Archibald Jewell (4 December 1888 – 17 April 1917) was a sailor who was on the crew of the Titanic. He survived the sinking of the ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Britannic Britannic means 'of Britain' or 'British', from the Roman name for the British. Britannic may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Britannic'' (film), a 2000 film based on the story of HMHS ''Britannic'' * SS ''Britannic'', a fictional ...

'', but died during the sinking of the SS ''Donegal'' when it was torpedoed without warning by German forces during the course of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Life

Archibald Jewell, known as Archie, was the youngest child of John Jewell, a sailor, and his wife Elizabeth Jewell. He had six older siblings, two sisters and four brothers. His mother died on 9 April 1891. In 1903, at the age of 15, Jewell began working on smaller sailing ships. 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 ...

in 1904. Jewell served as a full seaman on the ''

Oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places *Oceanic, British Columbia Oceanic is an unincorporated set ...

'' for almost eight years, during which time he lived in Southampton. He was married sometime around 1916 to Bessie Heard and moved to Bitterne with her. Bessie Jewell gave birth to her and Archie's son, Raymond Hope Jewell, in autumn 1916.

Career

On 6 April 1912, Jewell was transferred to the ''Titanic'' as one of six lookouts along with 24-year-old George Symons. Jewell was scheduled to be in the crow's nest between 20:00 and 22:00 and then from 2:00 to 4:00, during the night of 15 April 1912. At around 22:00 Jewell and Symons were replaced by their colleagues Reginald Lee and

Frederick Fleet Frederick Fleet (15 October 1887 – 10 January 1965) was a British sailor, crewman and a survivor of the sinking of the . Fleet, along with fellow lookout Reginald Lee, was on duty when the ship struck the iceberg; it was Fleet who fir ...

. Jewell was in his cabin at 23:40 when the iceberg collision occurred. At 00:40, Jewell was one of the first to escape the sinking in lifeboat 7. After arriving in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

on the RMS ''Carpathia'', Jewell returned to England on 29 April 1912 on board the SS ''Lapland''. He was among the first witnesses interviewed by Lord Justice Mersey on 3 May 1912 before the British Committee of Inquiry on the accident. At least 331 questions were asked. Jewell worked on HMHS ''Britannic'' during

. He survived the sinking of the ''Britannic'' on 21 November 1916 along with two other ''Titanic'' survivors Violet Jessop, a stewardess and Arthur John Priest, a stoker. In 1916, Jewell left the White Star Line and was hired on the SS ''Donegal'', a passenger ship put into service in 1904. The ''Donegal'' was converted into a hospital ship during World War I and transported wounded soldiers from France to England. On 1 March 1917, one of these voyages involved enemy contact with a German submarine. Badly damaged, the ''Donegal'' could get to safety, but it was never repaired. On 17 April 1917, another German submarine fired without warning on the ''Donegal''. The ship went down in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...

, about south of the Dean

light vessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, t ...

. The 28-year-old Jewell was one of the 12 crew members who died, along with 29 British soldiers. Jewell's body was never recovered. John Priest was also onboard, but survived. A plaque commemorates Jewell at the

Tower Hill Memorial The Tower Hill Memorial is a pair of Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials in Trinity Square Gardens, on Tower Hill in London, England. The memorials, one for the First World War and one for the Second, commemorate civilian, merchant seaf ...

, in London. Archie Jewell was survived by his wife and son, his father, and all six of his siblings; his son died in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal c ...

on 10 December 1930, at the age of 14, after a serious illness.

References

External links

Titanic pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jewell, Archie RMS Titanic survivors People from Bude 1888 births 1917 deaths British Merchant Service personnel of World War I British casualties of World War I Sailors from Cornwall