Harold Bride

Harold Bride
Harold Bride in April 1912
Born(1890-01-11)11 January 1890
Nunhead, London, England
Died29 April 1956(1956-04-29) (aged 66)
Glasgow, Scotland
OccupationWireless telegraphist
EmployerMarconi Company
Known forRMS Titanic – junior wireless operator and survivor
Spouse
Lucy Downie
(m. 1920)
Children3
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
BranchRoyal Naval Volunteer Reserve
ConflictsWorld War I
Awards

Harold Sydney Bride (11 January 1890 – 29 April 1956) was a British merchant seaman and the junior wireless telegraphist on the ocean liner RMS Titanic during her ill-fated maiden voyage.

After the Titanic struck an iceberg at 11:40 pm on 14 April 1912, Bride and his senior colleague, Jack Phillips, were responsible for relaying CQD messages to ships in the vicinity and coordinating the rescue effort which led to survivors being picked up by the RMS Carpathia. The pair remained at their posts until the ship's power was almost completely out. Bride was washed off the ship as the boat deck flooded, but managed to scramble onto the upturned Collapsible B, and was rescued by Carpathia later in the morning. Despite injuring both his feet, he helped Harold Cottam, the Carpathia's wireless operator, transmit survivor lists and personal messages from the ship.

Bride continued working as a wireless operator after Titanic. He served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in World War I before returning briefly to the Marconi Company. Reluctant to speak about his experience, Bride moved his family to Glasgow after retiring from the mercantile service and died in 1956.