Frederick Fleet (15 October 1887 – 10 January 1965) was a British

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

, crewman and a survivor of the sinking of the . Fleet, along with fellow lookout Reginald Lee, was on duty when the ship struck the iceberg; Fleet first sighted the iceberg, ringing the bridge to proclaim: "Iceberg, right ahead!"United States Senate Inquiry Day 4
Testimony of Frederick Fleet. Both Fleet and Lee survived the sinking, Fleet was the last surviving lookout, out of six in total, on the ''Titanic.'' Fleet testified at the subsequent inquiries into the disaster that, if he and Lee had been issued

binoculars Binoculars or field glasses are two refracting telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most binoculars are sized to be held ...

: "We could have seen it (the iceberg) a bit sooner." When asked how much sooner, he responded, "Well, enough to get out of the way." In later life, Fleet suffered from depression, possibly in part due to the disaster. He died by suicide at age 77 on 10 January 1965.

Early life and maritime career

Fleet was born in

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, c ...

on 15 October 1887. He never knew his father, and his mother abandoned him when she ran off with a boyfriend to

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, never to be seen or heard from again. Fleet was raised by a succession of foster families and distant relatives. In 1903 he went to sea as a deck boy, working his way up to

able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

.Stories from The Titanic
National Archives UK. Before joining the crew of the RMS ''Titanic'', he had sailed for over four years as a lookout on the RMS ''Oceanic''. As a seaman, Fleet earned five pounds per month plus an extra 5

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

s for lookout duty. He joined the ''Titanic'' as a lookout in April 1912, along with five other watchmen.

RMS ''Titanic''

Fleet boarded the ''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. The ship made two stops, first in

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

, France, and then in Queenstown, Ireland. The lookouts, six in total, worked two-hour shifts due to extreme cold in the

crow's nest A crow's nest is a structure in the upper part of the main mast of a ship or a structure that is used as a lookout point. On ships, this position ensured the widest field of view for lookouts to spot approaching hazards, other ships, or land b ...

. The trip was uneventful until the night of 14 April 1912. At 22:00 (10.00pm) that night, Fleet and his fellow lookout Reginald Lee replaced George Symons and Archie Jewell at the nest. They were passed the order given earlier by second officer Charles Lightoller to watch out for small ice. The night was calm and moonless, which made it difficult to spot the

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 ...

s due to the lack of waves breaking against the base of the iceberg and reflection. Despite Fleet and his fellow lookouts repeatedly requesting binoculars, they were never provided. This is sometimes attributed to the last-minute change in the hierarchy of the ship when officer David Blair was removed from the maiden voyage crew (due to the knock-on effect of

Henry Tingle Wilde Lieutenant Henry Tingle Wilde, RNR (21 September 1872 – 15 April 1912) was a British Merchant Navy officer who was the chief officer of the . He died when the ship sank on her maiden voyage in April 1912. Early life Henry Tingle Wilde wa ...

being appointed chief officer) without mentioning where the binoculars were located. It is also speculated that Blair accidentally took the keys of the cabinet containing the binoculars with him. Despite both inquiries into the disaster, nothing clarified why the lookouts were not provided with binoculars, although evidence suggests that

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...

steamers' lookouts did not routinely use them. Some experts have said that even using binoculars, neither Fleet nor Lee could have spotted the iceberg any sooner given the conditions of the night.10 causes of the Titanic tragedy
NBC news. At 23:39 (11:39 pm), Fleet first spotted the iceberg and rang the nest's bell three times to warn the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

of something ahead. Then, using the nest's telephone, he contacted the bridge. It was answered by Sixth Officer James Paul Moody, who asked Fleet immediately, "What did you see?" He pronounced the infamous "Iceberg! Right Ahead!" warning. Moody passed Fleet's warning to First Officer

William McMaster Murdoch William McMaster Murdoch, Royal Naval Reserve, RNR (28 February 1873 – 15 April 1912) was a British sailor who served as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy Reserve and was the Chief mate, first officer on the . He was the officer in charge on th ...

, who was in charge of the bridge. After the collision, Fleet and Lee remained on duty for twenty more minutes.Fred Fleet did his duty on Titanic, now resting in peace
Herald Dispatch. At 00:00 (12 midnight), Fleet and Lee were relieved by Alfred Frank Evans and George Hogg. Fleet went down to the boat deck and helped prepare Lifeboat No. 6. Second officer Lightoller put

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 ...

