Arthur Godfrey Peuchen

Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Godfrey Peuchen (April 18, 1859 – December 7, 1929) was a Canadian businessman and military officer who was on board the RMS Titanic when it sank on its maiden voyage. He is notably the only male passenger allowed onto a lifeboat by Second Officer Charles Lightoller, who had asked someone to volunteer to row because of a shortage of seamen. Peuchen, a yachtsman, volunteered and climbed down a line into Lifeboat No. 6.

Early life Peuchen was born in Montreal, Canada East in 1859 to Godfrey E. Peuchen, an immigrant from Westphalia, and Eliza E. Clarke, an immigrant from England. His maternal grandfather managed the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. He was educated in private schools, and moved to Toronto in 1871.

At 17, he joined the militia regiment of The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, and in 1888 was promoted second lieutenant. He was subsequently promoted captain and then sergeant He also owned a vast, Victorian estate and mansion called "Woodlands," located on Kempenfelt Bay, near Barrie, Ontario just north of Toronto.

Titanic Peuchen boarded Titanic at Southampton, on April 10, 1912, as a first-class passenger on his 40th transatlantic voyage. He reportedly was concerned that Captain Edward Smith was in command, because of his record with the Olympic.

On the night Titanic sank, Peuchen was near Lifeboat No. 6 as it was being lowered, until Quartermaster Robert Hichens shouted above that the boat had only one seaman. Second Officer Charles Lightoller asked if there were any other seamen available, and when Peuchen saw none were present, he stepped forward to volunteer, telling Lightoller that he was a yachtsman. Captain Smith was standing nearby and suggested Peuchen go down to the Promenade Deck, so he could break a window and climb into Lifeboat No. 6. Lightoller replied, however, that Peuchen could slide down the ropes to enter the boat if he was "sailor enough" to do so. Peuchen then took a rope, swung off the ship, and climbed hand-under-hand down to Lifeboat No. 6. He was the only male passenger that Lightoller would allow into a lifeboat that night. He later claimed he did not realize Titanic was doomed until he viewed the ship from the lifeboat. After he was in the boat, Peuchen realized that during his climb down his wallet had fallen out of his pocket and into the water. He claimed to have left $300,000 in "money, jewelry, and securities" behind in his cabin, stating that "the money seemed to be a mere mockery at that time"; he brought away instead three oranges and a pin that he considered to have brought him good luck.

Because Peuchen was a military officer, he came under scrutiny for allowing Robert Hichens to prevent the boat's occupants from going back for survivors and for tolerating the verbal abuse Hichens reportedly gave.

In 1987, Peuchen's wallet was recovered from the area around the remains of Titanic; streetcar tickets, a traveler's cheque, and his calling card were found inside.

Later years In Toronto, some deemed Peuchen a coward given that he was a man who had survived the sinking, but most found his participation in the ill-fated voyage to be largely heroic and courageous. In his memoirs, Lightoller wrote that criticism directed towards Peuchen for following direct orders was unfair. His body was buried in Toronto's Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Portrayals Robert Ayres (1958) - A Night to Remember Ralph B. White (1997) - Titanic Ralph B. White (2005) - Last Mysteries of the Titanic (Documentary) John Yost (2024) - Unsinkable