Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

Charles Alfred Bartlett (21 August 1868 – 15 February 1945) was a merchant seaman and

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

officer, who achieved command status with the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between t ...

shipping company, including as captain of .

Biography

Born in London, Bartlett served six years with the

British-India Steam Navigation Company British India Steam Navigation Company ("BI") was formed in 1856 as the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company. History The ''Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company'' had been formed out of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, a trading part ...

before joining the White Star Line in 1894. He was appointed as an officer in the Royal Naval Reserve in 1893. He is perhaps best remembered as the captain of the ''Britannic'' from 1915 to November 1916, when the ship was sunk off Greece by a German-laid mine. After the war he served as Royal Naval Reserve aide-de-camp to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

. Bartlett was known as "Iceberg Charlie" to his crew due to his alleged ability to detect icebergs miles away. He retired in 1931 and died in a nursing home in Waterloo near Liverpool on 15 February 1945 at age 76.Sea breezes: the ship lovers' digest, Volume 45, pg. 233

In popular culture

Captain Bartlett was portrayed by

John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor best known for portraying Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise and Gimli in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. His other roles include Michael Malone in the 1993 series ''The Untouch ...

in the 2000 Fox Family Channel movie ''Britannic''. However, in the film his name is spelled "Barrett", probably mistaken for Titanic's surviving head stoker "Fred Barrett".

References

External links

webpage on ''Britannic'' with photo of Captain Bartlettformal portrait
1868 births 1945 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Steamship captains Sailors from London Royal Naval Reserve personnel {{Shipping-bio-stub