Nine Diamond Stars

 

When Charles Lightoller boarded the RMS Titanic in Belfast, he acted as first officer for sea trials. Then he was moved to second officer. David Blair, the original second officer, was removed from the crew. Blair left with the key to the ship’s binocular case, which meant no one in the crow’s nest had binoculars two weeks later, when binoculars might have come in handy. Charles was in his bunk when the Titanic hit an iceberg and he was summoned to the bridge. He quickly threw clothes on over his pajamas. Charles was responsible for filling and lowering lifeboats on the port side. As the ship sank, he was trapped underwater until a boiler explosion blew him free. He took charge of thirty survivors on an overturned lifeboat. Charles Lightoller was the last survivor taken aboard the Carpathia. After Charles retired, he bought a small boat which he later used to evacuate more than 120 men from Dunkirk in 1940.