Mr Richard Royston Proudfoot (Trimmer) was born in Plymouth, Devon, England on 15 August 1890.

He was the son of Royston Jesse Proudfoot (b. 1863) and Jane Gendle Williams (b. 1872), natives of Sheffield, Yorkshire and Devonport, Devon respectively and who had married in 1889 in Plymouth.

He had four siblings: Helen Louisa (1892-1961, later Mrs Frederick Winter), John Leonard (1894-1967), Lillian (1893-1953, later Mrs Frederick Fisher) and Bertie (1896-1958).

Richard first appears on the 1891 census living at 14 Seaton Place, Devonport with his mother at his grandparents' home, with his father, a seaman, missing and presumably at sea. By the time of the 1901 census Richard is living with his mother and an uncle at 111 Firgrove Road, Sholing.

Richard, aged just shy of his 15th birthday, joined the Royal Navy on 12 July 1905, convincing the powers-that-be that he was two years older. His first ship was the Boscawen III and he went on to serve aboard the Hawke, followed by the Caesar, his final voyage before he was discharged in 9 October 1906. His conduct was not glowing, being described only as fair and he was shown to have spent ten days in the cells on one occasion. Physically he stood at 5' 6½" and had brown hair and eyes and a fair complexion with a mole on his right cheek.

It is believed Proudfoot then went into the merchant service. The 1911 census shows him with both his parents and his siblings living at 2 Pear Tree Green, Itchen, Southampton, Richard being described as a trimmer and unmarried.

When Henry signed on to the Titanic as a trimmer, he gave his address as 2 Pear Tree Green, Itchen. As a trimmer he could expect to receive wage of £5 10s per month.

Richard Proudfoot was lost in the Titanic disaster. His body, if recovered, was never identified.

Richard's mother Jane died in 1932 in Southampton. His father died in Key West, Florida on 18 September 1927. His last surviving sibling was his elder sister Helen; she died in Portsmouth on 21 March 1961.