Titanic survivor - Frank Prentice.

 

Titanic survivor - Frank Prentice

Major Frank Prentice survived the sinking of the Titanic on the night of 15 April 1912. Age just 18 years old, he was employed on the ship as an assistant purser. He helped many women and children into the lifeboats and was one of the last people off the ship.

In an interview which he gave before his death, he said that he was clinging on to the stern of the ship, as it was about to go down. He fell over 100 feet into the water, missed the propeller’s, and survived the fall. He then spent another four hours swimming in the freezing North Atlantic Ocean, before he was helped into a lifeboat. He was among 706 Titanic survivors who were rescued by the RMS Carpathia, two hours after the Titanic had sunk.

He returned to England and by July 10, he had signed on to the Oceanic, which was also owned by the White Star Line. He was on board when the ship found one of the Titanic's lifeboats drifting in the mid-Atlantic, with four dead.

In later life, Frank Prentice, recalled: "I've had a lot of experiences during my life. Two world wars. Badly shattered right arm. Another wound in the leg. And all anyone wants to know about is the Titanic."

He was commissioned temporary Second Lieutenant in the Tank Corps on 28 August 1917, and was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry during the attack on Hamel and Vaire Wood on 4 July 1918. He was later promoted to Major. Frank Prentice died in Bournemouth on May 19, 1982, aged 93. He was the second to the last surviving Titanic crew member.