Titanic and Other Ships

A full log unforgettable The ObserverThe original 1935 autobiography of the highest-ranking officer to survive the worlds worst maritime disasterBonus material included: Lightollers unabridged testimony to the US Senate Inquiry and Lightollers unabridged testimony to the British Wreck Commissioners inquiry on behalf of the British Board of TradeA bestseller at the time Titanic & Other Ships was Charles Lightollers chance to set the record straight about his role and that of his shipmates and employer the White Star Line in the sinking of the Titanic on 14/15 April 1912. Only through this autobiography of a life immersed in the traditions of the British merchant seaman can Charles Lightollers actions on the night of the 14/15 April 1912 and his subsequent evidence at the two Titanicinquiries held in Washington DC and London be fully appreciated.ABOUT THE AUTHORCharles Lightoller was born in Chorley in 1874. His mother died of scarlet fever shortly after he was born and his father emigrated to New Zealand when he was just 10 leaving him in the care of his extended family. He first went to sea at 13 but after a bout of malaria Charles tried his luck in the gold rush in the Yukon then as a cowboy in Canada. He joined the White Star Line in 1900 and was 38 at the time of the Titanic disaster. Through his efforts he helped save over 700 passengers and crew only escaping himself by jumping into the Atlantic as Titanic sank from under him. He would go on to be a decorated naval officer in the First World War and returned 127 soldiers to Britain during the Dunkirk evacuation in his motor yacht Sundowner.