Walter Brice

[Gaston Sam]

Not having found any single picture of him, I've been trying to identify him in any crew picture I could find. I ran into this picture shot in the aftermath of the disaster which shows some survivors of the crew:

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Not all of them are deck crew members, but the first two or four (from left to right) certainly are. The second one is William Lucas, but the first man's identity was a mistery to me, so I tried identifying him by process of elimination based on all the available pictures I've seen so far.

Eventually I found out he could mainly be either Walter Brice or James Anderson.
Anderson was 40 and that's the only thing I could find on him.
On the other hand, Walter Brice was 43 years old, 5' 6" tall, with light hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. That matches our fellow perfectly, and I can even prove the height based on the comparison with Samuel Hemming, which is the fourth from left to right in the same picture and was 5' 2¼" tall.
Walter Brice also served in the Royal Navy which had moustaches as a requirement by that time.

Then we have the famous picture took from the Carpathia of lifeboat 11:

The one guy in the bow holding the drop-ladder and a piece of rope could perfectly be an AB, and Walter Brice was aboard that lifeboat. He testified being at the tiller of the boat but he could have moved forward when they reached Carpathia.

 

[Ioannis Georgiou]

I do not think that that is Brice.

Regarding the picture of lifeboat No. 11, I have always guessed it could be Brice. I have done some IDs but have not published much about it (even some I have in the book Titanic in Photographs and in the last part of my lifeboat series in the magazine of the British and Swiss Titanic Society).

 

[Jennifer Sullivan]

I understand Walter Brice lived in Ramsgate, Kent, after the disaster. I have looked at records and have found a couple of addresses for him, but I cannot find any details on where he was buried. Does anybody know if it was in Ramsgate or back in his native Lenham? Thanks

 

[Michael Hinz]

Not having found any single picture of him, I've been trying to identify him in any crew picture I could find. I ran into this picture shot in the aftermath of the disaster which shows some survivors of the crew:View attachment 3203

​

Not all of them are deck crew members, but the first two or four (from left to right) certainly are. The second one is William Lucas, but the first man's identity was a mistery to me, so I tried identifying him by process of elimination based on all the available pictures I've seen so far.
View attachment 3204 View attachment 3205
Eventually I found out he could mainly be either Walter Brice or James Anderson.
Anderson was 40 and that's the only thing I could find on him.
On the other hand, Walter Brice was 43 years old, 5' 6" tall, with light hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. That matches our fellow perfectly, and I can even prove the height based on the comparison with Samuel Hemming, which is the fourth from left to right in the same picture and was 5' 2¼" tall.
Walter Brice also served in the Royal Navy which had moustaches as a requirement by that time.

Then we have the famous picture took from the Carpathia of lifeboat 11:
View attachment 3206
The one guy in the bow holding the drop-ladder and a piece of rope could perfectly be an AB, and Walter Brice was aboard that lifeboat. He testified being at the tiller of the boat but he could have moved forward when they reached Carpathia.

I don't think it's Walter Brice. Not his facial features, but his beard style and ears make me think so.

So, who is it? He is definitely a member of the deck department. The man bears a strong resemblance to the man we identified in another photograph as window cleaner William Harder (39 years old). Also note his outfit. I think, it is quite possible...

The other men in the footage are:

AB William Lucas (25 years old)

AB James Forward (27 years old)

AB Albert James Horswill (33 years old)

The other man seems to be a steward. My strongest thought would be saloon steward Edenser Edward Wheelton (28 years old).

 

[Michael Hinz]

I do not think that that is Brice.

Regarding the picture of lifeboat No. 11, I have always guessed it could be Brice. I have done some IDs but have not published much about it (even some I have in the book Titanic in Photographs and in the last part of my lifeboat series in the magazine of the British and Swiss Titanic Society).

View attachment 3207

That's a good guess, although I think he looks more like QM Sidney Humphreys (52 years old). But of course the resolution of this picture is not the best.

 

[Ioannis Georgiou]

That's a good guess, although I think he looks more like QM Sidney Humphreys (52 years old).

From what I see Humphreys is alongside the hull of Carpathia.

 

[Michael Hinz]

Well, Sidney Humphreys stood 5'3'' (1,59m). The man in boat 11 looks a bit taller. Furthermore, the man is wearing a different outfit than Sidney Humphreys wore when he arrived in New York. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I don't think it's Humphreys. I think it could be one of the many stewards in boat 11.

 

[Jennifer Sullivan]

I went to Ramsgate Cemetery and found his burial plot. He is indeed in an unmarked grave.