Charles Alfred Bartlett

Charles Alfred Bartlett
Born21 August 1868
Died15 February 1945(1945-02-15) (aged 76)
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Merchant seaman, naval officer
Years active1888–1931
Employers
Known forCaptain of HMHS Britannic

Commodore Charles Alfred Bartlett CB CBE RD (21 August 1868 – 15 February 1945) was a merchant seaman and Royal Naval Reserve officer, who achieved command status with the White Star Line shipping company, including as captain of HMHS Britannic.

Biography

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Born in London, Bartlett served six years with the British-India Steam Navigation Company before joining the White Star Line in 1894.[1] He was appointed as an officer in the Royal Naval Reserve in 1893.[2] He is perhaps best remembered as the captain of the Britannic from 1915 to November 1916, when the ship was sunk off Greece by a German-laid mine. After the war he served as Royal Naval Reserve aide-de-camp to King George V. Bartlett was known as "Iceberg Charlie" to his crew due to his alleged ability to detect icebergs miles away.[3] He retired in 1931 and died in a nursing home in Waterloo near Liverpool on 15 February 1945 at age 76.[4]

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Captain Bartlett was portrayed by John Rhys-Davies in the 2000 Fox Family Channel movie Britannic.

References

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  1. ^ The last log of the Titanic, By David G. Brown. Pg. 127
  2. ^ "No. 26440". The London Gazette. 12 September 1893. p. 5221.
  3. ^ Sea breezes: the ship lovers' digest, Volume 45, pg. 144
  4. ^ Sea breezes: the ship lovers' digest, Volume 45, pg. 233
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