Crew who missed the boat....and lived

[Arun Vajpey]

I have read somewhere that some firemen and greasers (maybe other crew as well) who were signed-up to join the Titanic on her maiden voyage lingered too long at a local dockside pub in Southampton on the morning of departure and so missed the ship. Sixth Officer Moody reportedly then took on standby crew and ignored the cries of some of the original men even as they ran waving towards the departing ship.

I do not know if there is any truth in this story but if there is, is there any record of the names of the lucky few who never made it to the boat and their unlucky opposite numbers who found places in the last minute and (probably) died?

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Check out this old thread:
Frank Holden the Slade brothers and the others who missed the boat

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Thanks. After I posted the thread I searched in On A Sea Of Glass carefully and read that the three Slade bothers, a man named Penney, Frank Nutbean and John Podesta were in the drinking party that morning. Reportedly, Nutbean and Podesta made it across the gangplank into the Titanic while the Slades and Penney were held up by that train and so missed the boat. By a quirk of fate, both Nutbean and Podesta survived the sinking.

IF this story is true, Moody must have taken on board 4 men from the standby crew list in the last minute to replace the Slade brothers and Penney. Is there any record as to who these men were and if any of them survived?

 

[Dave Gittins]

The story is quite true. The list of those who failed to join and the list of their substitutes are on this site. There's a lot more to it than the men you mention. About 20 didn't sail. Some deserted, some were sick and some left by consent. Not all were replaced. There were only 15 substitutes. If you dig around the site can find who survived.