Titanic Fiction Novel

[Matt Casey]

Hello all,

I'm currently at work on a historical horror fiction novel set aboard the Titanic and could use some help. Although a few of the main characters are fictional, I do want to throw in historical figures in the the novel (Smith, Ismay, Gracie, Butt, possibly Murdoch and Lightoller). I know the ship started boarding passengers on the 10th, but when did the crew board? I assume they boarded the day before the passengers. I know the guarantee group was on the ship when it left Belfast. Were any others on board?

Do we know where the officers were staying before boarding? I know a lot of crew were from Southampton and probably had homes or rooms, but would Smith or any of the other officers had rooms in Southampton or did they come straight from their last assignment or home?

 

[Yuriko Cheng]

(Disclaimer: I don't have my books with me, so I'm going off memory here)

I believe the officers boarded on 1 April, just before the Titanic started her sea trials. This is true of all the officers except Chief Officer Wilde, who only came onboard early morning 10 April (just a few hours before the Titanic set sail) because of the last-minute crew reshuffle. (The original Second Officer David Blair was also kicked off the ship at some point.) I think the stokers, engineers etc were onboard by 2 April for the sea trials, but the victualling crew didn't actually board the ship until the morning of 10 April.

Some letters that the officers sent to their families in the days leading up to 10 April still survive, and they mostly indicate that the officers, after boarding, stayed in their cabins on the Titanic until she set sail. Only exception to this is Chief Officer Wilde because as mentioned earlier he didn't board the ship until the very day she was due to sail. (I vaguely recall at least one officer going to stay with a friend in Southampton for a night or two between the sea trials and the maiden voyage, but I cannot recall where I read that information or which officer it was so until a senior member comes to correct me take this information with several pinches of salt)

 

[Dan E. Parkes]

I believe the officers boarded on 1 April, just before the Titanic started her sea trials. This is true of all the officers except Chief Officer Wilde, who only came onboard early morning 10 April

They all joined earlier than that. The junior deck officers, Pitman, Boxhall, Lowe and Moody, joined the ship in Belfast on the 27th of March, while the senior deck officers - Murdoch, Lightoller and Blair - were already there (certainly Murdoch was, as the junior officers reported to him), so probably arrived on the 26th. Captain Haddock signed on in Southampton on the 25th, so was undoubtedly there on the 26th.

As for Wilde, he joined Titanic in Southampton no later than the 7th of April - perhaps much earlier. One myth is that Wilde was a last-minute addition. Actually, he wrote to his eldest daughter, Jennie, on the 30th of March 1912, that he knew he would join Titanic.

Do we know where the officers were staying before boarding?

Captain Smith travelled from his home in Winn Rd on the morning of the 10th, so was staying with his family. There was a tremendous amount of work to be done so it is likely the deck officers stayed aboard but it depended on their watches and responsibilities. For example, Blair wrote on the 4th of April that he had "been home all day and down on board tonight on watch."

 

[Yuriko Cheng]

One myth is that Wilde was a last-minute addition. Actually, he wrote to his eldest daughter, Jennie, on the 30th of March 1912, that he knew he would join Titanic.

Thank you for correcting me on this! Are there any other sources to show exactly when and how the officer reshuffle happened? 30th March definitely isn't as last-minute as my original post made out to be, but with only ten days until sailing day it does seem to be cutting things a little bit close.

 

[Dan E. Parkes]

Are there any other sources to show exactly when and how the officer reshuffle happened?

Most of what I know is in the respective officer biographies in my titanicofficers.com website, but I do intend to write an article on it specifically when I get the chance, as it is often misrepresented e.g. that Smith made the decision (it actually came from Liverpool), that it was a reflection on Murdoch's abilities (there is no evidence of that, it seems to be purely a logistical move).

 

[kneserlambert]

Most of what I know is in the respective officer biographies in my titanicofficers.com website, but I do intend to write an article on it specifically when I get the chance, as it is often misrepresented e.g. that Smith made the decision (it actually came from Liverpool), that it was a reflection on Murdoch's abilities (there is no evidence of that, it seems to be purely a logistical move).

I was just browsing your website... and I want to thank you for your work here...

 

[Dan E. Parkes]

I was just browsing your website... and I want to thank you for your work here...

Thank you for the kind words, I appreciate that.