Robert Hichens in charge of the lifeboat and ordered Fleet aboard as well. As they were lowered away, Hichens and American socialite Margaret Brown realized there were only two sailors, including Fleet, to man the boat, and called for another sailor to be sent. As no able seaman was near, Canadian Colonel Arthur Godfrey Peuchen volunteered to join the boat saying he had experience in sailing. He was ordered by Lightoller to reach the boat by climbing down a rope. Once away from the sinking ship, the boat tried to reach the lights of a ship in the distance, thought to be the SS ''Californian''. While Hichens remained at the

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn ...

, Fleet and Peuchen managed the oars. Arguments and problems arose on boat 6 as quartermaster Hichens kept insulting and mistreating the rowers, including Margaret Brown and

Helen Churchill Candee Helen Churchill Candee (October 5, 1858 – August 23, 1949) was an American author, journalist, interior decorator, feminist, and geographer. She is best remembered as a survivor of the sinking of RMS Titanic, RMS ''Titanic'' in 1912, and for ...

. Later in the night, there was an argument about whether to return for survivors, with Hichens warning against returning for fear of being swamped by swimmers. The lifeboat finally reached the RMS ''Carpathia'' by 6:00am on Monday, 15 April 1912. After the disaster, Fleet underwent two inquiries: first, the U.S. Inquiry; secondly, the British Wreck Commissioner's inquiry. In the United States, he was questioned by Senator William Alden Smith, to whom he repeatedly said that had they been equipped with binoculars, the disaster would not have happened. Before the British inquiry, he underwent a long examination but refused to answer many of the questions.

Lord Mersey John Charles Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey, (3 August 1840 – 3 September 1929) was a British jurist and politician. After early success as a lawyer and a less successful spell as a politician, he was appointed a judge and worked in commercial l ...

, Chairman of the Commission, concluded Fleet's interrogation by telling him that he was grateful for his willingness to answer questions despite his wariness when responding to every question. Fleet replied with a sarcastic "Thanks."

World War I, World War II, and later life

Fleet served on the ''Titanic''s sister ship RMS ''Olympic'' before leaving the

in August 1912 after noticing that the company treated those involved with the ''Titanic'' differently. For the next 24 years he sailed for different shipping companies, including the Union-Castle Line. Fleet served on merchant ships throughout World War I. Later, he was the ship's lookout again on the ''Olympic'' during the 1920s and early 1930s.On A Sea Of Glass: The Life & Loss Of The RMS Titanic" by Tad Fitch, J. Kent Layton & Bill Wormstedt. Amberley Books, March 2012. p 371 When he left the sea in 1936, he was hired by

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...

to work at the company's shipyards in

. While working there, he lived with his wife's brother. He served again during World War II. Later, closer to retirement, he became a newspaper salesman and experienced financial difficulties.

Death

Shortly after Christmas, on 28 December 1964, Fleet's wife died, and her brother evicted him from the house.Edmonds, Robert (2009)
"Frederick Fleet (1887–1965)"
Maritime Quest. Retrieved 12 August 2018. Consequently, Fleet fell into a downward spiral of depression. He returned to his brother-in-law's home and died by

hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

himself in the house's garden on 10 January 1965. He was 77. Fleet was buried in a pauper's grave at Hollybrook Cemetery, in

. This grave remained unmarked until 1993, when a headstone bearing an engraving of the ''Titanic'' was erected through donations raised by the

Titanic Historical Society The ''Titanic'' Historical Society, Inc. (THS) is a non-profit organization founded on whose purpose is the preservation of the history of the famous ocean liner RMS Titanic, RMS ''Titanic'', which Sinking of the RMS Titanic, sank in 1912, in ...

.Frederick Fleet biography
. Biography.com. 12 August 2018.

Portrayals

* Bernard Fox (1958) '' A Night to Remember'' (British film) * Byron Lucas (1996) ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' * Scott G. Anderson (1997) ''

'' * Aaron C. Fitzgerald (2003) ''

Ghosts of the Abyss ''Ghosts of the Abyss'' (also known as ''Titanic 3D: Ghosts of the Abyss'') is a 2003 American Documentary film, documentary film produced by Walden Media. It was directed by James Cameron after his 1997 film ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic''. Du ...

'' (Documentary) * Ciaran Kellgren (2008) — ''The Unsinkable Titanic'' (Documentary) * Tom Brittney (2023) - ''Fred'' (short film)

References

External links

Frederick Fleet Encyclopedia Titanica biography

Frederick Fleet Titanic Pages biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleet, Frederick 1887 births 1965 deaths 1965 suicides 20th-century English people British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II British Merchant Service personnel of World War I Burials in Hampshire Sailors from Liverpool RMS Titanic survivors Suicides by hanging in England Burials at Hollybrook Cemetery