Leslie Williams and David Bowen are being currently discussed in another thread but that has to do with the general issue of class mixing (or not) on board ships of those days. I did some research about them and came up with some very interesting information that is more relevant to this thread. Basically it tells the story of how David 'Dai' Bowen was not really meant to be on the Titanic at all but fate placed him there instead of someone else.
I corresponded with Welsh Boxing site and various Welsh media outlets and received a detailed reply from Gareth Jones, the Sports Writer (with a special interest in boxing) for South Wales Echo. Following is the relevant information that I received from him and it is a very interesting story.
In the early part of the 20th Century, thousands of young Welsh miners emigrated to America to work in the mines around Pittsburgh and elsewhere in Pennsylvania. As there was a strong culture of boxing among them, soon several local American promoters took an interest and began talent scouting. One such man was Frank Torreyson and he liaised with Charles 'Chas' Barnett, at that time a staff writer for Western Mail, which also covered the South Wales boxing scene through Boxing News; Barnett was also a part-time boxing referee himself.
In the latter part of 1911, Torreyson wrote to Barnett, asking him to provide two good young Welsh boxers for a 'show' (a series of bouts) that he planned around Pennsylvania in the following year. Barnett picked out Leslie Williams and Jimmy Wilde, the latter then a talented but little known youngster from Rhondda. Torreyson accepted Williams but felt that Wilde was "too small" from a publicity point of view and asked for a replacement. As fate had it, that was when David Bowen came into the picture and got accepted.
Williams and Bowen were originally booked to travel on board the Lusitania (and not the Baltic or other ships as some sources claim) on 6th April 1912 but an expensive new suit that Williams had ordered was not ready on time. Therefore, the pair postponed their travel by a few days and were rebooked on the maiden voyage of the Titanic 4 days later. Sadly, both Williams and Bowen were among the lost when the Titanic went down on 15th April 1912. Bowen's body was never found but Williams' was; but due to its condition, he was given a sea burial.
Jimmy Wilde, who missed being on that ship himself, gained fame as a boxer over the next 2 years and went across to America. He was a huge and popular success and went on to become the World Flyweight Champion. Even today many boxing pundits consider Wilde to be the greatest British boxer of all time.
But look at what the above story means. If Jimmy Wilde had not been initially rejected by Torreyson, he (and not Bowen) would have been with Leslie Williams on board the Titanic. It would still have been the Titanic because it was Williams's suit that caused the delay and rebooking. If that had happened, the man now considered by many as the best British boxer of all time would have died prematurely but David Bowen, who was not originally meant to go on that trip, would have survived and perhaps made a big name for himself.
The final irony was that after Leslie Williams was given a Sea Burial, his personal effects were returned to his family. Among them was a snake ring given to him by Jimmy Wilde.
