Frank Winnold Prentice
MC (17 February 1889 – 19 May 1982) was a British
merchant seaman and the assistant storekeeper on the
ocean liner
An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...
RMS ''Titanic'' during her maiden voyage. He survived the sinking and at the time of his death was the second-to-last surviving crewmember of the disaster.
RMS ''Titanic''

Prentice signed on to ''Titanic''s crew on 4 April 1912 as an assistant
storekeeper
Storekeeper (SK) is an Enlisted rank, enlisted rating in the United States Coast Guard; until 2009 it was also a United States Navy rating, the most common supply rate in U.S. Navy vs. CS (Culinary Specialist (US Navy), culinary specialist) and ...
, having transferred from another
White Star liner, ''
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
''. He boarded ''Titanic'' in
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
on 10 April 1912 and the ship set sail for
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
that same day.
[
On 14 April 1912 at 11.40 pm, the RMS ''Titanic'' struck an ]iceberg
An iceberg is a piece of fresh water ice more than long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". Much of an i ...
and began to sink. At the time of the collision, Prentice was in his berth on the port side
Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front).
Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which ar ...
of E deck talking to one of the five fellow storekeepers with whom he was sharing the cabin. He had not felt the impact with the iceberg, but he had noticed that the ship had stopped. Prentice headed up to the promenade deck
The promenade deck is a deck found on several types of passenger ships and riverboats. It usually extends from bow to stern, on both sides, and includes areas open to the outside, resulting in a continuous outside walkway suitable for ''prome ...
to investigate and found the forward well deck covered in chunks of ice, which had fallen from the iceberg due to the collision. An hour after the collision, the ''Titanic''s crew started preparing and lowering the lifeboats
Lifeboat may refer to:
Rescue vessels
* Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape
* Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues
* Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen
...
with mainly women and children. Prentice assisted in the loading of the lifeboats and had to reluctantly part women from their husbands and also helped first-class passenger Virginia Estelle Clark put on a lifejacket
A personal flotation device (PFD; also referred to as a life jacket, life preserver, life belt, Mae West, life vest, life saver, cork jacket, buoyancy aid or flotation suit) is a flotation device in the form of a vest or suit that is worn by a u ...
before convincing her to board lifeboat 4.
By 2.05 am, all the lifeboats had left the ''Titanic'', save for collapsibles A and B which were stored on the roof of the officers' quarters. Prentice however moved aft and ended up on the port side of ''Titanic''s crowded poop deck
In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or " aft", part of the superstructure of a ship.
The name originates from the French word for stern, , from Latin . Thus the poop deck is technic ...
alongside his colleagues Cyril Ricks and Michael Kieran. The three men discussed what they would do next and they agreed to jump from the ship before she sank. The men climbed over ''Titanic''s railing and Prentice noticed the large amount of debris and number of people floating nearby. Kieran jumped first, followed by Ricks and eventually at 2.20 am, Prentice jumped from the rapidly sinking stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...
and fell about 30 metres (100 feet) into the icy Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
, narrowly avoiding ''Titanic''s propellers
A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...
on the way down. When Prentice resurfaced, he was unhurt, having avoided hitting any debris or people when he landed in the water. Soon thereafter he found Ricks, but he had seemingly hit some debris upon landing in the water and was seriously injured. Prentice stayed with him until he succumbed to his wounds. Prentice was not able to find Kieran and decided to keep swimming, bumping into many bodies along the way. Eventually, he found lifeboat 4, which had stayed near the ship as it sank, and was pulled aboard by its occupants.Interview of Frank Winnold Prentice - The Sun New York April, 30th 1912
''chroniclingamerica.loc.gov'' Once on board, he met Mrs Clark again, who wrapped her
cloak
A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, which serves the same purpose as an overcoat and protects the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. People in many d ...
around him, possibly saving his life. Very cold from the time he spent in the water, Prentice tried to drink a bottle of
whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...
, but it was thrown out by
Quartermaster
Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...
Walter Perkis, who was in charge of the boat. Prentice was one of seven swimmers picked up by lifeboat 4, although two later died from
exposure during the night.
Lifeboat 4's occupants were picked up by the rescue ship
RMS ''Carpathia'' at 8 am, and Prentice was taken straight to the ship's infirmary. ''Carpathia'' arrived in New York on 18 April 1912, where Prentice disembarked alongside the other surviving crew.
[
]
Later life
Following the sinking of the ''Titanic'', Prentice returned to the United Kingdom and signed on to serve on the RMS ''Oceanic'' on 10 July 1912. En route to New York, the ''Oceanic'' found ''Titanic''s collapsible A lifeboat adrift in the Atlantic and recovered it. When the First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
broke out in 1914, Prentice was still serving on Oceanic and was onboard when she was wrecked just ten days into her military service. He subsequently enlisted in the Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
later transferring to the Royal Tank Corps
The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is an armoured regiment equipped with Challenger 2 main battle tanks and structured under 12th A ...
, becoming a major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
and earning a Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...
. Following the war, Prentice moved to Bournemouth
Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
and married Mabel Riley (1897–1996) in 1919. The couple went on to have three children.[
Prentice continued to work at sea during the 1920s, even serving several times on ''Titanic''s sister ship RMS ''Olympic''. In his later life, Prentice would give many interviews about his ''Titanic'' survival for television, newspapers and magazines. He was also interviewed for the British documentary ''Titanic: A Question of Murder'' in 1982. One keepsake he had held from the ''Titanic'' disaster and frequently showcased during his interviews, was his ]pocket watch
A pocket watch is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist.
They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatches became popula ...
which had stopped at 2.20 am, shortly after the time that he had hit the water after jumping from the ''Titanic''.[
]
Death
Prentice died aged 93 on 19 May 1982 in Bournemouth
Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
, Dorset
Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
, England. He was cremated and interred at the North Cemetery. At the time of his death, Prentice was the second-to-last surviving crewmember of the ''Titanic''. This left Sidney Edward Daniels (1893–1983) as the last surviving crewmember of the Titanic.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prentice, Frank Winnold
1889 births
1982 deaths
People from Downham Market
People from Norfolk
20th-century English people
English sailors
RMS Titanic survivors
British Merchant Navy personnel
British Merchant Service personnel of World War I