The 1953 film Titanic starring Barbara Stanwyck, Clifton Webb, Brian Aherne and Robert Wagner was the first English film since the 1912 Saved from the Titanic about the subject including the significant name of the ship in its title. (The German/British co-production Atlantik (1929) avoids the name (have to watch that again).) It is also the first film that expressly claims that the events depicted in the film are historical facts, albeit the claim is only made for the sequence of ? (check).
The claim to historical accuracy is always a dangerous one to make, since it is almost inevitable that some mistakes will slip in, sometimes due to the research made being sloppy or limited, sometimes facts are deliberately altered to fit in with the narrative of the story. Equally inevitable these mistakes will be found out by people who have researched the facts in greater detail and are of a nitpicky disposition (people like myself).
While the film's main story-line concentrates on the marriage in trouble of the Sturges and its effect on the two children as well as the daughter's blossoming affair with the all-American Gifford Rogers the running of the ship is also depicted. The close observer of these scenes will have no difficulties spotting some errors, e.g. the watch-keeping Officers drawing lots as to who is to have which watch or the fact that Lightoller's jacket is decorated with two braids, which would indicate his rank as First Officer. Admittedly, Lightoller started out as the First Officer of the Titanic but was bumped down to Second in Southampton when Wilde was brought on as Chief. One would assume that this change in rank would be reflected on his uniform. (I have been wondering about how this actually happened. Did they have easily removable braids? (Nowadays one could just velcro them on.) While a seaman like Lightoller would know enough about sewing to add or remove braids, I always envision his wife Sylvia to be the one unpicking the additional braid from his uniform jacket while Lightoller grumbles about the inconvenience of the last minute change.)
The research made by or for the screenwriters also seemed to have stopped short of finding out the full crew complement. The band leader seems to be called Mr McDermond instead of Wallace Hartley and the credits include a lookout named Devlin. Even more surprising is the appearance of an Officer Jackson.
Officer Jackson is a rather nondescript person of unaccounted rank, but seems to be a junior officer. He is first mentioned by name when Lightoller, who has himself just taken over the watch from the Chief Officer, tells Jackson to take over so he can go to inform the Captain of an ice warning the ship had received. While I am by no means an expert on the rules of running a ship in 1912, I would assume that the Officer on Watch was not supposed to leave the bridge. The timing is also off: Lightoller catches up with the Captain towards the end of the church service held in the First Class Dining Room (?) which would make it approximately 11 am. Lightoller's watch, however, ended at 10 am. And while he did take over the watch from Wilde this happened at 6 am.
Officer Jackson is later seen making the last entry in the log, after this we lose sight again of his character.
The presence of a fictional officer, particularly one that has such a small part in the film, may strike some as being hardly worth mentioned. The role is not mentioned in the credits. The Internet Movie Database lists the actor who plays Lightoller in the 'uncredited' section, but no Officer Jackson. It depends naturally on the viewers' expectations as to how historically accurate a film ought to or can be. Since the film claims historical accuracy and since the names of the ship's officers are not particularly difficult to find out, I am somewhat at a loss to explain why the researcher failed to find out the names of the junior officers or alternatively why the writer decided to put an Officer Jackson on board the Titanic. He might as well be given the name of one of the real Officers.
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