Thomas Patrick "Paddy" Dillon was a trimmer of the Titanic. He survived the sinking.
Titanic[]
When he signed-on to the Titanic, on 6 April 1912, he gave his address as the Sailors' Home, Southampton. His last ship had been the Oceanic. As a Trimmer he received monthly wages of £5 10s.
He said he was in the water - on the ship's deck directly prior to jumping with Fireman Denny Corcoran, Greaser John Joseph Bannon and a man called Mason (no first name indicated). The only survivor of this small party was Dillon himself, the others died. Some people state that the Mason referred to was F. A. R. Mason, but it was more likely to be J. Mason (who was in the same watch as the others, whereas Frank Mason was in another watch). Lifeboat 4 had picked him up from the water.
- "I went down with the ship and sank about two fathoms. Swam about twenty minutes in the water and was picked up by No. 4. About 1,000 others in the water in my estimation. Saw no women. Recovered consciousness and found Sailor Lyons and another lying on top of me dead."
- Thomas Dillon
- "We implored the men to pull away from the ship, but they refused, and we pulled three men into the boat who had dropped off the ship and were swimming toward us. One man was drunk and had a bottle of brandy in his pocket which the quartermaster promptly threw overboard and the drunken man was thrown into the bottom of the boat and a blanket thrown over him."
- Mrs Stephenson and Miss Eustis, extract from Archibald Gracie's book
- "The drunk was a fireman from Belfast, Paddy Dillon, and he was the luckiest man of the night. He found the brandy somewhere, rapidly became drunk, toppled over the Titanic's side, and was immediately picked up."
- Michal Davie
Dillon later testified at the British Inquiry.
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