Houdini of the Sea

The unbelievable true story of a boy who went to sea at 13, became a war hero in both world wars, and survived four shipwrecks, including Titanic Today, Charles Lightoller is known primarily as the most senior officer to survive the sinking of Titanic, but that was just one chapter in his remarkable story. To avoid the cotton mills of his native Lancashire town, a 13-year-old Lightoller joined the crew of a four-masted sailing ship, and he would remain at sea on various ships until 1920. During his thirty-year maritime career and beyond, he would survive four shipwrecks, a Zeppelin bombing, a duel with a U-boat and a perilous motor-yacht mission to Dunkirk, ultimately emerging as a hero of both world wars. Compiled using extensive research, including previously unseen family information, Houdini of the Sea is the extraordinary tale of a man who escaped death many times over.