🚢 RMS Titanic Lifeboat 12 – The Lifeboat That Picked Up Survivors and Sailed to Safety

Titanic Lifeboat # 12 Being Hoisted Aboard the Carpathia. Public Domain Image. GGA Image ID # 10edbf7b15

🚢 Review & Summary: The Story of Titanic’s Lifeboat 12 – A Lifeboat of Resilience and Rescue

🔍 Overview: The Lifeboat That Stayed Until the End

Lifeboat 12 was one of the last standard lifeboats to leave Titanic, launched at 1:30 AM from the starboard side of the Boat Deck with only 20 occupants—far below its 65-person capacity. However, it became one of the most overcrowded lifeboats later, after picking up survivors from the freezing waters and other lifeboats.

📌 Why is Lifeboat 12 historically significant?

✔ It carried survivors from multiple boats, eventually holding over 70 people.

✔ It was commanded by Able Seaman Frederick Clench, but later came under the leadership of Officer Harold Lowe.

✔ Lifeboat 12 remained active, rescuing survivors from Collapsible D and those stranded on Collapsible B.

✔ It was among the last lifeboats picked up by the RMS Carpathia.

✔ Survivors in this boat included women from Second and Third Class, an 18-year-old Jewish immigrant, and one of Titanic’s stewardesses.

📌 For teachers, students, genealogists, and historians, Lifeboat 12 provides an essential case study in survival strategy, maritime disaster response, and human endurance at sea.

Facts About Lifeboat 12 (LB-12)

Lifeboat 12, the 10th one launched at 1:30 am, located on the boat deck, starboard side, with 20 occupants comprised of 16 Second Class, 2 Third Class and 2 Crew Members (17 Women and 3 Men). Capacity for the lifeboat was 65 (31% of Capacity).

Interesting Discoveries About Lifeboat 12

• An element of Evans' testimony was his recollection of seeing women and children being passed into Lifeboat 12 prior to him getting to Lifeboat 10.
• LIFEBOAT 12 (PORT) This boat was released at 1.30am under the charge of Able Seamen Frederick Clench and ... After Titanic disappeared, Lifeboat 12 was strung together with boats 10, 4 and Collapsible D, under the command of Fifth Officer Lowe.
• Gershon Cohen in Lifeboat 12 spent most of the night rowing. He too heard the screams of the dying. Those sounds haunted him for the rest of his life, but during those dark hours, he could not think about them.
• Lifeboat 12 had people transferred to it from collapsible D and collapsible B, which was still floating upside down with Second Officer Lightoller in command.

Second Class Passengers - LB-12

1. Miss Lillian W. Bentham, (19)  Rochester, New York, US [LB-12]
2. Miss Dagmar Jenny Ingeborg Bryhl, (20)  Skara, Västergötland, Sweden [LB-12]
3. Mrs. Alice Frances Christy, (45)  London, England, UK [LB-12]
4. Miss Rachel Julie Cohen Christy, (25)  London, England, UK [LB-12]
5. Miss Florentina Duran y More, (30)  Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain [LB-12]
6. Miss Asunción Duran y More, (27)  Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain [LB-12]
7. Miss Ethel Garside, (34)  Liverpool, Merseyside, England [LB-12]
8. Mrs. Amy Frances Christy Jacobsohn (née Cohen) (24)  London, England [LB-12]
9. Mrs. Miriam Kantor (née Sternin) (24)  Vitebsk, Russian Empire [LB-12]
10. Miss Bertha Lehmann, (17)  Lotzwil, Switzerland [LB-12]
11. Mrs. Lutie Davis Parrish (née Temple) (60)  Woodford County, Kentucky, US [LB-12]
12. Miss Alice Frances Louisa Phillips, (21)  Ilfracombe, Devon, England [LB-12]
13. Mrs. Lillian "Lily" Renouf (née Jefferys) (30)  Elizabeth, New Jersey, US [LB-12]
14. Miss Emily Rugg, (21)  Guernsey, Channel Islands [LB-12]
15. Mrs. Imanita Shelley (née Parrish Hall) (25)  Deer Lodge, Montana, US [LB-12]
16. Miss Susan Webber, (37)  Bude, Cornwall, England [LB-12]

Third Class Passengers - LB-12

1. Mr. Gershon "Gus" Cohen, (18)  Brooklyn, New York, US [LB-12]
2. Miss Laura Mae Cribb, (16)  Newark, New Jersey, US [LB-12]

Deck Crew - LB-12

1. Mr. Frederick Clench, (34)  Able Seaman [LB-12]
2. Mr. John Thomas Poingdestre, (33)  Able Seaman [LB-12]

Stewards and Stewardesses - LB-12

1. Mary Jane Sloan, Stewardess

Legend For Survivor or Lost Passengers and Crew Members

• LB-# or A-D - Survivor on Lifeboat 1-16 or Collapsible Lifeboat A-D
• P-BNR - Perished, Body Not Recovered or Body Not Identified
• MB – CS Mackay-Bennett (bodies 1–306)
• M – CS Minia (bodies 307–323)
• MM – CGS Montmagny (bodies 326–329)
• A – SS Algerine (body 330)
• O – RMS Oceanic (bodies 331–333)
• I – SS Ilford (body 334)
• OT – SS Ottawa (body 335)

Numbers 324 and 325 were unused, and the six bodies buried at sea by the Carpathia also went unnumbered. Several recovered bodies were unidentifiable and thus not all numbers are matched with a person.

