John O’Connor was a trimmer on the Titanic, he survived the sinking likely on Collapsible B.
Biography[]
John “Jack” O’Connor was born on December 22nd, 1882 in Southampton, England. He was the son of William O’Connor, a dock labourer Irishman hailing from Queenstown and his wife Ann Cushen. His father originated from Cork while his mother came from London. Her husband was 10 years her senior.
John was their second child. Before him, a sister came to this world with the name Margaret Ann, in 1881. Another sister was Mary, who was conceived in 1884. John had one brother in 1886: James Francis. Following him was Ellen Bridget in 1891.
Growing up, he went to sea and served in the Royal Navy in the early 1900s for sometime before working for the merchant ship company White Star Line later. Between 1911 and 1912, he had done work as a stoker aboard Titanic's sister ship, the Olympic. He received monthly wages of £5, s10 working as a trimmer.
Titanic[]
John joined the Titanic as a substituting trimmer for somebody who didn’t sail with the ship at the time. He gave his age as 25, and his local address as 9 Tower Place, Southampton. This is from where he left the mainland on the Titanic after noon on April 10.
When the ship hit the iceberg on the night of April 14, her damage was too great to remain buoyant. On April 15, after midnight, it was clear that she would eventually sink and the captain started the evacuation. It’s generally believed that John found a spot on the upturned Collapsible B and was picked up by lifeboats 12 and 4 later that morning.
After arriving in New York on the Carpathia on April 18, he returned to Britain. He wasn’t required to give evidence at the inquiries held after the sinking.
Later life[]
He continued working at sea into the 1920’s. There are hints that he was working for the rival of White Star Line, the Cunard Line, perhaps doing service on the Caronia and Mauretania but this needs confirmation.
He never got married and lived the rest of his life in Southampton, where he passed away on December 30th, 1934.