Off the beaten path observation about Capt L

[Richard A. Krebes]

Judging from pictures taken as he was leaving the Scottish Drill Hall, Captain Lord seems to be quite reserved after testifying at the British Titanic inquiry, but I haven't a clue as to what else his body language is saying (if anything).
Anybody else have any thoughts on this?
Just an off the beaten path observation about Captain L.

Richard K.

 

[Tracy Smith]

I have one picture of him leaving with Stewart on his right. There is a girl and a woman behind them, staring at Lord.

Lord is looking down, his mouth open, as if talking to Stewart when the photo was snapped. To me, he looks shocked, weary, and discouraged. His right hand is clenched, as if outraged. It is on page 272 of Eaton and Haas' "Titanic: Triumph and Tragedy", at the top right.

It is my favorite picture of Lord, because it is not posed. He looks more "human" here than in the posed photographs of him most of us are more familiar with.

 

[Dave Gittins]

Poor old Lord had the misfortune to look unpleasant when photographed. He doesn't look the camera confidently in the eye. I wonder if he was at least partly judged on his looks. He wouldn't be the first or the last!

 

[Tracy Smith]

In this female's opinion, Lord was a handsome man, but I can see how some might find him intimidating, just from his appearance.

Dave, Leslie Reade made this same point in his book "The Ship That Stood Still" on page 321.

Reade said:

"Nature itself had handicapped Captain Lord for his ordeal with a handsome, but scultured countenance of stone, that seemed neither to invoke, nor welcome, sympathy in 1912."

 

[Maureen Zottoli]

Just a humorous aside about photos and that they can make or break the man kind of comments, a man at my place of employment who makes a 6 digit salary, went to get his photo ID taken and made this silly awkward face into the camera playing around. They only take one photo of you and that is what is on his! So you have this high powered guy having to display a rather awkward looking photo every single time he goes to work.

But Dave and Tracy, you have a point. But based on his history with his men as well, was Lord a man who would ever welcome pity? Perhaps some of those who judged him confused his not wanting pity with his not wanting sympathy. I think the two are different animals. Good points. Enjoyed reading this.
Maureen.

 

[Tracy Smith]

Good point, Maureen. From what I know of Lord, he would not have wanted simple pity, but he did welcome the sincere support and help of others when offered.

Lord was a very private man, a classic introvert, but he in no way was an unfeeling or callous man.

 

[Fiona Nitschke]

Having seen quite a few photos of Lord demonstrating a 'stern visage' I had started to believe that to be his usual demeanour, even if not necessarily indicative of his actual character. So, imagine my surprise upon discovering that a portrait in oils of a kindly, avuncular looking old bloke, hung in an obscure corner of a Titanic exhibition, was indeed our Stan of ill repute.

Not necessarily a good painting as such, but certainly a different view. From memory he may've even been smiling. Well, at least a little.

I've had a quick spin through some of the more likely sources of a reproduction but haven't found one yet. I'll let you know if I do, but of course I'm hoping someone else will help me out here.

According to the exhibition coordinator I spoke to the painting is still in Lord's family.

FWIW,

Fiona

 

[Tracy Smith]

Do you know when the painting was done, Fiona? During his time as a captain, or during his retirement? You refer to him as an "old bloke", so I figure during his retirement, as Lord was a young man of 35 when the Titanic sunk.

There is another picture of him in the Eaton and Haas book mentioned in my post above, taken as he arrived to the Scottish Drill Hall, before taking the stand. This is a rare side view of him; nearly all the pics I've seen of him are face-on front views. His demeanor is quite different from the picture in my above post. Lord looks confident here, with just the hint of a grin on his face. He looks relaxed and more like the young man that he was at the time. This picture is on page 271, on the bottom row, second from the right.

 

[Tracy Smith]

Fiona, I finally saw a photograph of that painting of Captain Lord that you mentioned. I would judge that this painting was done while he was in his middle to late 60s; that is, some time in the 1940s