Eroll Victor McGaw was a fireman aboard Titanic.
Early life[]
Eroll Victor McGaw was born in early 1882 in Aldershot, Hampshire, England to Robert McGaw and Ellen Wills Boxer. Eroll had one older brother, Robert William and a younger sister: Agnes Isabella.
After father Robert died in 1887, Ellen had a relationship with James Oliver Watson, a boat maker from Southampton, and soon Eroll had another sibling, a half sister named Ivy Marguerite.
By 1891, the family were living in Folkestone, where Ellen had been born but, after Ellen and John married in 1898, they resettled in Southampton. By 1901 they we’re living in Ash Tree Road South Stoneham.
In 1902 Eroll married Mary Anne Francis Clarke from St Denys. Between 1903 and 1909, they had three children, Florence, Eroll and Dorothy. By 1911, they were living on Queenstown Road Freemantle. Eroll was driving a baker’s van for a local cooperative. Most likely this was a horse drawn van.
In April 1911, mother Ellen was widowed once again when Eroll lost his stepdad James. He was very important to Errol had probably thought of as a father since he was just five years old.
Titanic[]
His death is probably what must have prompted him to go to sea. At some time that year he joined Oceanic as a fireman. About the same time his family seem to have moved to Broadlands Road. After his service aboard Oceanic, he went to join Titanic in April 1912.
On April 14, the ship had struck an iceberg late in the night, and started to sink as a result. On April 15, evacuation started, but the ship eventually foundered. Like so many of the firemen aboard, McGaw did not survive and his body was never identified.
Mary Anne did not remarry and continued to live in Hampshire. She died in Winchester in 1971.
Sources[]
Special thanks and credits to Marie Keates for allowing me to use a large part of this information on her blog:
https://iwalkalone.co.uk/the-final-titanic-tales-from-portswood-part-one/ The final Titanic tales from Portswood part one – I Walk Alone