Henry Tingle Wilde

Henry Tingle Wilde ( born September 21, 1872 in Walton, Liverpool, England, † April 15, 1912 in the North Atlantic ) was a British sailor. He was Commanding Officer of the Titanic. As the highest-ranking officer, he died in the sinking of the ship.

Life

Wilde, his wife and twin sons lost in 1910 due to illness, worked from 1897 for the White Star Line. There he served, among others, on the Arabic, the Celtic, the Medic and the Cymric. Captain Edward John Smith picked him because of Wilde's experiences on the Olympic shortly before the expiry of the Titanic surprising as chief officer on board. This two other officers of the Titanic have been reset to a rank: William M. Murdoch had been as Senior Officer soft to the position of first officer, the former First Officer Charles Lightoller took the rank of Second Officer. The originally planned as a Second Officer David Blair left the ship completely. About this decision Smiths has been much speculation: It is possible that Smith did not want to give up the most experienced with the ships of the Olympic - class officer of the shipping company. You may already also played the particularly acute risk of icing in April 1912, a role that is in regard to the subsequent disaster of particular interest. Because Wilde was thus indirectly responsible for the downgrading of the other nautical officers of the Titanic, said to have been relatively tense the relationship between him and his colleagues. Since the reshuffle was carried out on such short notice, saying some of the crew during the interrogations after the catastrophe of William Murdoch as chief officer. In a letter to his sister Henry Wilde had written shortly before departure:

• I still do not like this ship. I've got a queer feeling about it. I still do not like this ship [ the Titanic ]. I have over him a strange feeling.

Little is known about the last hours of Wilde. At the time of the collision with the iceberg on April 14 at 23:40 clock, he was off duty. After realizing the seriousness of the situation, he was one of the first to insist on the easing of the lifeboats, and was himself busy until the end, to supervise the loading of the boats. However, he refused to get on board one, although always should ride a crew member. Wilde put the women and children - first - out rule very strictly, nevertheless succeeded, among other things Bruce Ismay, director of the White Star Line to jump into one of the gefierten Wilde rescue boats. Wilde insisted that the other officers be armed, because he knew that there would be riots in the filling of the last lifeboats. He was last seen in the attempt to make the Notboote A and B to water. Some survivors, however, was reported that Wilde had committed suicide shortly before the sinking of the ship at 2:20 clock. However, this is considered to be not secured, his body was never found.

In the Titanic film version of 1997, the role of Wilde was occupied with Mark Lindsay Chapman.