Sir Arthur Rostron | |
|---|---|
 Capt. A.H. Rostron while master ofCarpathia in April 1912, at the time of rescuingTitanic survivors. | |
| Born | (1869-05-14)14 May 1869 Bolton, England, UK |
| Died | 4 November 1940(1940-11-04) (aged 71) Chippenham, England, UK |
| Buried | West End Parish Church,Southampton, England, UK |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Navy Reserve |
| Service years | 1886–1931 (British Merchant Navy) 1893–1924 (Royal Naval Reserve) |
| Rank | Captain –RNR Commodore –Cunard |
| Commands | RMS Pannonia RMS Carpathia RMS Carmania RMS Lusitania RMS Campania RMS Aurania RMS Mauretania RMS Andania RMS Saxonia RMSBerengaria |
| Known for | Rescuingsurvivors from the RMSTitanic |
| Conflicts | World War I |
| Awards |  Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve Mentioned in DispatchesCongressional Gold Medal |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
Sir Arthur Henry RostronKBE RD RNR (14 May 1869 – 4 November 1940) was a British merchant seaman and a seagoing officer for theCunard Line.[1] He is best known as the captain of the ocean linerRMSCarpathia, when she rescued the survivors from the RMSTitanicafter the ship sank in 1912 in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean.[1]
Rostron won wide praise for his energetic efforts to reach theTitanic before she sank, and his efficient preparations for and conduct of the rescue of the survivors. He was awarded aCongressional Gold Medal by theUnited States Congress, and in 1926, he was appointed Knight Commander of theOrder of the British Empire. He rose to become theCommodore of the Cunard fleet and retired in 1931.[2]
Arthur Rostron was born at Bank Cottage,Sharples, a suburb ofBolton, Lancashire, England, to James and Nancy Rostron in 1869. He received his education atBolton Grammar School andBolton Church Institute.[3] In 1884, Rostron joined theMerchant Navy Cadet School ShipHMSConway as a cadet. After two years of training on theConway, he was apprenticed to the Waverley Line of Messrs Williamson, Milligan and Co. inLiverpool on the ironclipper shipCedric the Saxon.[4]
In 1887 Rostron joined thebarqueRed Gauntlet as a second mate. Soon after, he left the Waverley Line and joined the barqueCamphill. He was commissioned asub-lieutenant in theRoyal Naval Reserve (RNR) on 28 April 1893.[5] In December 1894 Rostron served on board the steamshipConcord after which he passed the examinations for his extra master's certificate.
On 14 September 1899 Arthur Rostron married Ethel Minnie Stothert, daughter ofRichard Stothert, in St John the Baptist churchAtherton.[6]
Rostron joined theCunard Line in January 1895 and earned a position as fourth officer on the ocean linerRMS Umbria. In the years afterward he would serve on other Cunard ships including theAurania,Etruria,Servia,Cherbourg,Ultonia andSaxonia. As a member of the RNR, Rostron regularly attended training atHMSExcellent (including in September 1902[7]). He temporarily left the Cunard Line to serve with theRoyal Navy during a period of international tension occasioned by theRusso-Japanese War of 1904–1905.[3]
Rostron subsequently returned to the Cunard Line. He was made first officer ofRMSLusitania in 1907, but was transferred to theBrescia and promoted to ship's captain the day beforeLusitania's maiden voyage.[3]Brescia and his next several ships served the Mediterranean region, including his first passenger ship,RMSPannonia, whoseNew York City – Mediterranean route he commanded from 1 January 1911.[8] He became captain of the passenger linerRMSCarpathia on 18 January 1912.[8] By this time alieutenant in the RNR, Rostron was decorated with theRNR Officer's Reserve Decoration (RD) on 9 November 1909.[9] He was promoted tocommander in the RNR on 18 January 1912.[10] During his time as captain, Rostron was called "The Electric Spark" by his crewmen, for his ability to make swift and decisive orders.[11]
Carpathia was on its regular route between New York City andFiume,Austria-Hungary, when, early on 15 April 1912, she received a distress signal from theWhite Star Line ocean linerRMS Titanic,[12] which had struck aniceberg during its maiden voyage. Rostron was asleep whenCarpathia'swireless operator,Harold Cottam, contactedTitanic at 12:20 a.m. to relay regular private party wireless traffic fromCape Cod, Massachusetts, United States.[13]Titanic, which had struck the iceberg about 11:40 p.m., replied with a distress message and call for help. Cottam, along with First Officer Horace Dean, ran to Rostron's cabin to alert him.[14]
When awakened, Captain Rostron was initially angry at Cottam but after being told what happened he immediately ordered the ship to race towardsTitanic's reported position, posting extra lookouts to help spot and manoeuvre around the ice he knew to be in the area. Only after orderingCarpathia "turned to", towards the disaster scene, did Rostron confirm with Cottam that the latter was sure aboutTitanic's distress call.[15] About 58 nmi (67 mi; 107 km) separatedCarpathia fromTitanic's position. Rostron and his engineering crew, led by Chief Engineer A.B. Johnston, skillfully obtained the maximum speed possible from the engines ofCarpathia, coaxing her up to 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h) – three and a half knots faster than her rated speed. Even so,Carpathia, travelling through dangerous ice floes, took about 3.5 hours to reachTitanic's radioed position.[14]
