Charles Lightoller | |
|---|---|
 Lightoller in 1920, Ellis Island Records | |
| Born | Charles Herbert Lightoller (1874-03-30)30 March 1874 Chorley, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 8 December 1952(1952-12-08) (aged 78) Richmond, London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Mariner, Naval officer |
| Years active | 1887−1946 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5 |
| Awards | |
CommanderCharles Herbert Lightoller,DSC &Bar, RD, RNR (30 March 1874 – 8 December 1952) was a British mariner and naval officer who was thesecond officer on board theRMS Titanic. During theship's sinking, and as the officer in charge of loading passengers into lifeboats on the port side, Lightoller strictly enforced thewomen and children only protocol, not allowing any male passengers to board the lifeboats unless they were needed as auxiliary seamen.[1][2]
He was the most senior officer to survive the disaster. Lightoller served as a commanding officer in theRoyal Navy duringWorld War I and he was twice decorated for gallantry.[3][4] DuringWorld War II, in retirement, he voluntarily provided his personal yacht, theSundowner, and sailed her as one of the "little ships" in theDunkirk evacuation.[5]
Lightoller was born inChorley, Lancashire, on 30 March 1874,[6] into a family that had operated cotton-spinning mills in Lancashire since the late 18th century. His mother, Sarah Jane Lightoller (née Widdows), died ofscarlet fever shortly after giving birth to him. His father, Frederick James Lightoller, emigrated toNew Zealand when Charles was 10, leaving him in the care of extended family.[7]
At age 13, not wanting to end up with a factory job, Charles began a four-year apprenticeship on board thebarquePrimrose Hill.[8] On his second voyage, he set sail with the crew of theHolt Hill. During a storm in the South Atlantic, the ship was forced to put in atRio de Janeiro.[9] Repairs were made in the midst of asmallpox epidemic and a revolution.[10] Another storm, on 13 November 1889 in the Indian Ocean, caused the ship to run aground on an uninhabited four-and-a-half-square-mile island now calledÎle Saint-Paul.[9] They were rescued by theCoorong and taken toAdelaide, Australia. Lightoller joined the crew of theclipper shipDuke of Abercorn for his return to England.[8]
Lightoller returned to thePrimrose Hill for his third voyage.[11] They arrived inCalcutta, India, where he passed hissecond mate's certificate.[11] The cargo of coal caught fire while he was serving asthird mate on board thewindjammerKnight of St. Michael, and for his successful efforts in fighting the fire and saving the ship, Lightoller was promoted to second mate.[12]
In 1895, at age 21 and a veteran of the dangers at sea, he obtained his mate's ticket and left sailing ships for steamships. After three years of service inElder Dempster's African Royal Mail Service on the West African coast, he nearly died from a heavy bout ofmalaria.[10]
Lightoller went to theYukon in 1898 to prospect for gold in theKlondike Gold Rush. Failing at this, he then became a cowboy inAlberta, Canada.[13] To return home, he became ahobo,riding the rails back across Canada.[13] He earned his passage back to England by working as a cattle wrangler on a cattle boat and arrived home penniless in 1899.[10]
While on theMedic, on a voyage from Britain to South Africa and Australia, Lightoller was reprimanded for a prank he and some shipmates played on the citizens ofSydney atFort Denison inSydney Harbour.[14] In 1903 he found himself in Sydney again, having been transferred to theSSSuevic—possibly as punishment for another indiscretion.[15] During the voyage, he met Sylvia Hawley Wilson, a returning Australian whom he married inSt James' Church, Sydney and took back to England on the return passage.[16][17]
He later joined theSS Majestic under the command of CaptainEdward J. Smith in the Atlantic. From there, he was promoted to third officer on theRMS Oceanic, the flagship of the White Star Line. He returned to theMajestic asfirst mate and then transferred back to theOceanic in the same position.[13][18] In March 1911, while serving as first officer on theOceanic, the ship's foremast was struck by lightning in a gale; Lightoller was standing on the bridge at the time, and narrowly avoided being seriously injured by falling splinters. While on the ship, with the bridge decking wet and theship rolling, he liked to amuse himself "by trying to slide from one side of the bridge to the other, without touching anything".[19]
