Henry Tingle Wilde

Henry Tingle Wilde Jr.
Henry Tingle Wilde here depicted with his Royal Naval Reserve lieutenant uniform
Born	(1872-09-21)21 September 1872 Walton, Liverpool, England
Died	15 April 1912(1912-04-15) (aged 39) RMS Titanic (sunk), Atlantic Ocean
Cause of death	Unconfirmed; body never recovered
Occupation	Ship's chief officer
Spouse(s)	Mary Catherine Jones (1898-1910) (her death)
Children	6
Parent(s)	Henry Tingle Wilde Elizabeth Tingle of Loxley, Bradfield

Henry Tingle Wilde (21 September 1872 in Walton, Liverpool, England – 15 April 1912) was the chief officer of the RMS Titanic.

Henry Wilde was christened at the Loxley Congregational Chapel in Loxley, Sheffield on 24 October 1872. He was the son of Henry Wilde, an insurance surveyor from Ecclesfield, South Yorkshire. His mother was Elizabeth Tingle of Loxley, Bradfield. Henry went to sea in his teens. He apprenticed with Messrs. James Chambers & Co., Liverpool. His apprenticeship began on 23 October 1889, on board the 1835-ton Greystoke Castle, and concluded four years later on 22 October 1893. From there, he served as third mate aboard the Greystoke Castle, and then moved on to third mate of the 1374-ton Hornsby Castle. His first steamship posting was aboard the S.S. Brunswick in 1895, where he served initially as third mate, then as second mate. In 1896, he transferred to the S.S. Europa and served aboard her as second mate. In July 1897, he joined the White Star Line.

Starting as a junior officer, Wilde rose steadily through the ranks while serving on several White Star ships. These included the Covic, Cufic, Tauric, and Delphic. Tragedy struck in December 1910 when Wilde's wife and twin sons Archie and Richard died. In August 1911, Wilde became Chief Officer of Titanic's sister, the RMS Olympic, where he served under Titanic's future captain, Edward J. Smith.

Wilde was an officer of the Royal Naval Reserve, where he was commissioned a sub-lieutenant on 26 June 1902.

Wilde was scheduled to leave Southampton on Olympic on 3 April 1912 but was ordered by White Star to remain behind and await orders. It seems likely that Wilde was slated for his own command on a smaller ship, but was assigned as Titanic's Chief Officer at the last minute, possibly at the request of Capt. Smith. This eleventh hour assignment caused the so-called "officer reshuffle", whereby William Murdoch and Charles Lightoller were bumped down a rank to First and Second Officer, respectively, and Second Officer David Blair was removed from the ship entirely. On Titanic's sailing day, 10 April 1912, Wilde reported for duty at 6.00 AM. Around the time of departure, he was assisting Lightoller in the casting-off of mooring ropes and securing of tug lines. After putting to sea, Wilde worked the 2–6 watches.