Somebody recently raised the question of the 'responsibility' first-class passengers may have felt towards those in their employ as the 'Titanic' sank. The issue of staff loyalty also cropped up.
It is worth noting that every maid survived with her mistress although not every mistress survived with her maid; Ida Straus famously saw Ellen Bird to safety in Lifeboat No. 8, passed her a fur coat, and then returned to the side of her husband. When they were roused around midnight, the initial reaction of most, if not all, of the maids aboard was evidently to seek out their ladies to 'report for duty'. I'd be interested to learn (if anybody can tell me) where first-class servants were berthed in relation to their employers. I know that the B-deck suites included inside cabins for maids and valets but what was the practice elsewhere on the 'Titanic'? Did one engage the cheapest accomodation possible for one's personal retainer or did it make more sense to have them close to hand, no matter what the price? Regarding the issue of loyalty, I think it is telling that, despite the immense size of the ship and amid the general confusion of the sinking, the instinct of both mistresses and maids was to 'stick together'.
On a slightly different note, I recall the splendidly patrician command - 'Come, Robinson' - Theodate Pope delivered to HER maid as they leapt into the water from the deck of the sinking 'Lusitania'. Pope survived but poor Robinson was not so fortunate.