On 20 March 1912, Lightoller boarded theRMS Titanic in Belfast, acting asfirst officer for the sea trials.[20] Lightoller would later state, "I was thoroughly familiar with pretty well every type of ship afloat, from a battleship and a barge, but it took me fourteen days before I could with confidence find my way from one part of that ship to another by the shortest route."[21] Captain Smith gave the post of chief officer toHenry Wilde of theOlympic, demoting the original appointeeWilliam Murdoch to first officer and Lightoller to second officer.[22] The original second officer,David Blair, was excluded from the voyage altogether, while the roster of junior officers remained unchanged. Blair's departure from the crew caused a problem, as he had the key to the ship'sbinoculars case.[22] Later, the missing key and resultant lack of binoculars for thelookouts in thecrow's nest became a point of contention at theU.S. inquiry into theTitanic disaster.[23] When the ship departed Southampton, Lightoller was on the forecastle, working under Wilde's direction.[24] When the ship narrowly avoided hittingSS City of New York, Lightoller, who was then forward, thought a collision looked "inevitable".[25] Lightoller made some inquiries for binoculars but did not find a pair that had been set aside for their use.[26]
At sea, Lightoller had the 6:00–10:00 watch every morning and night. On 14 April 1912, Lightoller and some of the other officers also discussed the subject of the ship's top speed; they were "interested" in seeing what the ship could do.[27] Murdoch had the 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. watch on the bridge. However, the officers' lunch was served at 12:30. Lightoller returned to the bridge at that time to relieve Murdoch and let him grab a quick bite to eat. Captain Smith came on to the bridge, and gave him an ice warning message; this was the first that Lightoller recalled hearing anything about icebergs ahead of the ship. When Murdoch returned from his lunch, Lightoller mentioned that Captain Smith had given him a message regarding ice. Murdoch showed no overt surprise, but Lightoller was under the impression that the subject was new to the First Officer, just as it had been to him. Lightoller headed off to grab a bite of lunch for himself.[28]
At 6:00, Lightoller became officer of the watch, relieving Wilde. Murdoch returned at 7:05 p.m., and took the watch for a half-hour so that Lightoller could have his own dinner. Lightoller returned from dinner to resume his watch. Murdoch remarked to him that the temperature had dropped another four degrees. Murdoch departed the bridge. At 9:00, Captain Smith conferred with Lightoller on the bridge, and they agreed that they should be able to see an iceberg with plenty of time to avoid it. Smith left the bridge, saying, "If it becomes all doubtful, let me know...". Lightoller asked Moody to use the telephone to call up the lookouts in the Crow's Nest; he wanted to have them "keep a sharp lookout for ice, particularly small ice and growlers", and to "pass that word on until daylight", as each successive shift took its turn on duty." Moody picked up the phone to the Nest in the wheelhouse and Lightoller overheard him say, "Keep a sharp look out for ice, particularly small ice.", before hanging up. Lightoller noted that Moody's order differed somewhat from the wording that he had specified, as Moody had not mentioned "growlers". Lightoller thought the detail was important enough to have Moody call the lookouts again, and to clarify that they should keep a sharp lookout for "small ice and growlers". Moody carried the order out, ringing the crow's nest a second time and conveying the order correctly this time.[29][30]
He then ordered the quartermaster,Robert Hichens, to check the ship's fresh water supply for signs of freezing below the waterline, signs which, if present, would indicate the ship was entering dangerous ice.[31] Lightoller commanded the last bridge watch prior to the ship's collision with theiceberg, after which Murdoch relieved him at 10:00 p.m.; Lightoller conveyed to Murdoch the ship's course and the ice field that they were approaching, and that they expected to be in the vicinity of the ice somewhere around 11:00. Lightoller wished Murdoch "joy of his Watch" and departed the bridge.[32][33] Lightoller had retired to his cabin and was preparing for bed when he felt the collision. Although he felt it had something to do with ice, he continued to lay in his berth, then felt the engines stop. Wearing only his pyjamas, Lightoller hurried out on deck to investigate, and conferred with Pitman on what happened. He retired back to his cabin; deciding it would be better to remain where other officers knew where to find him if needed, he lay awake in his bunk until fourth officerJoseph Boxhall arrived and remarked, "You know we have struck an iceberg." Lightoller responded, "I know we have struck something." Boxhall told him that the mail room was flooding, and Lightoller found the information enough to move him to act. Lightoller did not conclude that the ship would actually founder. He pulled on trousers, and a navy-blue sweater over his pyjamas, and donned (along with socks and shoes) his officer's overcoat and cap.[34]
