Frederick Charles Clench was an Able Seaman of the Titanic. He survived the sinking.
Background[]
Frederick Clench was the eldest child of a father with the same name, Frederick Clench senior, who had put a ring on Sarah Jane Mullett, a woman who had her origin in Poole, Dorset. Frederick senior was a native of Southampton, where he and Sarah had Frederick junior on the 29th of September, 1878. In 1881, another son saw the light, he was named George James.
As their father died young, in 1882, their mother had taken another husband in 1884. He was William James from Porthsmouth and with him, Sarah Jane expanded her tally of children. She gave Frederick and George 2 stepsisters and 2 stepbrothers. The first was William Robert in 1885. Sarah's first daughter was Alice Maud, who was conceived in 1887. The next girl was Ellen Mary in 1890 and lastly, Walter John was begotten in 1894.
George and Frederick later had stepsiblings as well, with the birth of William Robert in 1885, Alice Maud next in 1887, followed by Ellen Mary and Walter John, conceived in 1890 and 1894 respectively, because George’s father hadn’t gotten older than 26 years when they lost him in 1882 and their mother made it happen with William Palmer, a Portsmouth native. William Palmer and Sarah Jane Clench had made their promise in 1884.
The young Frederick was long at home in the 1890s at some point, trying his luck at the vast blue, like so many in this well-known seafaring town. His brother George had done the same a while later. Frederick had reached the status of Able Bodied Seaman in the 1900s.
He had paid his eldery home a visit in 1911, when he was active for the White Star Line, having been on the Olympic, the first of three large flagships. He had sailed 6 times with her, the last time, his brother George was also onboard and Frederick now had been at sea for rougly 19 years.
On the Titanic[]
He was 33 years old when he a became an Able Seaman for the Titanic on April 10, 1912, still living in Southampton at the time, 10 Chantry Road being his address. He could expect monthly wages of £5. Also joining him as an Able Seaman was his brother George, who had been listed 4 days earlier. The 10th was the day Titanic was going to depart. She moved away from the piers just after noon.
On April 14 at late night, the deemed unsinkable Titanic had met her match in the form of an iceberg. This had been one tricky triangle, as it was hidden from the view of the lookouts for the largest part of the time until it was too close to avoid. The Titanic made contact with the iceberg on starboard side, despite the best efforts of her crew to steer her around it while taking the large speed out of the ship.
At the time of the collision, Frederick was asleep in his bunk and awoke to "a crunching and jarring sound." He jumped up, went up to the forward well deck and "saw a lot of ice." Then, after getting dressed, he went to the Forecastle Deck and "had a smoke." Then, as ordered, he helped uncover lifeboat 11, after which he went port side to work on lifeboat 16; he was in the boat, fixing the plug, when it was swung out. He jumped out and aided Second Officer Lightoller with lifeboat 14, where they put in women and children. He recalled that they loaded three boats.
He reported to the Senate Inquiry that there had been no boat drills on the Titanic and that Fifth Officer Lowe fired his gun three times as the boats were being filled to frighten off the men trying to rush the boats. He fired "straight down into the water."
Then, when only one crewman was found in lifeboat 12, Clench was ordered into the boat and lowered into the water. An officer (he couldn't identify) ordered him to row away from the ship and "keep an eye on 14 where Lowe was and keep together as much as we could." He recalled there were about 14 or 15 in his boat plus two seaman; in Lowe's boat, about 50.
"A Frenchman jumped in our boat and we could not find him." After rowing out about a quarter of a mile from the Titanic, they laid on their oars and stood by. Lowe made fast to their boat and transferred some passengers into his boat. Afterward, Clench stated, there were about 60 in his boat. He also stated that he didn't see anyone swimming or floating, "no one in the water whatsoever, whether alive or dead."
Although the sound of two large bangs were carried over to lifeboat 12, Frederick could not verify whether this was as sign of the ship being ripped apart into two sections. Many testimonies would lead to thinking it was a boiler being ruptured, but for Frederick this was unclear. "There were awful cries and yelling and shouting and that. I told the women in the boat to keep quiet and consoled them a bit. I told them it was the men in the boats shouting out to the others to keep them from getting away from one another." Later, he heard an officer's whistle and found Officer Lightoller and others atop the overturned Collapsible B. They took 10 off into their own boat, making it 70 in boat 12. They were the last boat to reach the Carpathia.
While Titanic had become a shipwreck by 2:20 A.M, Frederick's brother hadn't gotten off safely it seems, as he was eventually added to the list of the dead. There is no information on how he fared. The death toll was high. More than 1500 people found an early end, some inside the ship, most of the lives were taken in the frigid seas. There was no body left of George.
After the sinking[]
The Carpathia finished Titanic's duties after she had taken her surviving former crew and passengers onboard. On the 18th of April, Frederick could feel solid ground beneath his feet again, as Carpathia was stationed in New York.
Later life[]
Frederick found his way back to Southampton soon after answering questions for the American Senate about the disaster and his sea career continued. It doesn't look like he had a partner, at least not a wife.
Frederick's life came to the end of his life in Southampton in 1930, He was not very old, only 51 years.
Portrayals[]
A Night to Remember (1958)[]
Michael Collins as Frederick Clench in A Night to Remember (1958)
| “ |
That's an officer's whistle. Make way together, lads. Starboard helm. Er, to your right, please, madam. |
” |
—Frederick Clench to the passengers | ||
Frederick Clench was portrayed by actor Michael Collins as an uncredited appearance in A Night to Remember.
He appeared after the Titanic sank, rowing with the passengers of lifeboat 12. He then heard the whistle of an officers, which was revealed to have come from Second Officer Lightoller, who survived by straddling the overturned Collapsible B with several other passengers. Frederick then asks the passengers to make way there and rescue the passengers on Collapsible B.
Around 04:00 AM, the passengers on the lifeboats saw a rocket fired in the air, a sign that the rescue ship RMS Carpathia had arrived. Frederick then burned a paper, and waved it in the air so the Carpathia could see them.