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Generations
of Southampton residents have lived with the memory the Titanic
- 673 crew members died on board, leaving widows and thousands of
orphans.
Hundreds more worked in the shops and businesses supplying the great
liners, or cheered on the quayside as Titanic sailed out of Berth
44.
BBC Southampton is looking for any memories, tales or anecdotes
about the Titanic. If you live in Southampton, or further afield,
and have a story to tell we want to hear from you. It could be a
childhood memory or a story from a relative, just fill in the details
on the form below.
Tim
Wallace in Hemel Hempstead
My Grandmother has always told me of a relative who died on
the Titanic, she was going to America to get married. With her
was a full entourage for the wedding. However she never made
it, we never knew her name, all we know is she was a 1st class
passenger. |
Kerry
Keohan in Stevenage England
My great aunt from county sligo ireland was a third class passenger
onthe titanic her name was mary delia burns |
Jill
Swateman, Southbourne, Bournemouth
Connection:
Her uncle, Frank Prentice, was one of the longest surviving
people who made it through that fateful night. She has a watch
of his which stopped at the time the ship went down. Frank lived
in Southbourne and made many TV appearances relating to his
rescue.
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Gwen
Barker , Ringwood
Connection:
Father lived at Woolston. He was a baker. He signed up to be
a baker on the Titanic, but illness prevented his sailing.
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Margaret
Charlesworth, Lyndhurst
Connection:
Margaret found out three years ago that her grandfather, William
Bull, was a scullion, working in the kitchens on Titanic, and
was lost when she went down.
The clue came from an old photograph of her Grandmother's grave
stone, on which her lost first husband was commemorated. Margaret's
grandmother, Edith, remarried and became Edith Skeats, going
on to have more children with her second husband. Edith lived
in Longmoor Avenue, Woolston and died in 1937. The family had
no idea of their connection with Titanic until Margaret spotted
the inscription on the grave, and it is likely that the Skeats
side of the family are still unaware of the connection.
Margaret's research has revealed that, in 1912, William Bull
was living at 28, Shandos Street, Southampton though he does
not appear on any electoral registers.
He was 37 when he died, and had formerly lived in London, working
as a coal merchant. When Margaret tried to find out how much
widow's pension her grandmother would have received, she found
that records suggest that the couple had been co-habiting.
Margaret believes that there are other relatives, some in South
Africa, many of whom may still be unaware of their connections
with Titanic. She has found out all she can about William Bull
and his family, but would love to know more.
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Peter
Sillet, Totton
Connection:
Peter's father-in-law performed in a concert in aid of a support
fund following the loss of Titanic. The concert was held on
May 13th and 14th 1912. His Father- in-law was attached to Royal
Canadian Navy, Halifax Nova Scotia, where the recovered bodies
were brought back to.
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Dorothy
Kendle, Harefield
Connection:
She’s the daughter of survivor Edith Haisman, who was 15 when
she was on board and lost her father. Her mother was on the
lifeboat with Fifth Officer Harold Lowe, and witnessed him firing
shots to stop other passengers overcrowding the boat. Dorothy
accompanied her mother to the wreck site when it was discovered
and they laid a wreath there. Edith died in 1997.
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Lynn
Dorey , Swanage
Connection:
Great uncle, George Camish, was a fireman on Titanic. He was
saved. His brother, Fred, Lynn's grandfather, missed the sailing
due to flu. Lynn believes that some of George's relatives live
in Southampton area, and would like to make contact.
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Morris
Bradbury , Fishborne
Connection:
He remembers his mother telling him that his father's mother's
brother was a stoker on the Titanic. He thinks his name was
Matthews and would like to know if anyone has anymore information.
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Ricky
Mowlam, Poole
Connection:
Uncle, Reginald Lovell, who lived Winsom Avenue, Millbrook,
was a crew member. On his way to join the ship he was hailed
by a friend who encouraged him to go for a drink. By the time
they got to the dockyard, the ship had sailed. He lived to 79
and had four daughters. Was he one of the infamous six who got
drunk in the Grapes?
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Iris
Dominey, Hythe
Connection:
Maiden name was Darley. May Jeffries says her grandfather, who
was a Darley, was supposedly one of the crew who missed Titanic
because they were drinking in the Grapes. Iris says her grandfather
also missed the boat - are they one and the same Darley?
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Marie
Flood (ne Slade), Woolston
Connection:
Related to one of the Slade brothers - Titanic crew who missed
the boat because they were drinking in the Grapes pub. One was
Alfred Slade. They got drunk after a woman in the pub predicted
the sinking of the ship. As they rushed to catch the boat, they
held up a passenger train and the wealthy people on board missed
the ship too. They were sacked, but later reinstated and a number
of grateful would-be passengers owed them their lives!
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John
Biggs, Smallfield,Horley, Surrey
Connection:
My Great Uncle by marriage Arthur Albert Howell was transferred
from the Olympic to the Titanic in the capacity of First Class
Saloon Steward and perished when the ship sunk.
He was buried at Fairview Lawn Cemetery,Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The address given upon signing on was 12,Cliff Road, Itchen,
Southampton.
However I have not found any record of the family living there.
