Charles Lightoller facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Commander
Charles Lightoller
RNR
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Lightoller in 1920, Ellis Island Records
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| Born |
Charles Herbert Lightoller
30 March 1874 Chorley, Lancashire, England
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| Died | 8 December 1952 (aged 78) Richmond, London, England
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| Spouse(s) |
Iowa Sylvania Zillah Hawley-Wilson
(m. 1903) |
| Children | 5 |
| Awards |
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Charles Herbert Lightoller (30 March 1874 – 8 December 1952) was a brave British sailor and naval officer. He is best known as the highest-ranking crew member to survive the Titanic disaster. During the sinking, he was the second officer and was in charge of loading lifeboats on the ship's port side.
Lightoller was also a commanding officer in the Royal Navy during World War I. He received awards for his bravery. Even after retiring, he volunteered his personal yacht, the Sundowner, to help rescue soldiers during the Dunkirk evacuation in World War II.
Contents
Early Life and First Adventures
Charles Herbert Lightoller was born in Chorley, Lancashire, England, on 30 March 1874. His family owned cotton mills. Sadly, his mother died shortly after he was born. When Charles was 10, his father moved to New Zealand, leaving Charles with other family members.
At 13, Charles decided he wanted to be a sailor instead of working in a factory. He began a four-year apprenticeship on a sailing ship called the Primrose Hill. His early voyages were full of challenges. On one trip, his ship, the Holt Hill, faced a terrible storm in the South Atlantic. It had to stop in Rio de Janeiro for repairs during a smallpox outbreak and a revolution.
Another storm caused his ship to run aground on a small, uninhabited island in the Indian Ocean. He was rescued and eventually made his way back to England. Later, while serving on the Knight of St. Michael, a cargo of coal caught fire. Charles bravely helped put out the fire and saved the ship, earning him a promotion.
Becoming a Steamship Officer
By age 21, Charles had lots of experience at sea. He earned his mate's certificate and started working on steamships. He served for three years on the West African coast but nearly died from malaria.
In 1898, Lightoller tried his luck looking for gold in the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon, Canada. When that didn't work out, he became a cowboy in Alberta. To get back home, he traveled across Canada by train, sometimes secretly riding on freight cars. He earned his passage back to England by working with cattle on a ship. He arrived home in 1899 with no money.
In 1903, while working on the SS Suevic, he met Iowa Sylvania Zillah Hawley-Wilson, an Australian woman known as "Sylvia." They married in St James' Church, Sydney and she returned to England with him.
He later joined the SS Majestic under Captain Edward J. Smith. Lightoller was promoted several times, eventually becoming first mate on the RMS Oceanic, a very important ship for the White Star Line.
The Titanic Disaster
Two weeks before its famous voyage, Lightoller joined the RMS Titanic in Belfast. He was originally supposed to be the first officer. However, Captain Smith brought in another officer, so Lightoller became the second officer. This change meant the original second officer, David Blair, didn't sail with the ship. Blair had the key to the ship's binoculars, and because he left, the lookouts in the crow's nest didn't have binoculars. This became a big topic later during the investigation.
On the night of 14 April 1912, Lightoller was in charge of the bridge just before the Titanic hit the iceberg. He had told the lookouts to watch carefully for ice. After the collision, Lightoller quickly went to the deck to see what happened. He then helped with the evacuation.
Evacuation and Survival
Lightoller was in charge of lowering the lifeboats on the port (left) side of the ship. He strictly followed the "women and children only" rule. He would not let any male passengers board the lifeboats unless they were needed to help steer the boat. Because of this rule, some lifeboats were lowered with empty seats if there were no more women or children waiting. He hoped these boats would pick up more people once they were in the water.
One man, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Godfrey Peuchen, was allowed into a lifeboat by Lightoller. This was because Peuchen had sailing experience and offered to help when there weren't enough crew members to manage the lifeboat.
As the Titanic began to sink quickly, Lightoller tried to launch Collapsible B. This small lifeboat had canvas sides and was stored on top of the officers' quarters. It fell onto the deck upside down. As the ship's bow went underwater, a large wave swept over the deck. Lightoller decided to dive into the icy water from the roof of the officers' quarters. He described the shock of the water as being like "a thousand knives."
He was pulled underwater twice by the ship's suction but managed to resurface. He realized his Webley revolver was weighing him down, so he quickly threw it away. He then saw Collapsible B floating upside down with several people clinging to it. He swam to it and held on. Soon after, the Titanic's front funnel broke off and fell into the water, pushing the overturned lifeboat further away from the sinking ship.
