Edward Brown
Edward Brown (March 20, 1878 - June 3, 1926) was a First Class Saloon Steward aboard Titanic.
He was born on March 20th, 1878 in Holyhead, Angelsey, Wales. He was the son of Hugh Jones Brown, a mariner. His mother was Margaret Williams. Both were also born in Holyhead. The family consisted of four children: him, his brothers Thomas and Hugh, and his sister Ann.
In 1881 his father was missing. By 1901 he was an orphan. He took a job as barman, and went to sea 3 years later. being initaly employed by the Dominion Line.
He had vast experience being part of the victualling crew on many White Star Liners: The Cedric, the Teutonic, the Oceanic, the Adriatic, and then on Titanic's sistership Olympic. He was a First Class Steward.
Edward Brown enlisted for Titanic on April 1st, and already was among the crew when Titanic had to be delivered from Belfast to Southampton.
On the late night of Sunday 14 April, Titanic had scraped her hull against an iceberg, and Edward was in his cabin, sleeping as he had no shift at that time. It woke him up but he didn't think much of it and continued drowsing. Around midnight, stewards were assembled and he was ordered up to the Boat Deck as well.
On Friday the 12th he had checked which lifeboat he was assinged to. It was written on a list in a pantry: lifeboat 5. He didn't board it, but instead helped loading it, he did the same with lifeboat 3 and 1.
He was among the crowd of people frantically trying to load Collapsble C. He testified that the White Star Line director, Bruce Ismay was helping as best as he could and boarded before the lifeboat was launched.
He was at the scene of the preparation of Collapsible A and he aided in this very difficult task. He wasn't aware of any danger, he later wrote after the disaster. Seven or eight men, him included were on top of the Officer's quarters, and three were on the Boat Deck shoving 2 oars at the bow of the boat. The boat slided off onto the deck. Then they tried to push her to the davits but the port list made it difficult for them to do this.
He still heard the musicians playing at that time, and saw them at the forward part of the Boat Deck. It was just after 2:00 A.M. He saw four or five women on deck waiting to board when the boat would be ready. Captain Smith was walking past them and talking to his megaphone: "That's it men. Do your best for the women and children, take care of yourselves.
A few minutes later, the bridge dived under water. Edward was possibly trying to cut ropes but it was too late. He had managed to get in Collapsible A. When seeing Titanic's final minutes, he heard a big explosion coming from the ship.
He was a tough man. He couldn't swim but his lifebelt helped him pull himself into Collapsible A. Despite his swollen feet he helped with the rowing after lifeboat 14 had come to rescue the Collapsible A occupants.
He got married to Bertha Holden in 1919, but his health starting to decline. His family believed that his survival of the Titanic disaster was the main cause. The couple had a daughter the following year named Elizabeth Margaret.
In the 1920s he continued his jobs as steward or saloon steward on other vessels.
On June 3rd, 1926 Edward Brown passed away in Liverpool.
Sources[]
- 'De Titanic: De ware verhalen' (2012) Edward P. De Groot