[1][2] Cottam's decision to awaken Captain Arthur Henry Rostron and relay Titanic's message in spite of the scepticism of the officer on watch[1] allowed Carpathia to arrive at the scene hours before any other ship and is "credited with saving hundreds of lives.

[citation needed] At 17, Cottam left home to study eleven months at the British College of Telegraphy in London,[4] becoming the school's youngest graduate in 1908.

[citation needed] Afterward, he obtained a posting with the Marconi Company as second wireless operator on the RMS Empress of Ireland, sailing between Liverpool and Quebec.

[4] At the time, despite being stationed in a variety of locations on ship and land, wireless operators remained employees of the Marconi company.

[citation needed] As a Marconi employee, Cottam was subsequently assigned as a telegraphist at the British post office[5] where, on separate occasions, he met and befriended both Jack Phillips and Harold Bride, who would later become the Titanic's wireless operators.

[citation needed] He also served as the wireless operator aboard the SS Medic,[4] on which he made two voyages from Liverpool to Sydney, Australia.

[5] Cottam had been employed by the Marconi Company for three years before joining the crew of the Carpathia in February 1912 as the ship's sole wireless operator.

[6] On the night of 14 April 1912, Cottam was on the Carpathia's bridge reporting the day's communications, thus missing Titanic's first distress calls shortly after midnight.

[10] Rostron immediately "gave the order to turn the ship around,"[10] and then "asked the operator if he was absolutely sure it was a distress signal from the Titanic.

[7] Around 1:45 a.m., Cottam received Titanic's final intelligible message: "Come as quickly as possible, old man, the engine room is filling up to the boilers.

[12] Despite receiving no reply, Cottam continued to update Titanic on Carpathia's progress, instructing Phillips to look for their signal rockets.

[16] He testified to the Senate that the first four days, he worked almost non-stop around the clock, only falling asleep unintentionally once at his desk for three hours on the night of 16 April.

He went on, "It was most difficult to get the names even, and the continuous strain at the instrument, the conditions under which the operator was working, and the constant interruptions made it anything but a simple matter.

[16] Afterward, both Cottam and Bride stated that the volume of official and passenger messages was so great that they would not have had time to respond to media requests anyway.

[5] The Senate inquiry found Cottam did not show "proper vigilance"[20] in handling official information during the Carpathia's return to New York, citing a telegram from Bruce Ismay, chairman of the White Star Line, to Philip Franklin, who was in charge of the White Star Line's New York office.

[21][22] The British Wreck Commissioner's inquiry report made no remark about Cottam beyond noting that the Carpathia received and responded to Titanic's distress call.

[27][better source needed] Cottam's crucial role in the disaster was honored in 2013 with a blue plaque on the wall of The Old Ship Inn in Lowdham, Nottinghamshire, where he lived after retiring.

[28] The plaque reads: Harold Cottam 1891–1984 'Unsung Hero' Wireless Operator on RMS Carpathia On April 15, 1912 received Titanic's call for help.

His diligence and prompt reaction were instrumental in saving 705 souls Born in Southwell Retired to Lowdham in 1958 Cottam continued to work as a shipboard wireless operator on various ships until 1922, when he married Elsie Jean Shepperson[29] and took a job as a sales representative of the Mini Max Fire Extinguisher company.