12. Lightoller returned to the sea with White Star Line
Following the boards of inquiry, Lightoller resumed his employment with White Star Line, confident that his vigorous defense of his employer would place him in good stead. He also remained in the Royal Navy Reserve. He was aboard Oceanic as first officer when World War I began, and remained in the ship when it was transferred to the Royal Navy, to be converted into an armed merchant cruiser. Oceanic had the distinction of being the first Allied passenger ship lost in World War I when it was wrecked on a reef near Scotland, in clear weather and calm water.
Lightoller was aboard Oceanic as first lieutenant. The ship’s position had been inaccurately recorded by the ship’s navigator, David Blair (the same David Blair who had been removed from Titanic in Southampton). Locked onto the reef with the hull punctured made the ship irretrievable, and the officers and crew were removed by small boats to other vessels standing by. Lightoller was the last man to be removed from the stricken ship, his second shipwreck in just over two years. Lieutenant Blair was reprimanded for his role in the loss of the ship. Lightoller was not charged in the event.