When Lightoller emerged onto the boat deck, he found that the noise of escaping steam made it very difficult to communicate with anyone. During the evacuation, Lightoller took charge of lowering the lifeboats on theport side of the boat deck.[10] He helped to fill several lifeboats with passengers and launched them. Lightoller interpreted Smith's order for "the evacuation of women and children" as essentially "women and children only", rather than "women and children first". As a result, Lightoller lowered lifeboats with empty seats if there were no women and children waiting to board, meaning to fill them to capacity once they had reached the water.[2]Lieutenant ColonelArthur Godfrey Peuchen has the distinction of being the only adult male passenger whom Lightoller allowed into the boats on the port side evacuation (Peuchen assissted on boardLifeboat No. 6), due to his previous nautical experience and offer of assistance when there were no seamen available from the Titanic's own complement to help command one of the lowering lifeboats.[35]
There were fears from some of the officers that thedavits used for lowering the boats would not hold the weight if the boats were full, but they were unaware that the new davits on the Titanic had been designed to do so. Under this misapprehension, Lightoller's plan was to fill the lifeboats from the waterline and sent 10 men to open the gangway doors in the ship's port so that passengers would have access. The men failed in this task and were never seen again (presumed drowned carrying out this final order). The under-capacity boats then pulled away from the ship as soon as they hit the water, rendering the plan a failure. At least one boat is confirmed as wilfully ignoring officers' shouted orders to return.[36][8]
While working at the port side lifeboats, Lightoller was asked by Wilde where the firearms were. Lightoller led him, Murdoch and Smith to the cabin, and brought out the box of revolvers. He said Wilde gave him a revolver, along with ammunition; Lightoller stuffed into his pocket. When Lightoller helped at Collapsible D, he saw a group of men and hopped into the boat, drew his revolver and "encouraged them verbally" to get out. Lightoller later recalled that the gun was not even loaded.[37] He then passed the duty of loading Lifeboat 2 over to Fourth Officer Boxhall. While initial accounts varied, it is now believed there were only 17 people aboard the lifeboat, out of a capacity of 40.[38]
As the ship began its final plunge, Lightoller attempted to launchCollapsible B on the port side; the boat was one of the smaller Engelhardt lifeboats with canvas sides and was stowed atop the officers' quarters. The collapsible fell onto the deck upside down.[39] Lightoller then crossed over to the starboard side of the roof, to see if there was anything further to be done there. A large wave rolled aft along the boat deck and engulfed many people. Seeing crowds of people run away from the rising water, Lightoller realized it would be futile headingaft and dived overboard from the roof of the officers' quarters. Lightoller described the shock of the water as being like "a thousand knives being driven into one's body".[40]
Surfacing, Lightoller spotted the ship's crow's nest, now level with the water, and started to swim towards it as a place of safety before remembering that it was safer to stay away from the foundering vessel. Then, as water flooded down one of the forward ventilators, Lightoller was sucked under. He was pinned against the grating for some time by the pressure of the incoming water, until a blast of hot air from the depths of the ship erupted out of the ventilator and blew him to the surface.[10] The suction pulled him down again against another grating, but he resurfaced. He then realized he could not swim properly because of the weight of theWebley revolver he was carrying in his coat pocket, so he swiftly discarded it.[40] Following this, he saw Collapsible B floating upside down with several swimmers hanging on to it. He swam to it and held on to a rope at the front. Then theTitanic's Number 1 (forward) funnel broke free and hit the water, washing the collapsible further away from the sinking ship; it killed several people and closely missed Lightoller.[41]
