10 Unusual Facts You Didn't Know About The Titanic

by Tom Mankin

1. Titanic€™'s Second Officer Would Go On To Aid With The Dunkirk Evacuation

Charles Lightoller
Public Domain

Charles Herbert Lightoller was the Titanic€™'s second officer and remained on the ship helping passengers to escape until the final moments of the sinking. Lightoller survived by swimming to an overturned lifeboat that had floated off the ship as it sank. The second officer took charge of the upside down boat, helping survivors to climb aboard whilst distributing their weight evenly to keep the boat from sinking. His actions helped to keep the boat, and the morale of the thirty people who clung to it, afloat for four hours until rescue finally came.

Lightoller remained loyal to the White Star Line and defended them at the inquiry into the ship's sinking, but unfortunately his association with the Titanic killed his career and he was forced to retire from working aboard ships. He took up a number of other jobs which included inn keeper and chicken farmer but did not give up on the sea, and continued to sail on his own yacht, the Sundowner.

In 1940, Lightoller became involved in another major historical event when he used his yacht to join the flotilla that sailed to rescue soldiers during the evacuation of Dunkirk. Talk about an exciting life.

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Recent History graduate living in Newcastle. I like to travel and experience new things, my favourite place on earth has got to be the Great Barrier Reef. To date my greatest achievements include completing the National Pokedex and mastering how to make cheesy nachos.