TITANIC-TITANIC.com | Titanic Deck Crew - Lightoller, Mr. Charles Herbert

Age: 38
Date of Birth (D.O.B.): 30th March, 1874
Place of Residence: Southampton, England ( List )
Embarked at: Belfast, Ireland
Occupation: Second Officer
Department: Titanic Deck Crew
Survived: Yes ( List )
Lifeboat Number: Collapsible B
Location Buried: Mortlake Crematorium, Mortlake, Greater London, England

Mini Biography

Charles Herbert Lightoller boarded the Titanic at Belfast, Ireland.

Charles Herbert Lightoller was the Second Officer aboard Titanic, and was part of the Deck Crew.

Charles Herbert Lightoller managed to board lifeboat Collapsible B, and survived the sinking of the Titanic.

Charles Herbert Lightoller was born in Chorley, Lancashire, England on 30th March 1874, but his mother, Sarah, died shortly after the birth. His family owned Lightoller Mill in Chorley, but Charles Herbert Lightoller didn't want to end up working in a mill, and so decided to go to sea, at the age of 13.

Charles Herbert Lightoller lived at Nikko Lodge, Netley Abbey, Southampton.

Charles Herbert Lightoller first went to sea as an apprentice on the Primrose Hill, amongst others.

On his second voyage as an apprentice, Charles Herbert Lightoller sailed with the Holt Hill, and during a storm in the South Atlantic, the ship was forced to dock at Rio De Janeiro to undertake repairs to the ship. During another bad storm in 1889, and whilst traveling in the Indian Ocean, the Holt Hill was washed-up on a uninhabited island. Luckily, they were rescued by the Coorong, which returned them to Adelaide, Australia, and Charles Herbert Lightoller worked his back to England aboard the clipper Duke Of Abercorn.

Charles Herbert Lightoller returned to his first vessel, the Primrose Hill, for his third voyage, and when the ship arrived in India, Charles Herbert Lightoller passed his second mate's certificate.

When Charles Herbert Lightoller was serving as third mate aboard the St. Michael, the cargo of coal caught fire, and because of the efficient way he extinguished the fire, and saved the ship, he was promoted to second mate.

At the age of 21, Charles Herbert Lightoller obtained his mate's certificate, and left sailing ships for good, deciding to switch to steamers. He joined the Elder Dempster Line African Royal Mail Service, and after three years, Charles Herbert Lightoller had abandoned the sea after catching malaria.

Charles Herbert Lightoller then went to work in the Yukon, Canada, in search of gold, however, he failed, and then he turned his hand to being cowboy in Alberta. In order to return home, Charles Herbert Lightoller became a hobo, riding trains across Canada in order to get to a port.

Charles Herbert Lightoller then worked as a cattle hand aboard a ship in order to England.

Charles Herbert Lightoller's next move was to obtain his master's certificate, and he then joined Greenshields and Cowie as third mate on the Knight Companion, which was another cattle boat.

Charles Herbert Lightoller began his long career with the White Star Line in the January of 1900, when he joined the Medic as her fourth officer, see below.

Charles Herbert Lightoller found himself in trouble whilst serving aboard Medic, and was probably lucky to keep his job. The Boer War, in which British and Australian troops were fighting side by side, which was the first time these countries had fought together as allies, was still raging in South Africa. Because of this, feelings in Australia were obviously running high, so Charles Herbert Lightoller decided to play a prank on the residents of Sydney, which at that time, was a conservative city.

His plan was to pretend that a Boer raiding party was in Sydney, and attacking Fort Denison, and in order to effect the ruse, he rowed away from the Medic in the company of four midshipmen before sunrise, and climbed the tower of Fort Denison. They loaded a cannon with blasting powder, and then added cotton waste and fine grain powder, attached a fifty foot fuse, which they lit before returning to Medic in order to watch the outcome of their deeds. When the gun exploded, the force from it was enough to blow out windows of nearby buildings, and many residents were shocked to see the Boer flag flying over Fort Denison.

Charles Herbert Lightoller and his cohorts would have probably got away with the prank, however, witnesses on Medic had observed him leaving the ship, and soon after returning, it wasn't before the Police, together with the Sydney port authorities, were questioning Medic's crew. White Star Line had to pay compensation for the damage caused by Charles Herbert Lightoller's prank, and the local press were asking for those responsible to be punished. Many of the crew aboard the Medic believed Charles Herbert Lightoller's career with the White Star Line was as good as over, but the fact that Charles Herbert Lightoller took the blame for the whole incident, and didn't give the names of his cohorts actually worked in his favour. Charles Herbert Lightoller was reprimanded and passed over for promotion as his punishment.

Charles Herbert Lightoller later joined Majestic I, under the command of Captain Edward Smith, and then earned promotion to third officer aboard the Oceanic II, which was at that time the longest vessel in the world, and the flagship of the White Star Line. Charles Herbert Lightoller then returned to the Majestic I, as its first mate, and then returned to the Oceanic II, again as first mate.

Charles Herbert Lightoller joined his next vessel, Titanic, at Belfast, Ireland, just a couple of weeks before she sailed from Southampton, England. Captain Edward Smith gave Henry Tingle Wilde the post of chief officer, due to the fact he had previously served on Olympic, which in turn led William McMaster Murdoch to be demoted to first officer, and Charles Herbert Lightoller as her second officer.

W.I..P....

Image Source: Wikipedia