He didn't care for cocktail parties. He cared for the ship.
The name is forever tethered to the RMS Lusitania . To some, he was a scapegoat; to others, a stubborn old man out of his depth. But to truly understand the man who commanded the world’s most famous shipwreck (second only to the Titanic), we have to look past the torpedo and see the sailor.
Turner joined the Cunard Line in 1878 and steadily rose through the ranks. Despite a "gruff" demeanor—he reportedly once called passengers "a load of bloody monkeys"—his technical skill as a navigator made him one of the company’s most trusted captains. By 1913, he had achieved the rank of Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve and was captaining the world’s most prestigious liners, including the Mauretania and Aquitania . Captain W. T. Turner of the 'Aquitania' (1914)
