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George Thomas Macdonald Symons | |
|---|---|
 George Symons, 1912, shortly before joining the crew of the Titanic | |
| Born | 23 February 1888 |
| Died | 3 December 1950 (aged 62) Southampton, England, UK |
| Occupation(s) | Seaman, Sailor |
| Known for | Titanic survivor |
George Thomas Macdonald Symons (February 23, 1888 – December 3, 1950) was a British sailor who worked as a lookout on board the ill-fated RMS Titanic. Symons, who was 24 at the time of the sinking of the ship, was put in charge of one of the first lifeboats to be launched, #lifeboat 1. The boat, which was launched with only 12 people on board, mostly crew members, gained bad notoriety after the disaster and remains as one of the most controversial lifeboats of the Titanic.[1]
Early life and Titanic
Symons was born in Weymouth, Dorset, England, son of Robert James Symons and Bessie Newman. He was one of thirteen children.
On the night of April 14, 1912, Symons was off-duty when the iceberg struck the ship. Shortly afterwards, he was ordered to go up to boat deck and help with the task of loading the lifeboats. At around 1:00am, First Officer William McMaster Murdoch began to load Boat #1. Despite the orders of loading the boats with women and children first, Murdoch put Symons in order of the lifeboat and loaded it with five stokers, Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, her secretary and three other First-class passengers. The boat finally rower away from the Titanic at 1:05am. It was picked by the RMS Carpathia hours later.
On board the Carpathia, Symons stumbled upon his brother Jack who was working with the crew of that ship.
Later Life
After the sinking, he returned to Britain and married Mary Jane Bolt and they had two daughters.
After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Symons served for the Royal Naval Reserve. Then again, Symons ran into his brother Jack and then both ran into their other brother Bob who had been seriously wounded in combat. They all survived the war.
Symons died in Southampton on December 3, 1950.
References
- ^ Family’s amazing high sea dramas, Daily Echo.
Further reading
