Harold Lowe

Commander Harold Godfrey Lowe (21 November 1882 – 12 May 1944) was a British merchant mariner and naval officer who served as the fifth officer aboard the RMS Titanic during its ill-fated maiden voyage, and the most junior of the four ship's officers who survived the disaster. In charge of lifeboat No. 14, Lowe received praise for his conduct during the sinking and for returning to the wreck site after the ship sank in search for survivors, the only boat which voluntarily returned. Along with a volunteer crew, he rescued four survivors from the water and at least twelve others from the swamped Collapsible Boat A, and took them to safety aboard RMS Carpathia. Lowe went on to participate in both inquiries into the disaster. Lowe went on to serve in the merchant naval service until retiring from seafaring in 1931. He served in the Royal Naval Reserve during World War I and, despite his failing health, as an air raid warden in World War II. In retirement, he entered local politics as a councillor in Deganwy, Wales. In 1944, he became the first surviving officer of Titanic to die, following two years of ill-health after a stroke.