The Aristocrat and 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.

About the author:

Angela Young is a graduate of Middlesex University’s MA in Creative Writing and is the author of two novels. In 1995, BBC Books published Angela’s 30,000-word ending to Edith Wharton’s last, unfinished novel, The Buccaneers.

Subsequently Angela has had two novels published, Speaking of Love in 2007 (paperback in 2008) and The Dance of Love in 2014. Both novels explore what happens when we don’t say what’s in our hearts; when we don’t talk about what really matters when it really matters. Both novels are also about hope and love.

In April 2026, Angela’s first piece of non-fiction will be published by The History Press. The Aristocrat and the Able Seaman tells the story of two courageous survivors of RMS Titanic and shows how they – despite very different backgrounds – worked together in their shared lifeboat to shepherd twenty-five others to safety on that terrifying night in 1912.

Angela Young lives and writes in south-west London.