Frederick Sheath

Frederick Sheath (27 February 1892 - 18 March 1934) was a British seaman who worked as a coal trimmer on board the ill-fated . He saved himself by boarding lifeboat No. 1, which remains controversial due to it being launched with only 12 people on board, mostly crew members and first-class passengers. Sheath was 20 years old when the ship sank.
Early Life and Titanic
Sheath was born in Southampton and at the age of 5 began attending The Council School. Once he left school, he went to work on training ship in Portsmouth where he began his Merchant Seaman training. He began his career at the age of 18 in 1910, as a trimmer on board the . He then went on to serve on the , and the .
On the night of April 14, 1912, Sheath was on watch when the collided with an iceberg at around 11:40pm. As the water kept rising, Sheath was sent to deck. While on deck, amid the bitter cold, First Officer William Murdoch asked for men with experience on small boats or experience on sailing. Sheath was qualified as such and was ordered to board (lifeboat No. 1). Once they were lowered away, they were ordered to "pull away from the ship", fearing suction. Lookout George Symons was in charge of the boat.
Among the occupants of the boat were Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, his wife Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon and their secretary, Mrs. Francatelli. Since the stokers (including Sheath) had all lost their clothing kit in the ship, Sir Duff-Gordon promised to pay them 5 pounds in return.
In the middle of the night, there was a discussion on board on whether or not should they return for survivors, once the ship had sunk. After a discussion, they decided to not go back.
Once the lifeboat was recovered by the , Sheath was given a blanket and a hot drink, and then he went to sleep. After arriving in the United States, he was not called up by the U.S. Inquiry into the sinking; however, he did briefly testify at the upon his return to the United Kingdom.
Soon afterwards, he resumed his seaman career. During the First World War, he served on board the and . In 1920 he married Mabel Bushnell and had two sons and a daughter.
His health began to deteriorate in the early 1930s due to his asthma; he died in 1934 at age 42.

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