Harold Sydney Bride (11 January 1890 – 29 April 1956) was born in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and later became the Junior
WirelessWireless communication is the transfer of information over a distance without the use of electrical conductors or "wires". The distances involved may be short or long . When the context is clear, the term is often shortened to "wireless"...
officer on board the maiden voyage of the
ocean linerAn 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, mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
RMS TitanicThe RMS Titanic was an Olympic-class passenger liner owned by British shipping company White Star Line and built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, United Kingdom...
. 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 SmithCaptain Edward John Smith, RD, RNR was an English naval officer, and ship's captain. He was the captain in command of the RMS Titanic; he died on board when it sank in 1912...
about the ships coming to
Titanic's assistance. The next morning, after
Titanic sank, Bride was rescued by the
RMS CarpathiaRMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. Carpathia began her maiden voyage in 1903 and became famous for rescuing the survivors of RMS Titanic after she hit an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912...
and despite being injured, helped the
Carpathia's wireless operator transmit survivor lists and personal messages from the ship.
Early history
Harold Bride was born in
NunheadNunhead 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 is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
,
EnglandEngland 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 and the North Sea to the east, with 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
BromleyBromley is a large suburban town in southeast London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It is located southeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a market town in the county...
. After primary school Bride decided he wanted to become a
wirelessWireless communication is the transfer of information over a distance without the use of electrical conductors or "wires". The distances involved may be short or long . When the context is clear, the term is often shortened to "wireless"...
operator and he worked in his family's business to help pay for training. He completed training for the
Marconi CompanyThe 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
LusitaniaRMS Lusitania was an ocean liner owned by the Cunard Line and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland, torpedoed by a German U-boat on 7 May 1915. The ship sank in 18 minutes, eight miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, killing 1,198 of the 1,959 people aboard...
, and the
Anselm.
RMS Titanic
In 1912 Bride joined the
White Star LineThe 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 luxury flagship, the RMS Titanic, and the World War I loss of her sister ship, Britannic...
ocean liner
RMS TitanicThe RMS Titanic was an Olympic-class passenger liner owned by British shipping company White Star Line and built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, United Kingdom...
as the Junior Wireless operator and assistant to
John "Jack" PhillipsJohn George "Jack" Phillips was a British wireless telegraphist who died while serving as senior wireless operator on board the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic, which sank, after hitting an iceberg, on 15 April 1912...
at
BelfastBelfast is the capital of and the largest city in Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is the seat of devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. It is the largest urban area in the province of Ulster, and the second largest city on the island of...
,
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
. 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 CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
from
SouthamptonSouthampton is the largest city in the ceremonial 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
deckA 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 passenger's personal messages and received
icebergAn 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 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 back log of passenger personal messages being sent to
Cape RaceCape 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 SmithCaptain Edward John Smith, RD, RNR was an English naval officer, and ship's captain. He was the captain in command of the RMS Titanic; he died on board when it sank in 1912...
soon came into the wireless room alerting Bride and Phillips to be ready to send out a
distress signalA 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
CQDCQD, 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's assistance. However, the closest ship to respond, the
RMS CarpathiaRMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. Carpathia began her maiden voyage in 1903 and became famous for rescuing the survivors of RMS Titanic after she 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
SOSSOS 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
forwardThe 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
lifebeltsA personal flotation device is a device designed to assist a wearer, either conscious or unconscious, to keep afloat with his or her mouth and nose of his or her head's face...
. Bride began to get ready 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. The 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
lifeboatA lifeboat is a small watercraft carried on a ship to provide a means of emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard the ship. Lifeboats may be rigid or inflatable vessels; the inflatable type are sometimes referred to as liferafts. In the military, a lifeboat may be referred to as a...
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, though the collapsible was waterlogged and slowly sinking. Phillips, who had also made it to this boat, died 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.
Post–Titanic
Bride, who had to be carried off the
Carpathia because of his injuries to his feet, was met in New York City by
Guglielmo MarconiMarchese Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor, best known for his development of a radiotelegraph system, which served as the foundation for the establishment of numerous affiliated companies worldwide...
and
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
, which gave Bride $1000 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
pressA newspaper is a publication containing news, information, and advertising. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on political events, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page containing columns that express the...
and the
U.S. NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
, which wanted to know the fate of
President Taft'sWilliam Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the 10th Chief Justice of the United States....
personal friend and aide,
Archibald ButtMajor 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 signalsMorse code is a type of character encoding that transmits telegraphic information using rhythm. Morse code uses a standardized sequence of short and long elements to represent the letters, numerals, punctuation and special characters of a given message...
, 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. During
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, Bride served as the wireless operator on the steamship
Mona’s Isle, and in 1922 he and Lucy moved to
GlasgowGlasgow 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.