Mr Arthur Albert Howell was born in Croydon, Surrey, England on 20 June 1880 and was baptised on 11 August in St Michael's Church.
He was the son of John William Howell (b. 1849), a gardener, and Sarah Parker (b. 1848). His father was also from Croydon and his mother a native of Kent and they were married in Clapham on 3 October 1870.
One of eight children, Albert’s siblings were: Daniel (b. 1871), John George (b. 1873), Henry Brutus (b. 1875), Frederick William (b. 1878), Ellen (b. 1883), Edith Jane (b. 1885) and Florence (b. 1887).
Howell first appears on the 1881 census whilst living at 13 Bensham Lane, Croydon, moving to 14 Queens Road－also in Croydon－by the time of the 1891 census where the family would remain for all future census records. When the 1901 census was conducted Arthur was already absent from the family home.
Howell had been at sea since the age of fifteen when he trained on the Warspite in the Thames. He then joined the Philadelphian Line before joining White Star, his first ship with that company being Adriatic. He subsequently served on the Olympic and was aboard that vessel at the time of her collision with HMS Hawke in September 1911.
Arthur was married in his native Croydon on 29 October 1907 to Annie Jessie Wall (b. 7 September 1873), a native of Capel, Kent. His address at the time was listed as 2 Craignish (?) Avenue, Norbury, London and his profession was given as an attendant. He and his wife would have two children: Arthur Albert (b. 27 April 1908 in Croydon) and Edith Annie (b. 13 December 1909 in Itchen, Hampshire). The family appear together on the 1911 census living at 12 Cliff Road, Itchen and Arthur is described as a steward for the White Star Line.
He initially signed-on to the Titanic in Belfast on 1 April 1912 and signed-on again in Southampton on 4 April 1912. When he did so Howell gave his address as 12 Cliff Road, Itchen. He had transferred from the Olympic and as a saloon steward he received monthly wages of £3, 15s.
Arthur Howell died in the sinking; his body was recovered (#319) by the Montmagny and was buried at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia on 10 May 1912. He has a Memorial brick in his name in the Woolston, Southampton, Millennium Garden, known as the Feathers, in Victoria Road Woolston which opened in April 2002.
His family, including his parents, later benefitted from the Titanic Relief Fund.
Number 431. Howell, Annie Jessie, widow. Howells, Arthur Albert, child, and Howells, Edith Ann child. All class D dependants.
Number 434. Howells, parents. Grant. £20. — Mansion House Titanic Relief Fund Booklet, March 1913
Wife Annie Jessie (nee Wall) - (Titanic C431) two children daughter Edith and son Arthur Albert. Mrs Howells passed away 13th March 1962 Annuity No. M270/31 — Scottish Widows Fund.
His widow Annie never remarried and later moved to Lancing, Sussex where she died on 13 March 1962. His daughter Edith Annie was never married and remained with her mother; she died in Sussex in 1996. His son Arthur later married Georgina Elizabeth Cole (1909-1982) and raised a family before his death in Sussex in 1988.
Comment and discuss
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Arthur was a First Class Saloon Steward and perished in the Titanic tragedy and was buried in the Fairbanks Lawn Cemetery in Halifax,Nova Scotia. Contrary to the records on the web site he was in fact married and had two children at least.He married my Great Aunt Annie Jessie nee Wall in 1907 Southampton records did not produce any Disaster Fund records concerning his wife and family,although I understand some records have gone missing. I would be grateful to learn of any further information concerning any of them and in particular where one might find photographs of Arthur. Regards John Biggs (England)
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Dear John, Below is my print out for Mr. Howells - I hope you find it of interest? You will have to contact one of the Moderators to get his obituary corrected. I have also put this on his obituary. Howells, Arthur Albert. Lived at 12 Cliff Road, Itchen, Southampton. Occupation - Saloon Steward. 31 years old. (Born in Croydon, Surrey). (From: Mansion House Titanic Relief Fund Booklet, March 1913) Number 431. Howell, Annie Jessie, widow. Howells, Arthur Albert, child, and Howells, Edith Ann child. All class D dependants. (From: Mansion House Titanic Relief Fund Booklet, March 1913) Number 434. Howells, parents. Grant. £20. Wife Annie Jessie (nee Wall) - (Titanic C431) two children daughter Edith and son Arthur Albert. Mrs Howells passed away 13th March 1962 Annuity No. M270/31 Scottish Widows Fund. Body number 319. Interred at Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia. also he has a Memorial brick in his name in the Woolston, Southampton, Millennium Garden known as the...
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> Dear Brian, I find myself completely gobsmacked.After kicking myself for some years for not asking questions when my ancestors were alive and subsequently making enquiries with limited success,I suddenly find within 12 hours of posting a message I get some answers. Thank you so much for your reply it is really appreciated. It is all rather strange inasmuch that I was fascinated by the Titanic disaster well before I was aware of a personal connection and so was my daughter. When I became interested in Genealogy my father in an aside casually mentioned that he thought an Uncle of his perished on the Titanic and that he was a waiter of some sort. If he knew of some connection I am surprised that Edith didn't know as in earlier years they all knew one another quite well. My parents used to visit Edith(known as Edie)Jessie and Elizabeth occasionally,but my Uncle Joe was very friendly with them as he lived close by. I only spoke to Edie on one occasion ,when she tetephoned after my...
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Hallo, John, and welcome. As you are a genealogy enthusiast I imagine you have the basic Census information, but in case not - Arthur was the son of John (a gardener) and Sarah. At the time of the 1881 Census he had at least three brothers, John, Henry and Frederick and the family address was 13, Bensham Lane, Croydon, Surrey. Regarding photographs, if I were looking for one myself the first possible source I would contact would be somebody like yourself! If there are none in any family collections, I think it unlikely you will find them elsewhere. Back in 1912 a number of UK newspapers published random collections of thumbnail photos of crew members, but I cannot recall Arthur's picture from any of those. I haven't come across any specific mention of Arthur Howell in the recollections or testimonies of survivors, but if you would like to have some general information about the work of a 1st Class steward and their role on the night of the sinking feel free to contact me by...
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John, Glad you found the information useful. Sorry but I have no access to any photographs at all - I dont remember seeing any at Ediths house. Thanks for the offer of Photographs of his grave at Fairview but I have some and provided some for Edith. She was always 'sorry' that she had not known about her fathers grave sooner or she would have gone and paid her respects while she was young enough and fit enough. Best regards - Brian
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