The Man Who Sank Titanic

<p><strong>Robert Hichens has gone down in history as the man who was given the famous order to steer the Titanic away from the iceberg and failed.</strong> Following this, his falling out with the ‘Unsinkable Molly Brown’ over the actions of the lifeboats saw him branded a coward and his name indelibly tarnished. A key witness at both US and British Inquiries, Robert returned to a livelihood where fellow crewmen considered him jinxed. But Robert had a long career and was a hardworking, ambitious seaman. A fisherman at 19, he quickly became a junior officer in the merchant navy. In the Second World War he was part of a cargo ship convoy on route to Africa where his ship dodged mines, U-boats and enemy aircraft. To Robert, being at sea was everything but the dark memories of the Titanic were never far away and in 1933 a failed murder attempt after a bitter feud nearly cost Robert his life. Here Robert’s great-granddaughter Sally Nilsson seeks to set the record straight and reveal the true character of the man her family knew. This is one man’s story of survival, betrayal and determination.</p>