming on dusk- three stars for latitude, and three for longitude; while Pitman stood by the chronometer, and noted the exact time as his senior gave the call; after which he retired to the chart-room to work out the O.O.W's observations.

The third officer was busy in the chart-room. He could see from the marconigrams stuck up on the frame that there was no ice reported anywhere near the track. Nothing to worry about, apparently. As usual, he took a stellar bearing to check the compass error. Toward the end of his watch, at about twenty minutes to eight, he had started working on the meridian altitude of the star for latitude when his relief appeared on the bridge.

He handed over the task thankfully to Fourth Officer Boxhall, saying: "Here is a bunch of sights for you, old man. Go ahead!" Boxhall and Sixth Officer Moody took over and Pitman and Fifth Officer Lowe went below.

Lying half waking, half sleeping, in his bunk, the Third Officer had heard a sound like "the chain running out over the windlass", accompanied by a slight vibration but not enough to rouse him to full wakefulness. He aroused himself after three or four minutes with a little thinking, wondering where they were anchoring.

After a few minutes he got up and without dressing took 3 or 4 paces across the deck; but neither seeing nor hearing anything unusual he returned to his room which was on the boat deck close to the bridge and lit his pipe. He thought that nothing had happened and perhaps it was a dream, or something like that. However, as it was near his watch, and he started to dress.

Boxhall came in and told him that the water was flooding into the mailroom. Asking what happened, he answered "We struck an iceberg". Pitman drew his coat and went on deck, where he saw the seamen uncovering the boats and clearing them away. He walked along to the after end of the boat deck where he met Moody. He asked Moody if he had seen the iceberg, but he replied no, but said that there was some ice on the forward well deck. So to satisfy his curiosity, he went down there himself. He went first to look at the ice and then to the foc's'le head, where he could find no damage.

On his return he saw a crowd of firemen coming up with their bags. The officer asked, "What is the matter?" "The water is coming in our place", they told him. "That is funny," said Pitman. he looked down No.1 hatch and saw the water flowing over the hatch.

In later testimony, Pitman was to state that 20 minutes after the crash, after being ordered by Captain Smith to rush downstairs and see whether the water was coming in very fast, he watched bags of registered letters floating around the mail room, 24 feet above the keel.

This observation helped Edward Wilding naval architect at Harland & Wolff in his calculations of what size hole was actually produced as the result of the iceberg. This was an estimation of what size hole would produce that much water in the time elapsed.

Pitman came back to tell the Captain that it looked pretty bad and that water was rushing in and filling the bottom. The locks of the water-tight compartments have been sprung by the shock.

Pitman immediately went to the boat deck and assisted in getting boats uncovered and ready for swinging out.

Pitman assisted First Officer Murdoch to fill the lifeboats on the starboard side. He had five or six men there, and the boat was out in about two minutes. Pitman said that it struck him at the time how easy way the boat went out -- the great improvement the modern davits were on the old fashioned davits. In two minutes the boat was flush with the boat deck. However, the paint was fresh on the pulleys (they had never been used before) and the falls kept sticking. The lifeboat went down jerkily -- first the bow dropped, then the stern.

Working under Murdoch, they launched #7 and then Pitman was preparing boat #5. Bruce J. Ismay, stood nearby and watch impatiently. "There is no time to waste", Ismay announced, clearly implying that Pitman was moving too slowly. The officer did not recognize the managing director of the White Star Line and simply ignored the comment. Then, when the boat was swung out over the side into ready position, Ismay again intervened, instructing Pitman to load it immediately with women and children. "I await the commander's orders," Pitman replied abruptly. "Very well," Ismay acknowledged. Suddenly realizing that this gentleman matched a description he had been given of the White Star managing director, Pitman walked forward to the bridge, where Captain Smith was standing. Pitman informed the captain that a man he suspected of being Bruce Ismay wanted him to get the boat away. "Go ahead, carry on," Smith replied.

If Pitman on the starboard side and Second Officer Lightoller on port had not asked Smith to load the lifeboats, their launching would have been delayed longer and most likely lead to a greater loss of life.

