Encyclopedia Titanica

Pietro Giuseppe Bochet

Italian waiter in Titanic's à la carte restaurant

Pietro Giuseppe Bochet
Pietro Giuseppe Bochet

Pietro Giuseppe Bochet 1 was born at 9 pm on 29 September 1868 in Saint-Pierre in Aosta in northern Italy, one of several children born to Bernardo Giacomo Bochet and Maria Rosa Paillex. 

On 9 September 1896 Bochet was married, in the Commune of La Thuille, to Maria Eugénie Dolores Martinet2 (b. 1871). The couple remained childless but later adopted a daughter, Maria Zelia Lale-Gerard (b. 1897).

The small family relocated from Italy to England where Bochet worked in various restaurants; by the time of the 1911 census they were living at 19 Stephen Street on Tottenham Court Road, west London and Bochet was described as a restaurant superintendent. 

When he signed-on to the Titanic on 6 April 1912 Bochet gave his address as 4 Tonbridge House, Mercer Street, Long Acre, London. The Titanic was his first working sea voyage and he boarded the ship on 10 April. As a member of the waiting staff in the ship's à la carte restaurant, he was therefore employed and paid by Luigi Gatti

Giuseppe Bochet died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified. 

Bochet's probate, settled on 11 December 1912, lists his last address as 5 Shakespeare Avenue, Southampton; his estate was valued at £120, 16s and later administered to his widow who also received financial relief from the Mansion House fund.

What became of his widow is uncertain; his adopted daughter was married in Southampton in 1918 to Luigi Rodolfe Toschi and they had a son named Paolo following year. What became of them is also unclear and there is a possibility that they resettled in Italy.

Notes

  1. Sometimes listed as Pierre.
  2. Full name as per Bochet's probate report but other sources give her name as Maria Eugénie Dorothea Martinet.

References and Sources

Estratto per riassunto dal registro degli Atti di Nascita (Birth Certificate)
Estratto per Riassunto dal Registro degli Atti di Morte (Death Certificate)
Probate Report
Titanic Relief Fund Booklet,
March 1913. C340.
Titanic Memorial Fund Relief Book No. 3, 13th December 1929. C340
United States Senate, Washington 1912. n° 806, Crew List
Il Lavoro – Genova, 25 May 1912.
Agreement and Account of Crew (PRO London, BT100/259)
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Titanic Crew Summary

Name: Mr Pietro Giuseppe Bochet
Age: 43 years 6 months and 16 days (Male)
Nationality: Italian
Marital Status: Married to Maria Eugénie Dolores Martinet
Occupation: Waiter
Embarked: Southampton
Died in the Titanic disaster (15th April 1912)
Body Not Identified

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