Lightoller climbed onto the boat and took charge, calming and organising the survivors (numbering around 30) on the overturned lifeboat.[42] He led them in yelling in unison "Boat ahoy!", but with no success. During the night a swell arose, and Lightoller taught the men to shift their weight with the swells to prevent the craft from being swamped. As dawn broke and it became possible for those in other lifeboats to see them, Lightoller used his officer's whistle to attract the other lifeboats' attention; eventually lifeboats Nos. 4 and 12 rowed over and rescued the survivors of the overturned lifeboat.[10] Upon theCarpathia's arrival Lightoller helped survivors from the lifeboats to theCarpathia and was the last survivor to be taken aboard.[43]
After the sinking, Lightoller published a testimony in theChristian Science Journal crediting his faith in a divine power for his survival, concluding: "with God all things are possible".[44]
As the senior surviving officer, Lightoller was a key witness at both the American and British inquiries. In his autobiography he described the American inquiry as a "farce", due to the ignorance of maritime matters implicit in some of the questions. He took the British inquiry more seriously and wrote "it was very necessary to keep one's hand on the whitewash brush" as he "had no desire that blame should be attributed either to the B.O.T. (BritishBoard of Trade) or the White Star Line", despite his belief that "one had known, full well, and for many years, the ever-present possibility of just such a disaster".[45]
Lightoller blamed the accident on the seas being the calmest that night that he had ever seen in his life and on the floating icebergs giving no tell-tale early-warning signs of breaking white water at their bases. He deftly defended his employer, the White Star Line, despite hints of excessive speed, a lack of binoculars in the crow's nest and the plain recklessness of travelling through an ice field on a calm night when all other ships in the vicinity thought it wiser toheave to until morning. Later, in a recounting he gave of the night's events on a 1936 BBCI Was There programme, he reversed his defences.[46] Lightoller was also able to help channel public outcry over the incident into positive change, as many of his recommendations for avoiding such accidents in the future were adopted bymaritime nations. Basing lifeboat capacity on the number of passengers and crew instead of ship tonnage, conducting lifeboat drills so passengers know where their lifeboats are and crew know how to operate them, instituting manned 24-hour wireless (radio) communications on all passenger ships, and requiring mandatory transmissions of ice warnings to ships, were some of his recommendations at the inquiries which were acted on by the Board of Trade, its successor agencies, and their equivalents in other maritime nations.[47] Lightoller was indignant at some of the questions asked of him, such as whether the falling funnel injured anyone when it fell down on the swimmers struggling in the water.
Lightoller returned to duty with White Star Line, serving as a mate on RMSOceanic.[48] He received a promotion fromsub-lieutenant to lieutenant in theRoyal Naval Reserve in May 1913.[49] At the outbreak of the First World War, as an officer in the RNR, he was called up for duty with theRoyal Navy, first serving as a lieutenant onOceanic, which had been converted to anarmed merchant cruiser (HMSOceanic).[47] He served on this ship as the ship's First Officer until it ran aground and was wrecked on the notorious Shaalds ofFoula on 8 September 1914.[48] He was the last man off the grounded ship, taking the navigation room's clock as a souvenir.[50]
In 1915, he served as the first officer during the trials of another former passenger liner,RMS Campania, which had just been converted into anaircraft carrier.[47] In late 1915, he was given his own command, thetorpedo boat HMTB117. Whilst captain of HMTB117 he was awarded theDistinguished Service Cross for engagingZeppelinL31 in a prolonged night battle.[3][4] With the assistance of a lightship, Lightoller and his crew laid an ambush at the mouth of the Thames Estuary, waiting until L31 was directly above the HMTB.[3] Lightoller opened fire on the "Zepp" with tracer rounds eventually hitting its tail and forcing the airship's withdrawal.[3] This action resulted in his being appointed captain ofHMS Falcon, aC-class torpedo boat destroyer and for the next two years Lightoller served with theFalcon on theDover patrol, protecting the Dover straits and engaging German destroyers conducting night time raids.[3]
