--- title: "A brave Titanic officer somehow survived to rescue troops from Dunkirk" description: "Lightoller was the last Titanic survivor rescued by the RMS Carpathia. He was also the most senior officer to survive the shipwreck." date: "2022-07-14" modified: "2023-07-12" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/titanic-survivor-rescues-troops-dunkirk/" categories: - "History" - "War History" - "World War II" --- # A brave Titanic officer somehow survived to rescue troops from Dunkirk ![Titanic officer]() On Apr. 15, 1912, Charles Lightoller was the second officer aboard the ill-fated *Titanic.* After helping as many passengers and crew as he could into lifeboats, he refused an order to escape on one of the final boats to make it off the ship. As [*Titanic's* bridge began to sink](), he attempted to dive into the water and to the safety of one of the crew's collapsible boats. Except the *Titanic* sucked him down with her. ![Titanic officer survivors]() *Two lifeboats carry *Titanic* survivors toward safety. April 15, 1912. (NARA)* Lightoller was no landsman. He had been at sea for decades and, as a result, he'd seen and heard everything. *Titanic* wasn't even his first shipwreck, but it *was* the first time a sinking ship tried to take the officer down with it. As a grating pulled him to the bottom, the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean finally reached the ship's hot boilers, and they exploded. The force propelled Lightoller to the surface and to the safety of his fellow crew's boat. He was the last *Titanic* survivor rescued by the *[RMS Carpathia]()* the next day. He was also the most senior officer to survive the shipwreck. Later, during World War I, Lt. Lightoller would take command of many ships in the Royal Navy, leaving the service at the war's end. By the time World War II rolled around, Lightoller was just a civilian raising chickens. His seaborne days confined to a personal yacht. ![Titanic officers]() *The Titanic's officers. Lightoller is in the back row, second from the left.* While he did survey the German coast in 1939 for the Royal Navy while disguised as an elderly couple on vacation, his fighting days were long gone. But the very next year, the British Army in France was on the brink of ruin, as 400,000 Allied troops were stranded on the [beaches of Dunkirk](). The Royal Navy could not reach them, and they were slowly being annihilated by the Nazi forces that surrounded them. Operation Dynamo was on. The Royal Navy ordered Lightoller to take his ship to Ramsgate, where a Navy crew would take control and ship off to Dunkirk to rescue as many Tommies as possible. But Lightoller wasn't having it. He would take his ship to Dunkirk himself. The 66-year-old and his son departed for France as soon as they could in a 52x12-foot ship with a carrying capacity of 21. The Lightollers picked up 130 British soldiers. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()