Charles Williams Lindsay
Charles William Lindsay was born in Bedminster, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England on 9 November 1881. He was the son of seaman John Lindsay (1853-1901) and Mary Tanner (1858-1935). The Lindsay's moved a couple of times throughout the years, and after moving to Dorset, they went to Southampton. In 1900 Charles became part of the Royal Engineers, and served as a driver and at some point, and later would reach the rank of Lance Coroporal.
He lost his father, who worked for Western Counties Telephone Company, before 1901.
On 20 September 1910 he gave himself to Harriett Maria Gates. In that same period, he was part of the Union-Castle Line, working as a stoker aboard voyages to South Africa, most notably on the Edinburgh Castle.
Charles Lindsay worked on various other ships as a fireman, as well as the RMS Olympic, the Titanic's sistership. became one of Titanic's firemen on April 6 in Southampton. Charles had acquainted himself with the brothers Frederick & George Clench and Charles Newman aboard Titanic.
On April 14, the famous ship hit an iceberg. The damage caused the liner to founder.
Charles survived the sinking. He was good friends with his colleague Walter Hurst, who also made it off the ship. He remembers standing near the first funnel when the water came rushing over the Boat Deck. He managed to find the Collapisble B. His mate Charles Lindsay offered him a hipflask with peppermint essence, but Hurst thought it to be whisky or brandy and took a drink but he didn't like it.
Charles, his wife, father and mother
Charles took the Lapland to return home after the disaster, that seemed to have an effect him during the voyage back.
Later life[]
He and his wife Harriett were blessed with a daughter on October 1912 and named her Mabel. A boy would follow by the name of William Alfred, born in 1914. Their son would not become old. He tragically died in 1926.
Charles would go on to work on several vessels during World War 1. It seems he had hearing problems after surviving the torpedizing of one of his ships, which he survived.
He survived his wife, who passed away in 1944. Lindsay would live his entire life in Southampton. He was attending an event regarding the screening of the 1958 Titanic film 'A Night to Remember' along with a small group of other Titanic survivors.