Lightoller wrote that whilst in command of theFalcon, he kept the ship in a constant state of readiness; the ship's guns were loaded and cleared for action at all times. He expected his men to think and act for themselves in times of an emergency.[3]Falcon was sunk on 1 April 1918 after a collision, in fog, with thetrawler,John Fitzgerald, while both ships were acting as escorts to aconvoy in theNorth Sea. Lightoller was quickly exonerated in a court martial for the loss of the ship and he was commended for remaining on board the ship along with his first officer until the majority of the crew had taken to the boats (apart from three officers who were left trapped in the stern and had to be rescued by a trawler).[51][52] Lightoller was subsequently given command of theRiver-classdestroyerHMS Garry.[47]
On 10 June 1918, Lightoller was awarded theReserve Decoration.[53]
On 19 June 1918, the GermanU-boatUB-110 (KapitänleutnantWerner Fürbringer) was depth charged, rammed and sunk off theYorkshire coast by Lightoller and the crew ofGarry.[54] In his 1933 memoirs,Kapitänleutnant Fürbringer accused the Captain and crew ofGarry ofwar crimes; by both violating theHague Convention of 1907 and repeating theBaralong incidents by opening fire on the unarmed survivors ofUB-110 with revolvers and machine-guns. Fürbringer alleged that the shooting only ceased when the convoy theGarry had been escorting, which contained many neutral-flagged ships, arrived on the scene. Fürbringer later recalled, "As if by magic the British now let down some life boats into the water".[55]
While Lightoller does not mention any alleged massacre in his own accounting of the sinking, he does admit that he "refused to accept the hands up air" business. Lightoller explained, "In fact it was simply amazing that they should have had the infernal audacity to offer to surrender, in view of their ferocious and pitiless attacks on our merchant ships. Destroyer versus Destroyer, as in the Dover Patrol, was fair game and no favour. One could meet them and take them on as a decent antagonist. But towards the submarine men, one felt an utter disgust and loathing; they were nothing but an abomination, polluting the clean sea". Lightoller further claimed that he "left the rescue work to the others", as his own ship took serious damage in the ramming.[56] Geoffrey Brooks, who translated into English and edited Werner Fürbringer's 1933 memoir for its 1999 publication byPen & Sword Books, commented about the action,
Regarding the alleged British atrocity committed against survivors ofUB-110, the normal procedure would have been to report the matter to theGerman legal military authorities at the earliest opportunity.Depositions would have been taken from all available witnesses. One can imagine how far it would have proceeded subsequently. It is not, and never has been, the practice of theBritish military authorities totry British service personnel for alleged war crimes against enemy belligerents in wartime, no matter how strong the evidence.[57]
Lightoller was awarded a bar to his Distinguished Service Cross for sinkingUB-110. Contradictory information exists about the numbers ofUB-110's crew lost, with Lightoller claiming 15 survivors with 13 lost, while a German account claims 13 survivors with 21 lost, most in the post-battle events.[58]
Lightoller was promoted to actinglieutenant commander in July and was placed on the retired list on 31 March 1919, with the rank ofcommander.[59][60]
After the war, despite his loyal service to White Star Line and having faithfully defended his employers atTitanic inquiries, Lightoller soon found that opportunities for advancement within the line were no longer available. All surviving crewmembers would find that being associated withTitanic was a black mark from which they could not hope to escape.[61]
A disillusioned Lightoller resigned shortly thereafter, taking such odd jobs as an innkeeper, a chicken farmer, and later property speculator, at which he and his wife had some success.[62] During the early 1930s, he wrote his autobiography,Titanic and Other Ships, which he dedicated to his "persistent wife, who made me do it".[63][11] The book eventually became quite popular and began to sell well.
