Harold Sydney Bride
Encyclopedia
Harold Sydney Bride became the junior wireless
officer on board the maiden voyage of the ocean liner
RMS Titanic. The Titanic struck an iceberg at 11:40 pm 14 April 1912 and sank two hours and forty minutes later. Working with Jack Phillips, Bride helped inform Titanic's Captain Smith about the ships coming to Titanic's assistance. The next morning, after Titanic sank, Bride was rescued by the RMS Carpathia
and despite being injured, helped the Carpathia's wireless operator transmit survivor lists and personal messages from the ship.
, London
, England
in 1890 to Arthur Bride and Mary Ann Lowe. The youngest of five children, Bride lived with his family in Bromley
. After primary school Bride decided he wanted to become a wireless
operator and he worked in his family's business to help pay for training. He completed training for the Marconi Company
in July, 1911. Working for Marconi, his first sea assignment as a wireless operator was on the Haverford and later worked on the Beaverford, the LaFrance, the Lusitania
, and the Anselm.
ocean liner RMS Titanic as the Junior Wireless operator and assistant to John "Jack" Phillips
at Belfast
, Ireland
. Stories have appeared that Bride knew Phillips before Titanic, but Bride insisted that they had never met before Belfast. The Titanic left on its maiden voyage to New York City
from Southampton
, England on 10 April. During the voyage, from the wireless room on the Boat deck
, Bride and Phillips sent out passengers' personal messages and received iceberg
warnings from other ships. On April 11th, a day after the ship set sail, Phillips and Bride had celebrated Phillips' 25th birthday, with pastries brought from the first class dining room.
On the evening of 14 April 1912 Bride had gone to bed early in preparation to relieve Jack Phillips at midnight, two hours earlier than normal. The wireless had not been working earlier and Phillips was busy catching up on a backlog of passengers' personal messages being sent to Cape Race
, Newfoundland.
The Titanic hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm that night and began sinking. Bride woke up shortly after and asked Phillips what was happening. Phillips said they struck something; Bride acknowledged Phillips and began to get ready to go on duty. Captain Edward Smith soon came into the wireless room alerting Bride and Phillips to be ready to send out a distress signal
. Shortly after midnight he came in and told them to request help and gave them the ship's position.
Jack Phillips sent out CQD
while Bride took messages to the Captain about which ships were coming to Titanic's assistance. However, the closest ship to respond, the RMS Carpathia
, wouldn’t reach Titanic until after it sank. At one point Bride reminded Phillips that the new code was SOS
and jokingly said, "Send SOS, it's the new call, and it may be your last chance to send it." Later Phillips took a quick break and Bride took over the wireless. Phillips soon returned to the wireless room reporting that the forward
part of the ship was flooded and that they should put on more clothes and lifebelts
. Bride began to get dressed while Phillips went back to work on the wireless machine.
The wireless power was almost completely out when Captain Smith arrived and told the men that they had done their duty and that they were relieved. Phillips continued working while Bride gathered some money and personal belongings. When his back was turned a crew member had sneaked in and was taking Phillips' lifebelt. Bride saw and grabbed the man while Phillips stood up and knocked the crew member out. Water was beginning to flood the boat deck as they ran out of the wireless room and Bride began helping remove one of the last two lifeboat
s, Collapsible B, off the roof of the officer's quarters. The crew was unable to launch the boat before it was washed off the deck upside down. Bride was also washed off the deck and found himself beneath the overturned boat. He swam out from under and climbed onto the boat, on which he and fifteen other men were able to survive, although the collapsible was waterlogged and slowly sinking. Phillips, who had also made it to this boat, died shortly before rescue arrived. Bride and the others on B were later assisted into other lifeboats and were eventually taken aboard the RMS Carpathia.
On the Carpathia, the seriously injured Bride rested, and later helped the Carpathia's wireless operator, Harold Cottam
, send out the large number of personal messages from the survivors. According to Encyclopedia Titanica
: "Incidentally, Bride and Cottam had met before the disaster and were good friends. After the tragedy they stayed in contact for many years".
and The New York Times
, which gave Bride $1,000 for his exclusive story. Bride later gave testimony in the American and British inquiries into the Titanic disaster, describing what iceberg warnings had been received and what had happened the night of the disaster.
