Titanic's Officers - RMS Carpathia - Chief Officer Hankinson

Chief Officer Thomas William Hankinson

Date of birth: 4th November 1857
Place of birth: Weymouth, Nova Scotia
Marital status: Married
Age: 54 (in 1912)
Spouse: Laleah Abigail Haines
Children: Thomas Wayland (1880–1963), William Judson (1885–1948), Lilly Gladys(1887–1959), David Arnold (1889–1954), Hazel Olive (1893–1894), Margherita (1894–1973), Edgar William (1897–1976), Albert Ernest (1902–1984)
Crew position: Chief Officer (Carpathia, 1912)
Date of death: 21 April 1936 (age 78)

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Chief Officer Hankinson

Introduction 1. Nova Scotia 2. Liverpool - Allan Line 3. Cunard Line 4. Titanic 5. War and Retirement 6. Death and Legacy 7. Timeline

Cunard Line

In 1839, Samuel Cunard was awarded the first British transatlantic steamship mail contract, and the next year formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company in Glasgow with shipowner Sir George Burns together with Robert Napier, the famous Scottish steamship engine designer and builder, to operate the line's four pioneer paddle steamers on the Liverpool–Halifax–Boston route. For most of the next 30 years, Cunard held the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic voyage. However, in the 1870s Cunard fell behind its rivals, the White Star Line and the Inman Line. To meet this competition, in 1879 the firm was reorganised as the Cunard Steamship Company Ltd, to raise capital. In 1919, Cunard relocated its British homeport from Liverpool to Southampton, to better cater for travellers from London.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Chief Officer Thomas Hankinson

Summary

Born in Nova Scotia, Canada, Thomas Hankinson started life in a small fishing village on an island only accessibly by ferry. After getting married and having three children, he saw the future was in steam and moved the family across the ocean to one of the world's largest shipping ports: Liverpool. In England he would go on to have another five children, although he tragically lost a daughter shortly after her first birthday. Starting in the Allan Line he gradually progressed up the ranks, switching to Cunard and reaching Chief Officer aboard the Saxonia in 1904, but not before he was involved in a serious collision with a vessel carrying dynamite that resulted in the loss of 15 lives.

In April 1912 it was aboard the Carpathia as the 54 year old Chief Officer he would become famous - actively involved in the rescue of 712 Titanic survivors, and photographed with Captain Rostron and senior surviving officer Lightoller. He received a gold Carpathia medal for his efforts. The First World War brought promotion and then retirement as a Lieutenant Commander in the RNR and in November 1920 he retired from the Cunard line. He passed away aged 78 in 1936.