Leonard Taylor

Leonard Taylor was born in Glossop, Derbyshire, England on 1 April 1893 and was baptised in Whitfield on 21 May that year. At the time his address was listed as 108 Charlestown. 

He was the son of Frederick John Taylor (b. 1866) and Alice Rostron (b. 1860). 

His father, a bath attendant, was a native of Glossop and his mother was from Bolton, Lancashire. The couple had married on 26 November 1890 and went on to have five children, with Leonard's siblings being: Harold (b. 1891), Ethel (b. 1896), Florence (b. 1897) and Minnie (b. 1900). His parents appear childless on the 1891 census living at 5 Cliff Road, Glossop.

Leonard first appears with his family on the 1901 census and by that time the family are living at 7 Boothroyd Street, Blackpool, Lancashire, having moved there around 1897. On the 1911 census the family are living at 6 Sherbourne Road, Blackpool and, like his father, Leonard had become a bath attendant. His father was head masseur at Blackpool's Imperial Hydropathic Hotel.

When he signed-on to the Titanic, on 6 April 1912, Leonard gave his address as 6 Sherbourne Road, Blackpool. The Titanic was his first ship and as a Turkish bath attendant, he received monthly wages of £4. Aboard he wrote a letter to his family which was posted in Queenstown on 11 April 1912 (spelling and grammar uncorrected).

Dear Father & Mother

I am on the briney ocean & nearing Queenstown, we passed Cherbourg last night.

I suppose you read about our narrow escape when coming out of the Docks at Southampton. The suckion [sic]power of the propellers was so great that she broke loose another vessel lying outside port and was only an airsbreath [sic] from hitting her.

I am very comfortable--getting good food and a good bunk, my wages are low but I will let you know all later as I want to catch the Queenstown mail, I am only writing to let you know I am all right.

I will write next week sending full particulars about my none too good job.

Well good by [sic]

I shall come home after the trip as it is cheaper they issue tickets at £1.

P.S. The boat's rocking about

Leonard Taylor died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified.

His mother and father remained in Blackpool, his father passing away in 1940. The letter he sent his parents remained in the family for many decades; in 2012 it was sold at auction in Boston and fetched in excess of $34,000.