In the American Inquiry, Bride was also questioned about ignoring requests for information, while working on the Carpathia, from the press
and the U.S. Navy
, which wanted to know the fate of President Taft's
personal friend and aide, Archibald Butt
. Bride stated that priority was given to personal messages and survivor lists over answering questions from the press and claimed that the Navy did not understand European Morse signals
, which the Navy denied. The Marconi Company was accused of secretly setting up the New York Times interview with Bride and telling him and Harold Cottam to keep quiet until they arrived in New York, but Marconi denied the accusations. This matter was not pursued, and Bride was considered one of the heroes of the disaster.
Despite being a key witness in the inquiries, Bride kept a low profile after the sinking. Before Titanic, on 16 March 1912, he became engaged to Mabel Ludlow, but he broke off the engagement in September when he met Lucy Downie, whom he married on 10 April 1920. In August 1912, London via Melbourne, records show Bride being aboard the SS Medina as a Marconi Operator. During World War I
, Bride served as the wireless operator on the steamship Mona’s Isle, and in 1922 he and Lucy moved to Glasgow
, where Bride became a salesman. They had three children: Lucy in 1921, John in 1924 and Jeanette in 1929.
Harold Bride died of lung cancer on April 29, 1956.
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
officer on board the maiden voyage of the ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
RMS Titanic. The Titanic struck an iceberg at 11:40 pm 14 April 1912 and sank two hours and forty minutes later. Working with Jack Phillips, Bride helped inform Titanic
RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. Carpathia made her maiden voyage in 1903 and became famous for rescuing the survivors of after the latter ship hit an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912...
and despite being injured, helped the Carpathia
Early history
Harold Bride was born in NunheadNunhead
Nunhead is a place in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England. It is an inner-city suburb located southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery. Nunhead has traditionally been a working-class area and, with the adjacent neighbourhoods, is currently going...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1890 to Arthur Bride and Mary Ann Lowe. The youngest of five children, Bride lived with his family in Bromley
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
. After primary school Bride decided he wanted to become a wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
operator and he worked in his family's business to help pay for training. He completed training for the Marconi Company
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
in July, 1911. Working for Marconi, his first sea assignment as a wireless operator was on the Haverford and later worked on the Beaverford, the LaFrance, the Lusitania
RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
, and the Anselm.
RMS Titanic
In 1912 Bride joined the White Star LineWhite Star Line
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company or White Star Line of Boston Packets, more commonly known as the White Star Line, was a prominent British shipping company, today most famous for its ill-fated vessel, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of Titanics sister ship Britannic...
ocean liner RMS Titanic as the Junior Wireless operator and assistant to John "Jack" Phillips
John George Phillips (wireless officer)
John George "Jack" Phillips was a British wireless telegraphist who died while on the Titanic after it hit an iceberg; he was serving as senior wireless operator on board the maiden voyage of the...
at Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Stories have appeared that Bride knew Phillips before Titanic, but Bride insisted that they had never met before Belfast. The Titanic left on its maiden voyage to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, England on 10 April. During the voyage, from the wireless room on the Boat deck
Deck (ship)
A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
, Bride and Phillips sent out passengers' personal messages and received iceberg
Iceberg
An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
warnings from other ships. On April 11th, a day after the ship set sail, Phillips and Bride had celebrated Phillips' 25th birthday, with pastries brought from the first class dining room.
On the evening of 14 April 1912 Bride had gone to bed early in preparation to relieve Jack Phillips at midnight, two hours earlier than normal. The wireless had not been working earlier and Phillips was busy catching up on a backlog of passengers' personal messages being sent to Cape Race
Cape Race
Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", or "bare"...
, Newfoundland.
The Titanic hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm that night and began sinking. Bride woke up shortly after and asked Phillips what was happening. Phillips said they struck something; Bride acknowledged Phillips and began to get ready to go on duty. Captain Edward Smith soon came into the wireless room alerting Bride and Phillips to be ready to send out a distress signal
Distress signal
A distress signal is an internationally recognized means for obtaining help. Distress signals take the form of or are commonly made by using radio signals, displaying a visually detected item or illumination, or making an audible sound, from a distance....
. Shortly after midnight he came in and told them to request help and gave them the ship's position.
Jack Phillips sent out CQD
CQD
CQD, transmitted in Morse code as — · — · — — · — — · · is one of the first distress signals adopted for radio use...
while Bride took messages to the Captain about which ships were coming to Titanic
RMS Carpathia
RMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. Carpathia made her maiden voyage in 1903 and became famous for rescuing the survivors of after the latter ship hit an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912...