Upon recovery, the bodies of 209 identified and unidentified victims of the sinking were brought to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Of those, 121 were taken to the non-denominational Fairview Lawn Cemetery, 59 were repatriated, 19 were buried in the Roman Catholic Mount Olivet Cemetery, and 10 were taken to the Jewish Baron de Hirsch Cemetery. The bodies of the remaining recovered victims were either delivered to family members or buried at sea.

RMS Titanic's Lifeboat No. 12, Commanded by Officer Lowe Shown Under Sail As Seen by the SS Carpathia. Photograph by Louis Mansfield Ogden. Scribner's Magazine, March 1913. GGA Image ID # 2196e4222e

Titanic's Fourth Officer Lowe's Lifeboat No. 12 Seen Towing a Canvas Collapsible. Photograph by Louis Mansfield Ogden. Scribner's Magazine, March 1913. GGA Image ID # 2196ff4534

📌 Titanic’s Lifeboat 12 – The Lifeboat That Grew Beyond Capacity

📌 Lifeboat 12 started with only 20 people but ended up carrying over 70.

📜 Why This Story Matters:

✔ Early in the disaster, many lifeboats left half-empty out of confusion and fear.

✔ As Officer Lowe took command, he combined Lifeboat 12 with others, including Collapsible D.

✔ It rescued people from the freezing Atlantic, increasing its numbers far beyond its intended limit.

✔ This lifeboat proved that more people could have been saved had all lifeboats been fully loaded from the start.

🚢 Lifeboat 12 stands as a symbol of both Titanic’s tragic errors and its moments of heroism.

📌 The Haunting Echoes of the Dying – Gershon Cohen’s Testimony

📌 18-year-old Jewish immigrant Gershon "Gus" Cohen recalled the terrifying screams of those left in the water.

📜 Why This Story Matters:

✔ His testimony paints a chilling picture of the aftermath of the sinking.

✔ He admitted that he and others had to focus on rowing, trying to block out the horror around them.

✔ Like many survivors, he was haunted for life by the sounds of people dying in the icy Atlantic.

🚢 Lifeboat 12 carried survivors who faced the terrible moral question—could they have done more?

📌 A Lifeboat Under Sail – Titanic’s Rarely Seen Sailing Lifeboat

📌 Photographs of Lifeboat 12 show it using a makeshift sail, one of the few Titanic lifeboats to do so.

📜 Why This Story Matters:

✔ Lifeboat 12 was one of the only lifeboats to attempt sailing to the Carpathia instead of waiting to be rescued.

✔ **This highlights the survival instincts and resourcefulness of its crew.

✔ It is one of the most visually documented lifeboats, with rare images showing its final moments before rescue.

🚢 Seeing a Titanic lifeboat under sail offers a rare glimpse into survivor ingenuity at sea.

📌 Officer Harold Lowe – The Only Officer Who Returned for Survivors

📌 Lifeboat 12 was involved in the only organized rescue mission of those in the water.

📜 Why This Story Matters:

✔ Fourth Officer Harold Lowe led the only lifeboat to return to pick up people from the water.

✔ Lowe transferred survivors between lifeboats to make room for those he rescued.

✔ His decision saved lives, proving that if more lifeboats had gone back, more could have survived.

🚢 Lowe’s actions remain a crucial example of heroism in the Titanic disaster.

📌 Lifeboat 12’s Unique Survivor List – Second and Third Class Women and Crew Members

📌 Unlike many first-class-heavy lifeboats, Lifeboat 12 carried mainly second and third-class passengers.

📜 Notable Passengers Include:

✔ 📜 Miriam Kantor (née Sternin) – A Russian immigrant who left behind her husband.

✔ 📜 Lillian Bentham – A young woman from Rochester, NY, whose escape was crucial for her family’s history.

✔ 📜 Stewardess Mary Sloan – One of Titanic’s crew who made it aboard Lifeboat 12.

🚢 This lifeboat tells the story of ordinary people caught in an extraordinary disaster.

📚 Relevance for Different Audiences

📌 🧑‍🏫 For Teachers & Students:

✔ Examines ethical dilemmas of disaster—should all lifeboats have returned for survivors?

✔ Teaches maritime survival techniques, including using lifeboats under sail.

✔ Focuses on firsthand accounts that humanize the Titanic tragedy.

📌 📖 For Historians & Maritime Researchers:

✔ One of the best-documented lifeboats with rare photographs.

✔ Demonstrates differences in survival strategies between early and late evacuations.

✔ Key example of leadership under crisis, particularly Officer Lowe’s role.

📌 🧬 For Genealogists & Family Historians:

✔ Features Jewish, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish immigrants who continued family legacies.

✔ Carries the stories of women who survived against the odds.

✔ A vital record for those tracing Titanic ancestry.

🌟 Final Thoughts: The Lifeboat That Refused to Give Up

📌 Lifeboat 12 is a Titanic survival story unlike any other.

✔ It left the ship with only 20 people but later held more than 70.

✔ It was part of the only lifeboat rescue effort for people in the water.

✔ It witnessed the horror of the sinking and the cries of the dying.

✔ It was one of the few lifeboats to use a sail, showcasing maritime resourcefulness.

🚢 Lifeboat 12 proves that even in the darkest moments, bravery and determination could still save lives.