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Titanic Valour: The Life Of Fifth Officer Harold Lowe
Harold Lowe, Fifth Officer of Rms Titanic, was described by another survivor as 'the real hero of the Titanic'. After taking an active role in the evacuation, Lowe took command of a raft of lifeboats, distributing passengers among them so he could return to the wreckage and look for survivors - the only officer to do so. He succeeded in raising a sail, rescued the drenched inhabitants of a sinking lifeboat and towed another boat to safety. Lowe had a long and fascinating life at sea. The tragic sinking of the Titanic was only the most notorious incident in a career that took him as a fifteen-year-old runaway to the coast of West Africa and into action in Siberia during the Russian Revolution. Titanic historian Inger Sheil has worked closely with Lowe's family to compile a gripping biography of this heroic Welshman.
176 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 4, 2012
Harold Lowe has always been one of the most fascinating people to emerge from the Titanic disaster. His gruff, forthright manner; unwillingness to put up with cowardice or foolery; his bravery as the one boat to go back to the wreckage to search for survivors...
During the American Inquest into the sinking, he was asked by Judge Smith (I think I have his name right - if not, apologies!!) 'What is an iceberg made of?' The American press went crazy over his scathing reply: 'Ice, Sir', and he was made an international celebrity.
He was a man who lived for the ocean, despite the water taking so many of his friends and family over the years...the first death being his brother who, when barely into his teens, was found drowned in the local river...
Other than the Titanic disaster, though, Harold Lowe led a fascinating life; a life which ended quietly, without fuss or furore, in the privacy he preferred.
During the American Inquest into the sinking, he was asked by Judge Smith (I think I have his name right - if not, apologies!!) 'What is an iceberg made of?' The American press went crazy over his scathing reply: 'Ice, Sir', and he was made an international celebrity.
He was a man who lived for the ocean, despite the water taking so many of his friends and family over the years...the first death being his brother who, when barely into his teens, was found drowned in the local river...
Other than the Titanic disaster, though, Harold Lowe led a fascinating life; a life which ended quietly, without fuss or furore, in the privacy he preferred.
August 23, 2016
Having always had an interest in the Titanic and her officers, I was thrilled when I discovered this book about Harold Lowe, the ship's fifth officer and one of the disaster's most memorable people. Inger Sheil did a lot of research and it clearly shows. I thoroughly enjoyed the little facts that Sheil placed in the book throughout, such like Lowe's conversation with Renee Harris before leaving America after the Titanic inquiry. It was something I had never heard before! Unfortunately, the book slows down after the disaster and the information becomes very routine. This is hardly Inger Sheil's fault but it was a bit disappointing. That being said, if anyone has an interest in the Titanic and her crew, this is a most read. It was short and a quick read, I managed to finish it in one day. It was highly worth my time.
January 9, 2025
Absolutely wonderful. I knew it would be- I've read Sheil's article about Moody, and loved it. Harold Lowe deserved a biography, and Sheil was the perfect person to write it.
March 5, 2019
There’s an ongoing issue with biographies, particularly for historical figures. With the market saturated with the latest Love Island or Eating With My Ex release (the latter is a genuine TV show, I kid you not), a good biography about someone who has actually lived a life, is appreciated.
Sadly, many of these biographies suffer from the lack of detail about lives when everything wasn’t recorded, as it is now. Harold Lowe’s birthdate is even subject to speculation, as two different dates are provided. There just wasn’t enough detail about Harold Lowe’s early years, to warrant dedicating chapters to. But the author did, padding out the chapters prior to the Titanic, with accounts of the ships/steamers that Lowe was on (right down to the tonnage sometimes). There’s also great leaping assumptions, one of which is whether he may have used prostitutes, while on shore. An inappropriate remark, that surely shouldn’t have seen print. I would have said that would be quite upsetting for his descendants.
The lack of knowledge about his early life is rectified by the Titanic. The author doesn’t go down the route of spouting off reams of facts and figures about the Titanic, but simply sticks to a straight forward retelling. The various inquiries that occurred after the sinking, were also dealt with swiftly. The author has not allowed the book to get bogged down in this section - it’s a shame the same can’t be said about the rest of the book.
The following chapters handle Harold returning to sea, after the events of the Titanic and also the First World War. Here, the author churns out meaningless information about the war, about the events that were happening, in a particular area where Harold was either based or sailing to/from. None of these events we have any confirmation that he did see or did take part in - I think I skimmed the entire section in Siberia. The book would have been a lot shorter and snappier, if the author hadn’t gone off into unrelated tangents.
I struggled with this book quite a lot, although it did pick up towards the end, with Harold returning briefly to his family, inbetween voyages and his children adding to the book, with their own recollections and letters.
If you’re interested in the Titanic, there are better books out there, about the people who survived/died, or general retellings. Whilst this is a short book (160 pages), it’s quite dense, and the author has shoehorned in a lot of pointless information. Read it for the Titanic chapters, and his early/later life. Skim the war - or buy a book specifically about the war, if you’re that interested.
