Harold Bride

Harold Bride in April 1912

Harold Sydney Bride (born January 11, 1890 in Nunhead , London , England , † April 29, 1956 in Glasgow , Scotland ) was a British seaman. He was an employee of the British Marconi International Marine Communication Co. and as a radio operator on the Titanic , which sank on April 15, 1912 on its maiden voyage .

Early life

Harold Bride was born to Arthur Bride and Mary Ann Lowe. When Bride got a little older, his family moved to Bromley . After school, the young bride decided to become a radio operator. He helped in the family business in order to be able to pay for the training. In 1911 he completed his apprenticeship at the Marconi Company . He then served as an apprentice on various ships, for example on the LaFance , the Anselm , the Beaverford , the Haverford and the Lusitania .

Titanic

The Marconi Society transferred Bride from the Lusitania in 1912 as the second radio officer on the new White Star Liner Titanic . He was able to serve on this luxurious ship after a year of apprenticeship and at the age of only 22. Together with his colleague next to Jack Phillips , he shared the radio service on the ship. They took turns on a regular basis: Bride worked from 2:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Phillips took over the rest of the time.

On April 14, 1912, the Titanic received at least eight ice warnings. However, since the radio operators were usually mainly occupied with sending holiday greetings from the passengers, not all messages reached the bridge. After the ship hit the iceberg at 11:40 p.m., shortly after midnight, Captain Edward Smith ordered them to send a distress signal. From then on, both radio operators worked in the radio room and maintained a lively radio communication with other ships. At the beginning Phillips radioed the CQD signal, then the (new) SOS signal, after Bride had warned him that this might be their last opportunity.

Around 2:00 a.m., about 20 minutes before the Titanic sank , Captain Smith appeared again to relieve the men of their duties. When the water got into the radio room, they left it together. During the sinking, the folding boat B was torn from its place on the roof of the officers' cabins and came keel up into the sea. While Bride managed to get a dry place on the overturned boat with some difficulty, Phillips stayed in the icy water and did not survive. In the early hours of the morning Bride, who had suffered injuries and frostbite on his feet during the night, boarded the rushed RMS Carpathia .

Next life

Bride testified as a witness in the subsequent investigations into the disaster and then initially resumed his work as a radio operator. In 1920 he married Lucy Johnstone Downie, with whom he had three children. Bride later moved with his family to Scotland, where he died of lung cancer in 1956 .

In the 1997 film adaptation of the Titanic , the role of Bride was cast with Craig Kelly .

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• Harold Bride in the Encyclopedia Titanica