While those in charge failed to grasp what had just happened (or were flat-out in denial), Joughin acted fast. Rousing his underlings, he immediately set to work stocking the precious few lifeboats on board with bread.
As befitting someone of his station, he had been placed in command of lifeboat 10 and promptly assisted in putting women and children on the collapsible boat. As they ran out of passengers willing to jump ship, favoring the perceived safety of the massive (and still floating) Titanic over the tiny dinghy, he and a few other crew went in search of people to save … and practically dragged them to the lifeboat before literally throwing them on board, as the ship had begun to tilt noticeably at this point and the lowering lifeboat no longer sat flush against the hull.
In between these utterly selfless actions, Joughin apparently stopped by his now-flooding quarters a number of times and quite naturally helped himself to a not-insignificant amount of alcohol. Under the impression that no more lifeboats remained, the forward-thinking baker then began to throw what he guessed to be 50 deck chairs and other floating material into the ocean. You know, just in case!
Here, fiction begins to intersect with reality as the James Cameron film depicts the baker, played by actor Liam Tuohy, in the same company as Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jack and Kate Winslet’s Rose. It was roughly at this point that he heard what was likely the Titanic breaking clean in half and followed a crowd out onto the stern of the sinking ship. Unlike the movie, however, he reportedly remained the lone individual on the extreme end of the Titanic as it lifted into the air, hung suspended for a moment, and then sank into the ocean.