Frederick Fleet | The Night He’ll Always Remember

Frederick Fleet is best known for being the lookout on the night the Titanic hit the iceberg. He made the call to the bridge and said the infamous "Iceberg, right ahead!" 

Around 11:40pm on April 12, 1972, Frederick was in the crows nest on Titanic with his colleague Reginald Lee when they spotted the iceberg that would eventually strike the ship that was said to be unsinkable. They didn’t have binoculars because they were stored in a cabinet in which they didn’t have a key. A sailor that had the key was assigned to another ship last minute and had accidentally taken the key with him so by the time Frederick and Reginald saw the iceberg, it was too late. 

There were binoculars aboard the Titanic, but unfortunately, no one knew it. The binoculars were stashed in a locker in the crow's nest -- where they were most needed -- but the key to the locker wasn't on board. That's because a sailor named David Blair, who was reassigned to another ship at the last minute, forgot to leave the key behind when he left. The key was in Blair's pocket.

After the Titanic was struck, Frederick helped load passengers into the lifeboats. He was later ordered to get into a lifeboat and was later rescued by the Carpathia. He later testified at both the American and British inquiries. 

Fleet was detained for questioning at both the American and British Inquiries into the sinking. From June 1912 he served briefly as Seaman on the White Star liner Olympic but found that White Star looked at the surviving officers and crew as embarrassing reminders of the recent disaster and he left the company in August 1912. 

Frederick continued to work on the water for decades before retiring in 1936. As he grew older, he faced severe financial difficulties and was struggling with depression. He worked part time as a street vendor selling newspapers. 

In December 1964, Frederick’s wife, Eva passed away and his brother in law evicted him from their home. Due to being overwhelmed by grief, poverty, and despondency. Frederick died by suicide at the age of 77.

Frederick was originally buried in an unmarked pauper's grave because his family could not afford a headstone. In 1993, the Titanic Historical Society funded and erected a proper white headstone through public donations.

His final resting place is at Hollybrook Cemetery on Tremona Road in Shirley, Southampton.