The Aristocrat & the Able Seaman

The Countess of Rothes, Thomas Jones, and the Tragedy of Titanic

When Titanic left Southampton in 1912, neither the Aristocrat, The Countess of Rothes, nor the Able Seaman, Thomas Jones, imagined meeting, let alone navigating a tiny lifeboat together at night, among towering icebergs. But Jones put Noël Rothes at the tiller of his boat when he realised her calm capability, and for seven long hours they did all they could to shepherd at least twenty-five others to safety. Their ordeal forged an unlikely affinity that lasted until Noël died in 1956.

Angela Young, Noël’s great-granddaughter, tells the stories of these two courageous Titanic survivors and considers why so very few people survived the tragedy.

This book is not just a family memoir but a fascinating overview of the Titanic disaster, told through the eyes of two of its heroes. It also brings to the public, for the first time, unpublished eyewitness accounts of the disaster from the remarkable Countess of Rothes. The Aristocrat and the Able Seaman is an important and moving contribution to the study of the Titanic.

Gareth Russell, historian, author and broadcaster
author of The Ship of Dreams

The sinking of RMS Titanic is iconic, but with many forgotten stories. This fascinating account recognises two significant figures whose bravery and friendship smashed Edwardian preconceptions of class and gender. Presented using their actual words and recollections and placed within the context of the disaster unfurling around them, this accessible and engrossing book reveals some of the people behind that legendary night, a tragedy that heralded a changing world.

Dr Rudi Newman PhD, transport historian and author
author of Travels to Tragedy

This wonderful book illustrates the quiet heroism of Able Seaman Thomas Jones and Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes, on the night the Titanic sank – two people who would never normally have met but were thrust together in the most extraordinary of circumstances.

Dr Nick Barratt, historian
author of Lost Voices from the Titanic