Lightoller climbed onto the overturned boat and took charge. He helped calm and organize the around 30 survivors. He led them in shouting "Boat ahoy!" to try and get attention. During the night, the waves grew larger, and Lightoller taught the men to shift their weight to keep the boat from being swamped. They were eventually rescued by other lifeboats before the Carpathia arrived to pick them up.
After surviving, Lightoller wrote that his faith in a divine power helped him.
Recommendations for Safety
As the most senior surviving officer, Lightoller was an important witness at the American and British investigations into the Titanic sinking. He defended the White Star Line, but he also made many important recommendations to prevent future disasters.
Many of his ideas were put into action by maritime nations around the world. These included:
- Basing lifeboat capacity on the number of passengers and crew, not just the ship's size.
- Making lifeboat drills mandatory so passengers knew where to go and crew knew how to operate the boats.
- Requiring all passenger ships to have manned 24-hour wireless (radio) communications.
- Making it mandatory for ships to send ice warnings to other ships.
First World War Service
Lightoller returned to work with White Star Line but was soon called to serve in the Royal Navy when World War I began. He first served on the RMS Oceanic, which was turned into an armed ship. It ran aground and was wrecked in 1914. Lightoller was the last person to leave the ship.
In 1915, he was given command of a torpedo boat called HMTB 117. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross for bravely fighting a German Zeppelin (a large airship) at night. He then commanded HMS Falcon, a torpedo boat destroyer, and served with the "Dover patrol" for two years, protecting the Dover straits from German attacks.
Sinking of UB-110
On 19 June 1918, Lightoller, commanding HMS Garry, attacked and sank the German U-boat UB-110. Lightoller was awarded another Bar (meaning a second award) to his Distinguished Service Cross for this action.
After the Wars
After World War I, Lightoller found it hard to advance in the White Star Line because of his connection to the Titanic. He left and tried different jobs, like being an innkeeper and a chicken farmer. He also had some success buying and selling property. In the 1930s, he wrote his autobiography, Titanic and Other Ships.
Dunkirk Evacuation
In 1940, during World War II, Lightoller, though retired, volunteered to help with the Dunkirk evacuation. Instead of letting the navy take his personal motor yacht, the Sundowner, he sailed it himself to Dunkirk. His son Roger and a young Sea Scout named Gerald Ashcroft went with him.
His yacht was only licensed for 21 passengers, but Lightoller and his crew bravely brought 127 British servicemen back to England. On the way back, Lightoller skillfully avoided gunfire from enemy aircraft. He used a technique his youngest son, Herbert, who was an RAF pilot, had told him about. Herbert had sadly been killed earlier in the war.
After Dunkirk, Lightoller continued to serve until 1946, patrolling rivers and ferrying supplies. He was recognized for his services in December 1944.
After World War II, Lightoller managed a small boatyard in Twickenham, West London, called Richmond Slipways. They built boats for the river police.
Family Life
Charles Lightoller married Iowa Sylvania Zillah Hawley-Wilson, or "Sylvia," in 1903. They had five children: Frederic Roger, Richard Trevor, Sylvia Mavis, Claire Doreen, and Herbert Brian.
Their youngest son, Brian, was an RAF pilot who was killed in action on 4 September 1939, at the very beginning of World War II. Their oldest son, Roger, served in the Royal Navy and was killed in March 1945 during a raid. Their son Trevor joined the army and became a lieutenant colonel. Their daughters, Mavis and Doreen, also served during the war. Lightoller's grandson later commanded a submarine in the Royal Navy.
Death
Charles Herbert Lightoller passed away on 8 December 1952, at the age of 78. He died from heart disease during London's Great Smog of 1952. His body was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at the Commonwealth "Garden of Remembrance" in Mortlake Crematorium in Richmond, Surrey.
Portrayals
- Herbert Tiede (1943) — Titanic (German film)
- Kenneth More (1958) — A Night to Remember (1958 film)
- Jonny Phillips (1997) — Titanic
- In the 2017 film Dunkirk, Mark Rylance plays "Mr. Dawson," a character inspired by Lightoller.
Images for kids
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Lightoller survived aboard Collapsible B.
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RMS Titanic's four surviving officers in 1912. Clockwise from left: Fifth Officer Harold Lowe, Second Officer Charles Lightoller, Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall; Third Officer Herbert Pitman, seated
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Lightoller's Sundowner, now preserved by Ramsgate Maritime Museum.
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Information board in Twickenham near the Richmond Slipways where Lightoller lived and worked after 1947
