Henry Tingle Wilde,

RNR 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 ...

(21 September 1872 – 15 April 1912) was a British naval officer who was the

chief officer A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship ...

of the . He died in the sinking.

Early life

Henry Tingle Wilde was born on 21 September 1872 in

Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada * Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdo ...

, north of Liverpool, England. He was the son of Henry Wilde, an insurance surveyor from Ecclesfield, South Yorkshire. His mother was Elizabeth Tingle of Loxley, Bradfield. Wilde was christened at the Loxley Congregational Chapel in Loxley, Sheffield on 24 October 1872. Henry was known as Harry among his friends. He went to sea in his teens. He apprenticed with Messrs. James Chambers & Co., Liverpool. His apprenticeship began on 23 October 1889, on board the 1835-ton ''Greystoke Castle'', and concluded four years later on 22 October 1893. From there, he served as third mate aboard the ''Greystoke Castle'', and then moved on to third mate of the 1374-ton ''Hornsby Castle''. His first steamship posting was aboard the S.S. ''Brunswick'' in 1895, where he served initially as third mate, then as second mate. In 1896, he transferred to the S.S. ''Europa'' and served aboard her as second mate. In July 1897, he joined 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 ...

. Starting as a junior officer, Wilde rose steadily through the ranks while serving on several White Star ships. These included the ''Covic'', ''Cufic'', ''Tauric'', and ''Delphic''. Tragedy struck in December 1910 when Wilde's wife and twin sons Archie and Richard died. In August 1911, Wilde became Chief Officer of ''Titanic''s sister, the , where he served under ''Titanic'' future captain, Edward J. Smith. Wilde was an officer of the

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 R ...

, where he was commissioned a

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second hig ...

on 26 June 1902.

''Titanic''

Wilde was scheduled to leave

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

on ''Olympic'' on 3 April 1912, but a reshuffle on board the ''Titanic'' caused the lowering of a rank of

William McMaster Murdoch William McMaster Murdoch, RNR (28 February 1873 – 15 April 1912) was a British sailor, who was the First Officer on the . He was the officer in charge on the bridge when the ship collided with an iceberg, and was one of the more than 1, ...

and

Charles Lightoller Charles Herbert Lightoller, (30 March 1874 – 8 December 1952) was a British mariner and naval officer. He was the second officer on board the and the most senior member of the crew to survive the ''Titanic'' disaster. As the officer in ch ...

to First and Second Officer, respectively, with Second Officer David Blair being removed from the ship entirely. On the ship's sailing day, 10 April 1912, Wilde reported for duty at 6:00 a.m. Around the time of departure, he was assisting Lightoller in casting off mooring ropes and in securing of tug lines. After the ship was put to sea, Wilde worked the 2–6 watches. On the ''Titanic'', Wilde wrote a letter to his sister in which he mentioned that he had "a queer feeling about the ship", although the letter, if it exists, has never been made public. At 11:40 p.m., on 14 April, the ship hit an

iceberg An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 m long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially-derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". The ...

. Immediately after the collision, Wilde moved forward to inspect the forepeak and see the flooding for himself. He then came back to the bridge to make a report just before the carpenter arrived. The two reports seem to have convinced Smith that the ship was sinking. While Murdoch was in charge of the evacuation of the starboard boats, with Lightoller for the port side, it appears that Wilde supervised the overall process. He delayed launching the lifeboats and allowed himself twice to be over-ridden by Lightoller going to Captain Smith. In the ensuing evacuation, Wilde helped in the loading of Lifeboats No. 8, 14, 12, 16, 2, and 10. He took charge of filling and lowering the even-numbered lifeboats on the port side and also gave firearms to both Lightoller and First Officer Murdoch. As they left the cabin, Lightoller heard Wilde say he was going to put on his lifebelt; 'I am going to put on my life-belt'". By 1:40 a.m., most of the port lifeboats had been lowered, and Wilde moved to the starboard side. Steward James Johnston and Fourth Officer Boxhall saw Wilde putting women and children into lifeboat no.2 and superintending the filling. At 10, chief baker

Charles Joughin Charles John Joughin ( '; 3 August 1878 – 9 December 1956) was a British-American chef, known as being the chief baker aboard the . He survived the ship's sinking, and became notable for having survived in the frigid water for an exceptionally ...

saw Wilde conducting affairs, shouting at the stewards to keep a large number of passengers gathered back. When the boat was full, Wilde then picked out the men to take charge of it: two sailors and a steward.''British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry Day 6 – Testimony of Charles Joughin''
''Titanic Inquiry Project''. Retrieved 22 January 2012. Ismay testified that Wilde was the officer who was in charge of collapsible C.Testimony of Joseph Bruce Ismay
/ref> At D, Wilde told Lightoller, "You go with her, Lightoller." Lightoller said, "Not damned likely!", and jumped back on the ship in defiance of Wilde's order.

Death

An account in the ''Cornish Post'' of 2 May 1912, claimed that Wilde was last seen on the bridge smoking a cigarette, and that he waved goodbye to Lightoller as the ship sank. Lightoller himself made no mention of this, in his accounts."ON A SEA OF GLASS: THE LIFE & LOSS OF THE RMS TITANIC" by Tad Fitch, J. Kent Layton & Bill Wormstedt. Amberley Books, March 2012. p 319 Wilde's body was never recovered. His name is recorded on a family tombstone at Kirkdale Cemetery in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, marked by an obelisk and gravestone. The inscription reads, "Also Captain icHenry T. Wilde, RNR Acting Chief Officer Who Met His Death in the SS Titanic Disaster 15th April 1912 aged 38 years ic 'One of Britain’s Heroes'".

Family

Henry's daughter's brother-in-law's wife was the sculptor and artist

Alice Bertha Moreton Alice Bertha Moreton, née Tippin, (23 March 1901 – 6 January 1977) was an English sculptor, draughtsman and artist from Liverpool. Biography Moreton was born in the Walton district of Liverpool where her father, David Tippin, was a builder ...

Portrayals

Howard Lang Howard Lang (born Donald Yarranton; 20 March 1911 – 11 December 1989) was an English actor known for playing Captain William Baines in the BBC nautical drama '' The Onedin Line''. Early life Lang was born in Marylebone, London, the son of E ...

(1958) ('' A Night to Remember'') * Tony Caunter (1979) (''

S.O.S. Titanic ''S.O.S. Titanic'' is a British- American 1979 drama disaster television movie that depicts the doomed 1912 maiden voyage from the perspective of three distinct groups of passengers in First, Second, and Third Class. The script was written by J ...

'') *

Mark Lindsay Chapman Mark Lindsay Chapman (born 8 September 1954) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Chief Officer Henry Wilde in the film ''Titanic'' (1997), as John Lennon in the film '' Chapter 27'' (2007) and as Dr. Anton Arcane on the USA Net ...

(1997) (''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...

'') *

Will Keen Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

(2012) (''

'') (TV series/4 episodes)

References

Bibliography

External links

Henry Wilde on Titanic-Titanic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilde, Henry 1872 births 1912 deaths Deaths on the RMS Titanic British Merchant Navy officers Royal Navy officers Royal Naval Reserve personnel