| Sidney Edward Daniels | |
|---|---|
 On board the Olympic, 1911 | |
| Born |
19 November 1893 Portsmouth, England, United Kingdom |
| Died |
25 May 1983 (aged 89) Portsmouth, England, UK |
| Occupation | Seaman |
| Known for | Last survivor of the Titanic crew |
Sidney Edward Daniels (19 November 1893 – 25 May 1983), known as Sid Daniels, was a British merchant seaman and the last surviving RMS Titanic crewmember. Daniels, who was only 18 when the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912, survived by clinging onto an upturned collapsible boat and was rescued by the Carpathia hours later. He also served in World War I for the Royal Army Service Corps and World War II for the merchant navy.Template:Cn
Sea career and Titanic[]
Daniels was born in Portsmouth, England. In 1911, he joined the crew of the RMS Olympic on the ship's maiden voyage. He also was onboard when it collided with the HMS Hawke in the Solent. After some other trips on the ship, he was transferred to serve on the RMS Titanic which was due to make her maiden voyage in early 1912. By then, Daniels was 18 years old.Template:Cn
According to his own account, it went all smooth and quiet and he was sleeping in a bunk when one of the watchmen went down and said that they all had to put their life belts on and go up to deck. Daniels then went up to deck and stood around waiting for orders, dancing around on the deck along with other crew members. They then got orders to get all the women and children up to their lifeboats. As soon as he finished with his task, all boats had been gone excepting the last one, which was a collapsible boat, secured to the top of the wireless room and lashed down with different lashings. Someone then asked for a pocket knife and Daniels passed his pocket knife up.
Afterward, he went up near the bridge where he stood and looked from the port side over to the starboard side, from where he saw the water going up the bridge for which he decided to do something. While standing up with water up to his knees, he jumped up onto the rail and dived into the water.
Mr. Sidney Daniels
Fearing that suction would take him down, he swam away and came across a lifeboat. He saw something flash and swam toward that. It was the upturned lifeboat that they had tried to cut adrift. Daniels climbed on and managed to sit up on the keel of the lifeboat.
While on the boat, they said their prayers and waited for help. Daniels said to an older man on the boat that he was 'tired', and that he was 'going to sleep' but the old man didn't let him, and Daniels realised that had he gone to sleep he would have never woken up again, it being so cold.
They sat there through the night and toward dawn they saw a ship, the Carpathia, which finally rescued them all. Once on board the Carpathia, he tasted coffee for the first time in his life, he said he hated the taste of the coffee, but he didn't care what it was then just something to warm him up. They took him down to the hospital, where he stayed for a while.Template:Cn
World War I and World War II[]
During World War I, Sidney Daniels joined the Royal Army Service Corps, but saw no direct combat, something that angered him. He returned home in 1915 and when interviewed by a local newspaper, he said that he "couldn't help but laugh to think of all he had been through".Template:Cn
He then served in World War II for the merchant navy.Template:Cn
Death[]
Daniels died at his home in Portsmouth, on 25 May 1983, at the age of 89.Template:Cn