, wouldn’t reach Titanic until after it sank. At one point Bride reminded Phillips that the new code was SOS
SOS
SOS is the commonly used description for the international Morse code distress signal...
and jokingly said, "Send SOS, it's the new call, and it may be your last chance to send it." Later Phillips took a quick break and Bride took over the wireless. Phillips soon returned to the wireless room reporting that the forward
Bow (ship)
The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...
part of the ship was flooded and that they should put on more clothes and lifebelts
Personal flotation device
A personal flotation device is a device designed to assist a wearer, either conscious or unconscious, to keep afloat.Devices designed and approved by authorities for use by...
. Bride began to get dressed while Phillips went back to work on the wireless machine.
The wireless power was almost completely out when Captain Smith arrived and told the men that they had done their duty and that they were relieved. Phillips continued working while Bride gathered some money and personal belongings. When his back was turned a crew member had sneaked in and was taking Phillips' lifebelt. Bride saw and grabbed the man while Phillips stood up and knocked the crew member out. Water was beginning to flood the boat deck as they ran out of the wireless room and Bride began helping remove one of the last two lifeboat
Lifeboat (shipboard)
A lifeboat is a small, rigid or inflatable watercraft carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard ship. In the military, a lifeboat may be referred to as a whaleboat, dinghy, or gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors sometimes...
s, Collapsible B, off the roof of the officer's quarters. The crew was unable to launch the boat before it was washed off the deck upside down. Bride was also washed off the deck and found himself beneath the overturned boat. He swam out from under and climbed onto the boat, on which he and fifteen other men were able to survive, although the collapsible was waterlogged and slowly sinking. Phillips, who had also made it to this boat, died shortly before rescue arrived. Bride and the others on B were later assisted into other lifeboats and were eventually taken aboard the RMS Carpathia.
On the Carpathia, the seriously injured Bride rested, and later helped the Carpathia
Harold Cottam
Harold Thomas Cottam was the wireless operator on the RMS Carpathia when the SOS from the sinking RMS Titanic was sent. It was also he who awakened Captain Arthur Henry Rostron after receiving the distress signal. Without his diligence, and the somewhat fortuitous circumstances, many more people...
, send out the large number of personal messages from the survivors. According to Encyclopedia Titanica
Encyclopedia Titanica
Encyclopedia Titanica is an online reference work containing extensive and constantly-updated information on the . The website, a nonprofit endeavor, is a database of passenger and crew biographies, deck plans, and articles submitted by historians or Titanic enthusiasts...
: "Incidentally, Bride and Cottam had met before the disaster and were good friends. After the tragedy they stayed in contact for many years".
Post–Titanic
Bride, who had to be carried off the Carpathia because of his injuries to his feet (one was badly sprained, the other frostbitten), was met in New York City by Guglielmo MarconiGuglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, known as the father of long distance radio transmission and for his development of Marconi's law and a radio telegraph system. Marconi is often credited as the inventor of radio, and indeed he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand...
and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, which gave Bride $1,000 for his exclusive story. Bride later gave testimony in the American and British inquiries into the Titanic disaster, describing what iceberg warnings had been received and what had happened the night of the disaster.
In the American Inquiry, Bride was also questioned about ignoring requests for information, while working on the Carpathia, from the press
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
and the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, which wanted to know the fate of President Taft's
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
personal friend and aide, Archibald Butt
Archibald Butt
Major Archibald Willingham Butt was an influential military aide to U.S. presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. Before becoming an aide to Roosevelt, Butt had pursued a career in journalism and served in the Spanish-American War...
. Bride stated that priority was given to personal messages and survivor lists over answering questions from the press and claimed that the Navy did not understand European Morse signals
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
, which the Navy denied. The Marconi Company was accused of secretly setting up the New York Times interview with Bride and telling him and Harold Cottam to keep quiet until they arrived in New York, but Marconi denied the accusations. This matter was not pursued, and Bride was considered one of the heroes of the disaster.
Despite being a key witness in the inquiries, Bride kept a low profile after the sinking. Before Titanic, on 16 March 1912, he became engaged to Mabel Ludlow, but he broke off the engagement in September when he met Lucy Downie, whom he married on 10 April 1920. In August 1912, London via Melbourne, records show Bride being aboard the SS Medina as a Marconi Operator. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Bride served as the wireless operator on the steamship Mona’s Isle, and in 1922 he and Lucy moved to Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, where Bride became a salesman. They had three children: Lucy in 1921, John in 1924 and Jeanette in 1929.
Harold Bride died of lung cancer on April 29, 1956.