Lightoller as a father

[Mike Spooner]

With permission to use your photographs and information (with credit to you, of course), I am happy to raise awareness, as I don't think many realise the situation. It would be a huge loss if it disappeared due to a lack of funding.

Yes you may have my permission to use the photos. I have more photos of Sundowner taken from last year which you might of seen in early ET.
The money situation is not so straight forward and I have to be careful not to offend the present owner. Cannot be discuss on the website.
The boatyard would never scrap a wooden boat.

 

[N Alison]

Lightoller had five children but does anyone know how many grandchildren he had? How many did he manage to meet before his death?

 

[Sarah S]

And in another photograph of the two girls and Trevor in 1933, this time the girls are grouped close to Sylvia seated at a table, and Herbert looking over them.

Good morning Mr. Parkes,
I was just thinking about this picture you mentioned here of Lightoller with his daughters at the table. Has this picture been published anywhere yet? I looked through your website on Lightollers photo gallery but couldn’t find the picture you described.
It would be very interesting to see his daughters

Thank you

 

[Dan E. Parkes]

Hi Sara

It has been published in the Facebook group I run (Titanic's Officers (Official) | Facebook), along with a lot of other rarely seen photographs (for example last week there was a post of Lightoller in Canada during his gold mining days!) which will eventually make their way onto the website in due course. The website is hand-built by me (the old-fashioned line-by-coding believe it or not!) so takes a lot of time to build and update. But hopefully, there will be an update to the Lightoller section soon.

 

[Sarah S]

Hi Sara

It has been published in the Facebook group I run (Titanic's Officers (Official) | Facebook), along with a lot of other rarely seen photographs (for example last week there was a post of Lightoller in Canada during his gold mining days!) which will eventually make their way onto the website in due course. The website is hand-built by me (the old-fashioned line-by-coding believe it or not!) so takes a lot of time to build and update. But hopefully, there will be an update to the Lightoller section soon.

Hm strange Although I am part of the Facebook group I have never seen it there. I’ll search for it later. Though I did see the recent one from his goldmining days

And I understand that running a website alone can be pretty challenging. So no stress

 

[Seumas]

Good work Dan !

Just out of interest are there any pics of Lightoller wearing his Home Guard uniform during the war ?

 

[Dan E. Parkes]

Just out of interest are there any pics of Lightoller wearing his Home Guard uniform during the war ?

Quite likely there is somewhere, but I don't recall seeing one (yet).

 

[Seumas]

Quite likely there is somewhere, but I don't recall seeing one (yet).

I hope one turns up

Do you know if Lightoller got his Defence Medal (which Home Guardsmen men were eligible for at the war's conclusion but they had to write away for it rather than just being awarded it) and if he got his post war certificate of service with the Home Guard ?

 

[Dan E. Parkes]

I hope one turns up

Do you know if Lightoller got his Defence Medal (which Home Guardsmen men were eligible for at the war's conclusion but they had to write away for it rather than just being awarded it) and if he got his post war certificate of service with the Home Guard ?

I've not heard anything about that - from what I remember he was more involved in the Small Vessels Pool at the end of the war, than the Home Guard. There is scant information on the post-Dunkirk period of his life, which I would like to address at some point. Unfortunately, run-ins with a certain member of the Lightoller family as well as other "interested" parties have made it a less appealing prospect at the moment, but is certainly on the agenda.

 

[Seumas]

I've not heard anything about that - from what I remember he was more involved in the Small Vessels Pool at the end of the war, than the Home Guard. There is scant information on the post-Dunkirk period of his life, which I would like to address at some point. Unfortunately, run-ins with a certain member of the Lightoller family as well as other "interested" parties have made it a less appealing prospect at the moment, but is certainly on the agenda.

Sorry to read your having trouble with one of his descendants, Dan.

I hope it's not that odious titled granddaughter of his who is giving you grief. The one who promoted that fictitious "wrong order theory" to try and sell copies of her dreadful pulp novel.

 

[Mike Spooner]

Whilst on the subject of Charles Lightoller I went to Mortlake Crematorium Richmond Surrey England, to see if there was any plaque for him.
The office informed me there was no plague. Great shame for such a courageous man indeed. However, a metal plate can be made if required.
All to see is the ash Garden of Remembrance Rose Bed 1. As enclosed.

 

[Dan E. Parkes]

Whilst on the subject of Charles Lightoller I went to Mortlake Crematorium Richmond Surrey England, to see if there was any plaque for him.
The office informed me there was no plague. Great shame for such a courageous man indeed. However, a metal plate can be made if required.
All to see is the ash Garden of Remembrance Rose Bed 1. As enclosed.

Thanks for this Mike. I had often wondered if there was something there -although my instinct has always been that if there was, somebody would have mentioned it/photographed it. But good to have confirmation. I appreciate your photographs on the Sundowner progress too - thanks for keeping us up-to-date.

 

[Sarah S]

Hello again,

I know I have asked this question before but there was no real answer to this. Claire Doreen Lightoller passed away in 2004. Has she ever spoken about her father at all? She must have witnessed two very big waves of reviving Titanic enthusiasm (1958 and 1997). Especially during the 1997 mania era. Has she ever commented the 1997 depiction of her father?

Since she died in our century, I can’t imagine that modern day Titanic historians did not try and contact her for biographic investigation into her father’s life and survival.
Was she just very private as a person? Her family members all passed away way long before her, so I wonder what kind of person she was and what she shared with people about her father.

Thank you

 

[Dan E. Parkes]

I know I have asked this question before but there was no real answer to this. Claire Doreen Lightoller passed away in 2004. Has she ever spoken about her father at all? She must have witnessed two very big waves of reviving Titanic enthusiasm (1958 and 1997). Especially during the 1997 mania era. Has she ever commented the 1997 depiction of her father?

Hello Sarah. You are right that there is not much information on Claire. Although I am not sure she died in 2004 - what is your source? Most genealogical websites date her death to 1994.

As for more information on her, well I am sure you probably already know this but Claire's married name was Rowe and her daughter Louise Rowe, became Lady Louise Patten who later wrote a book expounding an erroneous concept that a steering error caused the Titanic disaster. So it is rather a dubious legacy she has left I am afraid.

There is a short biography here: Titanic's Officers - RMS Titanic - Second Officer C.H.Lightoller
And a detailed article on Patten here: Titanic's Officers - Articles - A Steering Error?

 

[Mike Spooner]

I have just visited the boatyard where Sundowner boat is waiting for a major overhaul and informed the repairs have received the go head. Hoping to be ready for 2025 Dunkirk sail.