Reginald Lee right after the Titanic hit the iceberg
Reginald Robinson Lee (May 19, 1870 – August 6, 1913) was a lookout stationed in the crow's nest of the RMS Titanic when the ship collided with an iceberg at 11:40 P.M. on April 14, 1912. He was 43 when he died.
Biography
Born in Benson, England, Lee joined the Titanic's crew on April 6, 1912, having been transferred from its sister ship, RMS Olympic. On April 14, Lee joined lookout Frederick Fleet in the crow's nest beginning at 10:00 P.M. The binoculars the two were supposed to use were not on board, forcing the lookouts to use their own eyesight. They failed to see the iceberg in time and, despite telling the bridge to order a hard turn to starboard, the ship collided and began to sink.
Once the life boats were being filled, Lee was ordered to man lifeboat No. 13, which was launched from the starboard side of Titanic at 1:30 a.m. As a result, Lee survived the sinking, as did Fleet. Lee testified before the Board of Trade Inquiry into the disaster, but died shortly thereafter from complications from pneumonia, in Kenilworth, on August 6, 1913. He died age 43.
Behind the scenes
He was portrayed by Martin East in James Cameron's 1997 film, Titanic, and credited as Lookout Lee.
External links
Reginald Lee on Wikipedia