Henry Tingle Wilde was born September 21, 1872 at Walton, Liverpool, England. Not much is known about his childhood, his parents, or his upbringing.

Wilde did his apprenticeship with James Chambers & Co., then transferred to the Maranhan Steamship Company after obtaining his second mates certificate.

Shortly after earning his master's certificate 024371, Wilde left Maranhan and joined the White Star Line.

Wilde served the North Atlantic and Australian routes, sailing with The RMS Arabic, the RMS Celtic, The RMS Medic and the RMS Cymric.

In 1903 Wilde recieved a commission as a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR)and served time on board a number of Royal Navy training ships at one point.

In 1909, Lieutenant Wilde was promoted to Chief Officer on board the RMS Olympic, White Star's flagship.

When the new master of the Olympic took over, Captain Herbert James Haddock, RD, TM, RNR, Captain Edward John Smith, RD, TM ,RNR, was free to command the RMS Titanic. Haddock was new to the superliners whereas Smith was not, which makes the decision abruptly to deprive the former of the services of Lieutenant Wilde, who was experienced.

Wilde himself was reluctant to change berths anyway.

On board the Titanic, Lieutenant Wilde served shifts from 2 - 6am and 2-6pm, at which time he had complete control of the ship. he usually had 1 or 2 watch junior officers under him to assist on the bridge.

William McMaster Murdoch was in 1974 in Dalbeatie, Scotland. Murdoch descended from a long line of seafarers, including his father, Captain Samuel Murdoch.

In 1901 he recieved a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) as a Lieutenant and served on the RMS Oceanic during the Boer War.

Lieutenant Murdoch was promoted to Chief Officer on board the RMS Titanic on 3rd April 1912 only to be demoted to First Officer when Lieutenant Henry Wilde was drafted as Chief.

Lieutenant Murdoch was Officer Of The Watch (OOW)on the 14th April 1912. He died in the sinking. He left a widow, Agnes. He was 38 years old and one of the finest seaman of teh time.

In recent years movies have portrayed Lieutenant Murdoch as a bad person shooting passengers and crew during the sinking. This was slander and the culprits were brought to justice. These included CBS' 1996 miniseries "Titanic" and James Cameron's epic "Titanic".

For more information on Lieutenant William McMaster Murdoch, RNR, go to