Sadly, many of these biographies suffer from the lack of detail about lives when everything wasn’t recorded, as it is now. Harold Lowe’s birthdate is even subject to speculation, as two different dates are provided. There just wasn’t enough detail about Harold Lowe’s early years, to warrant dedicating chapters to. But the author did, padding out the chapters prior to the Titanic, with accounts of the ships/steamers that Lowe was on (right down to the tonnage sometimes). There’s also great leaping assumptions, one of which is whether he may have used prostitutes, while on shore. An inappropriate remark, that surely shouldn’t have seen print. I would have said that would be quite upsetting for his descendants.
The lack of knowledge about his early life is rectified by the Titanic. The author doesn’t go down the route of spouting off reams of facts and figures about the Titanic, but simply sticks to a straight forward retelling. The various inquiries that occurred after the sinking, were also dealt with swiftly. The author has not allowed the book to get bogged down in this section - it’s a shame the same can’t be said about the rest of the book.
The following chapters handle Harold returning to sea, after the events of the Titanic and also the First World War. Here, the author churns out meaningless information about the war, about the events that were happening, in a particular area where Harold was either based or sailing to/from. None of these events we have any confirmation that he did see or did take part in - I think I skimmed the entire section in Siberia. The book would have been a lot shorter and snappier, if the author hadn’t gone off into unrelated tangents.
I struggled with this book quite a lot, although it did pick up towards the end, with Harold returning briefly to his family, inbetween voyages and his children adding to the book, with their own recollections and letters.
If you’re interested in the Titanic, there are better books out there, about the people who survived/died, or general retellings. Whilst this is a short book (160 pages), it’s quite dense, and the author has shoehorned in a lot of pointless information. Read it for the Titanic chapters, and his early/later life. Skim the war - or buy a book specifically about the war, if you’re that interested.
July 4, 2019
Titanic Valour is a compact book (a little too compact, as I wish the publisher had used a bigger print and format), and every page is packed dense with information. I’ve liked Lowe since I read Walter Lord’s “A Night to Remember” but I never really thought much about him other than the fact he was the feisty crewman who gave the Chairman of the line an earful while the ship was sinking and who returned to pick up survivors, as we saw in James Cameron’s movie. This book revealed that the Titanic was just the iceberg’s tip in a very eventful life.
Titanic is why most people will want read about him, and that part of his life takes up about a third of the book. They won’t be disappointed, as there were a lot of survivor stories tied up with his that I had never read before. I’m a bit jaded by reading Titanic stories that are really just rehashes of what has already been written by Lord, Eaton, Lynch, Haas and so on. This felt like a new angle on an old story, as we follow the sinking through his experiences.
But Titanic isn’t the only interesting part of Lowe’s story, and I’m very surprised that I haven’t read before about his earlier life and exploits. One of the most fascinating parts of the book was the account of his childhood before running away to sea, and what life was like in a small Welsh seaside town. Not as sedate as you would expect, as storms and drownings form a dramatic background to Lowe’s own (mis)adventures as a boy. Sheil avoids melodramatic overstatement as they write about some of the tragedies that touched his life, and the story is more powerful for that as we read of events such as his older brother’s death in a boating accident.
The author gives us a very vivid picture of what life was like for an Edwardian sailor, and when there are no direct sources on Lowe’s life draws on contemporary material to fill in the canvas to produce a convincing portrait without reaching too far into conjecture. Unlike some recent Titanic biographies there is no conspiracy hook or controversial claims to titillate readers, but rather a very readable, well-paced and workmanlike account of Lowe’s life. We assume all the interesting Titanic stories are already published, but this book makes me wonder how many other passengers or crew had rich stories yet to be told?
Titanic is why most people will want read about him, and that part of his life takes up about a third of the book. They won’t be disappointed, as there were a lot of survivor stories tied up with his that I had never read before. I’m a bit jaded by reading Titanic stories that are really just rehashes of what has already been written by Lord, Eaton, Lynch, Haas and so on. This felt like a new angle on an old story, as we follow the sinking through his experiences.
But Titanic isn’t the only interesting part of Lowe’s story, and I’m very surprised that I haven’t read before about his earlier life and exploits. One of the most fascinating parts of the book was the account of his childhood before running away to sea, and what life was like in a small Welsh seaside town. Not as sedate as you would expect, as storms and drownings form a dramatic background to Lowe’s own (mis)adventures as a boy. Sheil avoids melodramatic overstatement as they write about some of the tragedies that touched his life, and the story is more powerful for that as we read of events such as his older brother’s death in a boating accident.
The author gives us a very vivid picture of what life was like for an Edwardian sailor, and when there are no direct sources on Lowe’s life draws on contemporary material to fill in the canvas to produce a convincing portrait without reaching too far into conjecture. Unlike some recent Titanic biographies there is no conspiracy hook or controversial claims to titillate readers, but rather a very readable, well-paced and workmanlike account of Lowe’s life. We assume all the interesting Titanic stories are already published, but this book makes me wonder how many other passengers or crew had rich stories yet to be told?
July 30, 2025
Despite the shortness of the book, it was a captivating read from the first page to the last.
Update 2025: Yup, still made me cry, especially the last part, which brought the spotlight on the lives Harold Lowe touched. Without a doubt, while he is most well known for his actions on the April 14th/15th 1912, his life was anything but boring.
Update 2025: Yup, still made me cry, especially the last part, which brought the spotlight on the lives Harold Lowe touched. Without a doubt, while he is most well known for his actions on the April 14th/15th 1912, his life was anything but boring.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews