Richard Gee Thomas was born in Bermondsey, London, England on 25 December 1887. He was the third-born child of tailor John Thomas, a native of Plymouth, and the former Ellen Louisa Kallmeier. 

In April 1912 Thomas was serving as chief second cabin steward aboard the eastward-bound voyage of the Carpathia when that ship rescued the survivors of the Titanic. 

After the Titanic disaster Richard Thomas, a Freemason, continued to work at sea and served in the merchant fleet during WWI. Ultimately living in Ilford, Essex, he died in Queen Mary’s Hospital in West Ham on 8 November 1947. 

Richard Gee Thomas c. 1919