According to his widow Sylvia, the book was withdrawn when theMarconi Company threatened a lawsuit, owing to a comment by Lightoller regarding theTitanic disaster and the role of the Marconi operators, but no proof of this has been found. Lightoller did put most of the blame on Marconi operatorJack Phillips, claiming that he did not deliver an ice warning which could have prevented the sinking. Phillips and junior wireless operatorHarold Bride both delivered multiple ice warnings to the bridge and Captain Edward Smith was well aware of ice in the region before the collision occurred.[47]
In 1936, Lightoller gave a radio interview for the BBC, in which he described theTitanic disaster.[64]
The retired Lightoller did not turn his back on sailing altogether, as he eventually purchased a private motor yacht,Sundowner in 1929.[10] In early 1939, he was commissioned by theAdmiralty to useSundowner to tour the German coast to gather information and take photos of German naval installations. This was completed despite Lightoller nearly being caught out near the German naval base atWilhelmshaven, which he avoided by pretending to be drunk when intercepted by a German naval vessel.[66]
In May 1940, Lightoller, together with his oldest son Roger and a young Sea Scout named Gerald Ashcroft, crossed the English Channel inSundowner to aide in theDunkirk evacuation.[67][68] Rather than allow his motor yacht to be requisitioned by the Admiralty, he sailed the vessel toDunkirk.[69] In a boat licensed to carry 21 passengers, Lightoller and his crew repatriated 127 British servicemen.[note 1] On the return journey, Lightoller evaded gunfire from enemy aircraft, using a technique described to him by his youngest son, Herbert, who had joined the RAF and been killed earlier in the war.[70] Gerald Ashcroft later recalled "We attracted the attention of aStuka dive bomber. Commander Lightoller stood up in the bow and I stood alongside the wheelhouse. Commander Lightoller kept his eye on the Stuka till the last second – then he sang out to me "Hard a port!" and I sang out to Roger and we turned very sharply. The bomb landed on our starboard side."[71][72]
At the time of the evacuation, Lightoller's second son, Trevor, was a serving second lieutenant with the 3rd Division (Major-GeneralBernard Montgomery), which had retreated towards Dunkirk.[73][74] Unknown to Lightoller senior, Trevor had already been evacuated 48 hours beforeSundowner reached Dunkirk.[73][75]
Following Dunkirk, Lightoller continued to serve with the Small Vessels Pool until 1946. He was placed in command of a "Small Armed Vessel", patrolling theRiver Blackwater, Essex during the invasion scare (Operation Sea Lion) of 1940–41. He then ferried arms and ammunition for theRoyal Army Service Corps until the end of the war. For these services Lightoller wasmentioned in despatches in December 1944.[76] After the Second World War, Lightoller managed a small boatyard inTwickenham, West London, called Richmond Slipways, which builtmotor launches for theriver police.[77]
Lightoller's parents were Frederick James Lightoller and Sarah Jane Widdows. His siblings, Richard Ashton and Caroline Mary Lightoller, both died of scarlet fever in early childhood. While serving on theMajestic, Lightoller met Australian Iowa Sylvania Zillah Hawley-Wilson, known as "Sylvia", on her way home to Sydney after a stay in England.[16] On the return voyage, she accompanied Lightoller as his bride.[78] The couple had five children: Frederic Roger, Richard Trevor, Sylvia Mavis, Claire Doreen, and Herbert Brian. Their youngest son Brian, aRoyal Air Force (RAF) pilot, was killed in action on 4 September 1939 in abombing raid over Wilhelmshaven, Germany, on the first night of Britain's entry into the Second World War.[70] Their eldest son, Roger, served in the Royal Navy and was killed in March 1945 during theGranville raid whilst commanding aMotor Torpedo Boat.[79] Trevor joined the army and gained the rank of lieutenant-colonel, serving under GeneralBernard Montgomery's command for the duration of the war. Mavis served in theFirst Aid Nursing Yeomanry, and Doreen in the Political Intelligence Unit. His grandson, A.T. Lightoller, served in the Royal Navy, commanding the submarineHMS Rorqual in the early 1970s.[80]
Lightoller died of chronicheart disease on 8 December 1952, aged 78, during London'sGreat Smog of 1952.[10] His body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at theCommonwealth "Garden of Remembrance" atMortlake Crematorium inRichmond, Surrey.[81]
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