Edmond Roger Navratil (March 5th, 1910 - July 7th, 1953) was a Second Class passenger of the Titanic. He survived the sinking.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Edmond was born on 5 March 1910 in Nice, France. He was the second son of Michel Navratil and Marcella Caretto. His brother Michel Marcel Navratil was born in 1908.
His parents got separated, the boys going with their mother. They went to stay with their father over the Easter weekend, but when Marcelle came to collect them, they had disappeared.
Aboard the Titanic[]
He boarded the Titanic at Southampton with his father, Michel and brother Michel Jr. The family was traveling under the assumed name of Hoffman, Mr. Navratil had stolen his two sons from his estranged wife Marcelle.
During the voyage the boys were looked after once by Bertha Lehmann, a Swiss girl who spoke French but no English, while their father played cards for a few hours. It was the only time he let them out of his sight.
Edmond and his brother were rescued in Collapsible D, the last functional lifeboat to be launched, but their father perished.
"Titanic Orphans"[]
Aboard the Carpathia, the boys, unable to speak English, were dubbed the Orphans of the Titanic, when they turned out to be the only children who remained unclaimed by an adult. First Class survivor, Miss Margaret Hays agreed to care for the boys at her New York home (304 West 83rd Street) until family members could be contacted.
Marcelle Navratil, recognized her boys from newspaper stories and was brought over to America by the White Star Line where she was reunited with her sons on May 16. The three sailed back to France on the Oceanic.
Later Life and Death[]
In later life, Edmond worked as interior decorator and then became an architect and builder. He was married.
During World War II, he fought with the French Army, was captured and made a prisoner-of-war. He managed to escape from the camp in which he was held, but his health had suffered and he died on 7 July 1953 aged 43. He is buried at the Cimetière De L'Égalité, in Lourdes.
In popular culture[]
S.O.S. Titanic (1979)[]
Edmond Roger Navratil in S.O.S. Titanic
Edmond has appeared several times on S.O.S. Titanic. During the sinking, his father escorted him and his brother to one of the lifeboats, but his father was not allowed to come with them. First class passenger Irene Harris carried Edmond and guarded the two of them while in the lifeboat.
Edmond with Margaret Brown on board the Carpathia
Aboard the Carpathia, the Countess of Rothes took care of Edmond and his brother, while they played with Edith Louise Rosenbaum's "Lucky Pig", and he were later picked up by Margaret Brown.