Pitman promptly returned to boat No. 5, hopped in and called out, "Come along, Ladies," Both men and women at first came forward and a number began climbing in. Ismay was asked by Mrs. Beckwith if her whole party could go and he replied "Of course, Madam". A stout gentleman leaned over to kiss his wife good-bye. "I cannot leave you," he moaned and tumbled into the boat beside her. "Throw that man out of the boat!" Murdoch shouted. Instead, three more men jumped in, dislocating two ribs of a lady passenger.

Pitman allowed a few more men in until the boat had forty-one occupants. Its capacity was 65. He then jumped out to assist in lowering, leaving Quartermaster Alfred Olliver in command. At this point, First Officer Murdoch approached and barked at him, "You go in charge of this boat and also look after the others. Stand by to come along the after gangway when hailed."

Pitman said that he did not like the idea of going away at all, because he thought he was better off on the ship.

The two shook hands. Murdoch added, "Good-bye. Good luck", as Pitman stepped into the boat. Pitman didn't believe the ship would actually sink, but it suddenly struck him that the First Officer did. It was 12:55 AM.

As #5 began to drop to the sea, someone on deck yelled down "Be sure and see the plug is in that boat", referring to the hole that allowed water to drain from the lifeboats when they were stored on deck. Pitman blew his officer's whistle for the men to stop lowering the boat until they were certain the plug was in. From above, a voice called (undoubtedly Lowe's) "It is your own bloomin' business to see that the plug is in anyhow," and the lifeboat continued to descend. Quartermaster Olliver crawled along the bottom of the boat between the passenger's ankles as Murdoch called. "Lower away". Olliver pushed past the passengers, forcing the plug in only after water had started to enter the boat.

The men rowed aft a short distance seeking the gangway as Murdoch had ordered Pitman to come back to when hailed. The gangway was closed, so Pitman ordered the men to pull away from the ship.

Pitman later testified that Lifeboats #7 & 5 were launched before the first rockets were shot. He watched the rockets from #5.

Later after Pitman pulled away it was an hour before he realized the ship would go. He said he thought they would return to the ship again, perhaps at daylight. He thought that if any wind sprang up they would drift away from the ship and have a job to get back.

There was six of the crew (officers and crew) aboard boat No.5. It had biscuits and water in it. There were no lights. The women on the boat wanted to row to keep warm. When Mrs. Catherine E. Crosby suffered from cold while drifting around, Pitman put a sail around her and over her head to keep her warm.

Pitman testified that he didn't see Titanic break in two. He said "No breaking up - went straight down."

Just as Titanic's stern disappeared, Pitman says he heard four "explosions". He said they sounded to him like "a big gun in the distance". He assumed it was the bulkheads going. He heard this after she had gone underwater. He didn't think they were boilers exploding because there was no steam there. They should have been stopped and the fires had not been fed. He testified he could not see the people who were left on the ship, but that everyone had lifebelts on when he left.

Under Pitman's command #7 and #5 would tie together during the night.

Pitman saw the lights of the Carpathia about 3:30AM. and when certain it was a steamer, pulled toward her. At the time, the Carpathia was 5 miles away.

On the Carpathia, Second Officer Lightoller and Third Officer Pitman regularly stopped by the cabin shared by Hugh Woolner and Colonel Gracie to discuss the events of the sinking.

In one of the most controversial interviews, Senator Smith addressed the fact that with partially filled lifeboats standing by, only a few hundred yards away, why they did not come back was a mystery. He addressed this question to the Third Officer.

Returning to England on the Adriatic. Pitman testified at the British investigation.

A note on Pitman's faith in Titanic: He was quite a stamp collector and usually left his collection at home. However, for this voyage, being that Titanic was said to be "unsinkable", he brought it with him. A person can guess what happened to it . . .

Pitman remained at sea for thirty-five more years, although failing vision forced him to leave the bridge and join the pursers staff. For a period, he even found himself serving aboard the Olympic. He never received his own command.

It is known that Pitman was awarded the MBE at some point.

Pitman married later in life to Mimi Kalman, a New Zealander, but it is believed she died after only a few years.

A widower, he retired to the village of Pitcombe, England, where he lived with a niece until his death on the 3rd of December 1961. He was buried in the church yard of the village of Pitcombe near Bruton (also in Somerset). His headstone is made of black marble.

In London in April of 1998, seven medals belonging to Pitman were auctioned by Sotheby's for $7,300. According to the [Reuter's] release, the medals were not related to his role in the Titanic disaster, but military medals awarded for service in WW I & WW II.