March 20th, 1881 - February 14th, 1974

He is a Pisces.

George Thomas Rowe was born Gosport, Hampshire, England. He was the eldest son and second child of Richard Rose (1856 - 1928). a plumber, and Annie Groves (1860 - 1931), both Hampshire natives who were married in 1879. One of 11 children, George's siblings were: Annie Elizabeth (born 1879), Dochard Herbert (born 1883), Ernest Groves (born 1885), Percy William (born 1887), Edith Ethel (born 1890), Violet May (born 1892), Frederick Skinner (born 1895), Lily Victoria (born 1897), Elsie Jane (born 1901), and Frederick Montague (born 1903). He first appears on the 1881 census as a 1 month year old infant living with his family at Castelmans Yard in Alverstoke, the home address of his paternal grandmother Elizabeth Rowe. With family numbers swelling the Rowes has their own home by the time of the 1891 census, Chester Place, Alverstoke, later moving to Chapel Lane, Gosport by the time of the 1901 census although George was a absent by the time of the latter record and appeared as a member of crew (able seaman) aboard the Royal Navy ship Vindictive, then docked in Malta.

He would again be absent from the family home at the time of the 1911 census which by then Henry Street in Gosport. Having worked as a errand boy in his youth, George joined the Royal Navy on September 10th, 1895 at the age of 14. Described as standing at 5'6 and a half, with dark brown hair, brown eyes, and dark complexion, his first ship was the St Vincent. He rose to become an able seaman and went on to serve aboard a host of other ships, including: Victory III, Majestic, Vernon, Raleigh, Duke of Wellington, Excellent, Vindictive, Firequeen I, Goliath, and Exmouth before his final voyage from May 8th, 1909 to March 19th, 1910 aboard Dreadnaught following which he was discharged at the rank of petty officer. He later joined the merchant service and began work with the White Star Line and served aboard Majestic and Oceanic.

Aboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912:
George joined the RMS Titanic in Belfast for her deliver trip and served aboard as lookout. When he signed on again in Southampton, this time as quartermaster, on April 6th, 1912, he gave his address as Henry Street, Gosport, Hampshire. His monthly wages were £5. At the time of the collision, George had been on duty at the poop deck since 8 PM. Describing the night as fine, he felt a slight jar and immediately looked at his watch, noting the time as 11:40 PM. He then glanced on the starboard side of the ship and saw a mass of ice pass by, which he estimated to be 100 ft in height and close to the ship he feared the aft-bridge which stood proud of the railing, would strike it.

He remained at his post by the telephone to await further orders but no instructions were relayed and at 12:25 AM he noticed a lifeboat in the water off the starboard side. He immediately rang up to the bridge and asked the person who answered if they were aware the boat had been lowered; he person on the other end responded by asking if George was the 3rd officer but he confirmed identity as a quartermaster and was then asked to bring rockets to the bridge for firing. Doing as instructed, George carried flares to the bridge where he was met by 4th Officer Joseph Boxhall; the pair began firing off rockets until what George estimated to be 1:25 AM and he also sent Morse Code on the ship's bridge lights; he noted that at this time the crew had begun working on releasing the forward starboard collapsable lifeboats. Chief Officer Henry Wilde found himself in need of a seaman and George asked Captain Smith if he should continue firing off the flares; Captain Smith ordered him to stop and help man Collapsable C.

George seemingly arrived quite late in Collapsable C's preparation as he only had time to help about 6 women and children into the boat before the order was given to lower away. Just before lowering, Wilde called out for more women and children but none came forward and George noted how 2 male passengers then climbed into the stern of the boat, without invitation, before it was finally lowered. Filled with what George initially estimated as 39 persons which included himself, 3 firemen and 1 steward, 2 male passengers and the rest women and children, later on in the proceedings 4 interlopers revealed themselves who George described as Filipinos who had been hiding in the bottom of the boat; he later identified one of the men who climbed in just before being lowered as J. Bruce Ismay. Through media at the time, he became aware that the 2nd man was William Carter. The descent to the waters, although by now only a short distance, was fraught with difficulties and took longer than expected; a 5-6 list to port meant that Collapsable C hung so far in that her gunwale was catching upon rivets and any other protuberances on the side of the ship to aid her flight. Upon touching down on the water George stated that the forward well-deck was then awash but the forecastle head hasn't fully submerged.

He saw a white light approximately 5 miles away just a few degrees off the port bow of Titanic, which he took to the stern light of sailing ship, but despite the efforts of those in the boat pulling towards it, they made no headway. Instead they altered their course and headed towards a lifeboat they could see which was carrying a green lantern. George estimated Collapsable C was about 3 quarters of a mile away when the ship plunged and recalled hearing rumblings like "a distant thunder." From the lifeboat's position at the time George was unable to confirm if the ship had broke up during the sinking.

After The Sinking/Later Life/Death:
In the wake of the disaster George was called to testify at both the US and British inquiries into the sinking. Following the disaster, George returned to sea; he was married in 1914 to Frances Annie Reid (May 13th, 1894) and they had 3 children: Lily Violet (later Mrs. John Cunningham, 1915 - 1980), Norman (1917 - 1918), and Basil (1919 - 1957). With the outbreak of WW1, George joined the Plassey, a hospital ship, and served in the Grand Fleet. He began work in Thorneycroft's, Southampton in 1915 where he was responsible for the dockside transfer of new stabilisers into the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary. Working there until he was in his 80s, in 1960 he was awarded the British Empire Medal in 1960 for his tenure.

In later years, he lived with his wife at Burlsdon Road in Southampton and during the 1950's witnessed á reawakening of interest in Titanic and he corresponded with Walter Lord during the skirting of A Night To Remember. He went on to give televised interviews on the subject and was reunited with other survivors in 1957 interview, including Edith Rosenbaum, William Witter, Gus Cohen, and Walter Hurst. George died in Southampton on February 14th, 1974 at the age of 92. He left behind his widow Frances, daughter Lily and 3 grandchildren; Frances died in 1976.

Sources:
www.encyclopedia-titanica.org
James Cameron's Titanic Wiki

Portrayals:
Richard Graham (James Cameron's Titanic; 1997)

Rest In Peace George Thomas Rowe.