The Aristocrat and the Able Seaman

When Able Seaman Thomas Jones put the Aristocrat, Noël Rothes, at the tiller of his lifeboat an unlikely working relationship began

When Titanic left Southampton in 1912, neither the Aristocrat, The Countess of Rothes, nor the Able Seaman, Thomas Jones, imagined meeting, let alone navigating a tiny lifeboat together at night, among towering icebergs. But Jones put Noël Rothes at the tiller of his boat when he realised her calm capability, and for seven long hours they did all they could to shepherd at least twenty-five others to safety. Their ordeal forged an unlikely affinity that lasted until Noël died in 1956.

Angela Young, Noël’s great-granddaughter, tells the stories of these two courageous Titanic survivors and considers why so very few people survived the tragedy.