The Titanic Relief Fund listed the family as Case 431. Arthur
was born in Croydon and left a wife, Annie Jessie nee Wall who
came from Paddock Wood in Kent, and a son Arthur Allbert and
a daughter Edith Ann who passed away at Sompting near Lancing,
Sussex.
Any further information concerning Arthur and his family would
be appreciated.
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Denise
Bowie, Hythe
Connection:
Great Grandfather-Joseph Bradly. He was a Fireman left behind
a wife and three daughters. Lived in Bugle St, Soutampton. Believed
to have went down with the ship however, story has it that he
was saved and changed his identify so to leave behind his responsibilities
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Hazel
Winters, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Connection:
My family history research indicates that Wallace Hartley, the
Bandmaster of the Titanic was one of my Hartley cousins. I have
been collecting data on Wallace for the past few years.
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Neil
Hendrix
Connection:
Grandmother, Elsie Dowling was a 2nd class passenger on the
Titanic and was rescued. She was traveling with her sister-in-law,
Ada Dowling, who was also rescued. There is a famous picture
of them, walking on the promenade deck with a gentleman.
For many years they couldn’t identify him, but according to
the book, Titanic Voices, he was the chauffeur to the Vanderbilts
and he went down with the ship. When the film Titanic came out,
a commemorative plate was produced and it sported this picture.
Neil’s great grandfather ran the Atlantic Hotel on Albert Road,
where many of the steerage passengers stayed. He also has a
programme of the 1912 memorial concert held at the Metropolitan
Opera House in New York. It’s signed by Edith Haisman, who was
one of the longest-lived survivors.
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Dorothy
Cavell, West Totton
Connection:
- Dorothy's Father-in-law, George Cavell, was on the Titanic.
He lived in Coleman Street in St. Mary’s. He was stoking the
fires as the ship went down, but he lived to a grand old age!
He’d wondered why no-one had come to relieve him but eventually
he heard the others calling him above the roar of the engines
to get out of there. He was incredibly lucky, he must have been
one of the last to get off, but she doesn’t know how he got
off. She’d love it if someone could tell her. Her brother-in-law,
George’s son, William, lives in Parkstone.
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Eileen
Wilson, Fordingbridge
Connection:-
Eileen's Grandfather, John Edward Puzey was a steward on the
Titanic, he lost his life, leaving a wife and two sons. They
lived in Woolston. She was given a few sovereigns and that was
it. They were left in poverty. Her father, who was 10 at the
time and descendants, were allowed to have jobs on the liners
if they wished. Her father, William John Puzey worked on the
Olympic and her three brothers all worked on the liners.
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Janet
Wise, Rusper near Horsham
Connection:
. Janet can remember her mother talking about her grandfather,
Captain Alfred Ethrot Tizzard who was a naval officer - an Admiralty
transport officer, who went on board to see the new ship. He
then came off before she sailed and told his family that it
was lovely but there weren't enough lifeboats.
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Leonard
Easter,
Millbrook.
Connection:- Grandfather William Willsher, assistant
butcher, in his 30s, went down on the Titanic. There's a photo
his daughter, Mr Easter’s mother in the book, Titanic Voices.
She was being presented with a dolly, as the youngest child
orphaned at Northam School. His grandmother was left with 5
children and they all benefited from the fund set up to provide
the orphans with apprenticeships - his mother was a tailoress,
the youngest boy became an apprentice engineer, the oldest brother
was a bellboy on the Olympic.
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Sue
Fray, Taunton
Connection:
Podesta was a family name and a John Podesta was on the list
of survivors. She knows from some cousins that there was a family
member who survived, but she doesn’t know what relation he was.
Her maternal grandmother was Cecilia Podesta who lived in Shirley.
Was this survivor her brother or some other relation? Her grandmother
had three brothers, Joseph, Harry and Frank. Cecilia was born
in April 1866, and her brothers were christened in the following
years: Joseph, 1857; Harry, 1870; Frank, 1873. The John Podesta
listed as a survivor was born, 14.9.1887. He was listed as a
fireman, while she understood her relation was a steward. Does
anyone have any information?
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Dr
Mike Hoskin, Portsmouth
Connection:
– Grandfather, George Fox Hoskin, was the senior third engineer
on the Titanic who lived in Avenue Road in Itchen. He was from
a seafaring family in Shalden in Devon. Mike’s father was born
in Southampton was two years old when his father died. He had
two brothers and a sister. The family was left in some poverty,
helped out by the Marine Engineering Institute Benevolent Society
and had their fees paid at boarding school.
Mike’s father became a captain, William Bock Hoskin, who also
drowned in the South China Sea. He wants to pay tribute to engineering
officers on the liner, none survived because they all stayed
at their posts. His father’s middle name was Bock, named after
a wealthy relative, but the local paper in Newton Abbot, near
Shalden, received a telegram from a relative in New York called
Bock, who travelled 300 miles to New York to meet the Carpathia
which carried the survivors, to check if any of the engineering
staff had survived, so somewhere in America there’s a family
connection, through a cousin called Bock. His telegram informed
the local paper that unfortunately George Hoskin hadn’t survived.
Does anyone have information about Bock?
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