During this time, Rostron turned off heating to ensure maximum steam forCarpathia's engines and had the ship prepared for survivors, including getting blankets, food, and drinks ready, and ordering his medical crew to stand by to receive the possibly injured.[16] Crewmen were placed in the corridors to reassure passengers alarmed by the increased speed and changed direction of the ship.[14][3] Altogether, 23 orders from Rostron to his crew were successfully implemented beforeCarpathia had even arrived at the scene of the disaster. Rostron highly praised his crew for their efficiency in his report to line management.[17] Rostron was a pious man: issuing orders, he often raised a hand to his cap and closed his eyes in prayer. Speaking of the risk taken by running through dense ice at speed at night, he is reported to have said, "I can only conclude another hand than mine was on the helm."[18]
When Rostron believed he was nearingTitanic, he ordered green starburst rockets launched to alert the sinking ship if she was still afloat, or to encourage her survivors if she was not.Carpathia began picking up survivors about an hour after the first starburst was seen by those in the lifeboats.Carpathia would end up rescuing 705 survivors out of the 2,228 passengers and crew on boardTitanic; at least one survivor is said to have died after reaching the ship. After consulting with White Star Line managing director andTitanic survivorJ. Bruce Ismay, Rostron decided to turn the ship around and return to New York City to disembark the survivors.[14] Later, Rostron testified at both theUS Senate and theBritish Wreck Commissioner's inquiries into the sinking.Titanic survivors, includingMargaret Brown, presented Rostron with a silver cup and gold medal for his efforts the nightTitanic sank. The cup was sold at US$200,000 at an auction by Henry Aldridge & Son inDevizes, Wiltshire, in October 2015.[19] He was also awarded theCongressional Gold Medal, theThanks of Congress, the American Cross of Honor, a medal from the Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society, and a gold medal from the Shipwreck Society of New York.[2]
Rostron was highly praised for his efforts in both the American and the British inquiries into the disaster.[20][21][22][23]
Rostron continued in command of theCarpathia for a year before transferring to theRMS Caronia. Afterwards, from 1913 to 1914 he took command of theRMS Carmania,RMS Campania, andRMS Lusitania. Rostron was captain of theRMS Alaunia when theFirst World War began and the ship was requisitioned as atroopship, which Rostron continued to command. In 1915, Rostron andAlaunia were involved in theGallipoli campaign inOttoman Turkey, for which he wasmentioned in dispatches for his services.[24]
In September 1915, Rostron joined theRMSMauretania and in April 1916 he joined theIvernia in the Mediterranean Sea. He returned toMauretania in 1917 before taking command of theAndania,Saxonia,Carmania andMauretania again. An acting captain in the RNR at war's end, he was promoted tocaptain in the RNR on 31 December 1918[25] and made a Commander of theOrder of the British Empire in the1919 New Year Honours list.[2]
Rostron continued to commandMauretania after it returned to normal passenger service in June 1919.[26] He took command of SSImperator (later renamedBerengaria) in July 1920. From February to May 1924, he served as Royal Naval ReserveAide-de-Camp to KingGeorge V.[27][28] Rostron retired from the Royal Naval Reserve in May 1924,[29] and inJuly 1926 he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). In July 1926 Rostron again took command ofBerengaria and became the Commodore of the Cunard fleet shortly after.[30]
Rostron lived at Holmecroft,West End, Southampton. After his retirement in May 1931, he became a member, and later captain, of the Southampton Master Mariner's Club, and wrote his autobiographyHome from the Sea.[31]
When his former ship, theMauretania, sailed for Scotland to theshipbreakers in 1935, Rostron was supposed to have been on board; however, overcome with emotion, he refused to board her and instead waved farewell from the pierside, preferring to remember the ship as she was when he commanded her.[32] During his time commandingMauretania, the ship was nicknamed "The Rostron Express" by passengers, due to Rostron's insistent adherence to the ship's scheduled departures and arrivals.
Rostron and his wife had been visiting their daughter Margaret inCalne when he was taken ill. He developed pneumonia and died at the Cottage Hospital,Chippenham, on 4 November 1940, aged 71. His funeral service took place at West End Parish Church, Southampton, on Thursday 7 November 1940. He was survived by his wife, Ethel Minnie, and their four children. Ethel died on 7 July 1943 at the age of 69 and is buried beside him in the graveyard of West End Church.[33]
He has been portrayed in variousTitanic films by several actors.
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