Joseph Henry Couch was a greaser on the Titanic.
Background[]
Joseph Henry Couch was born in Bootle, Lancashire, England on 8 October 1862 and he was baptised on 5 November that same year in St Mary's Church, Bootle. He was the son of Thomas Couch (1822-1889) and Ellen Berry (1841-1896). His father was Irish by birth and his mother was originally from Kinglsey, Cheshire, and they married in West Derby, Lancashire in 1861.
Joseph Henry Couch was a He was a first child born to former Irishman Thomas Couch who had married Ellen Berry from Kingsley, Cheshire, back in 1861. The wedding took place in West Derby, Lancashire, England. They were residing in this county in Bootle. where they conceived their son. Four daughters and two other sons were also produced later. Joseph preceeded Ellen, who was given life in 1866, as well Mary Jane, who had been welcomed in 1868. Joseph's first brother to be added to the family was Thomas Edward in 1869, followed by another girl, Mary Alice, in 1871, who had a younger sister in 1874, named Anne. In 1876, Elizabeth saw the light and George completed the family in 1879.
They let their son be lustrated at Saint Mary’s Church in Bottle on November 5. In the 1870s, the Crouches lived in a different street. They had changed adress again in the 1880s. Joseph had turned 18 in 1881 and worked at the docks. He went to sea later. Having lost his father in 1889, he went to sea. He did some stoker jobs during those periods.
In the 1900s, Joseph was still at sea.
Titanic[]
Joseph was among the crew onboard Majestic in 1912, just before he was employed for service on the RMS Titanic, signing onto the luxury liner on April 6 in Southampton, where he was staying during the time with another family, perhaps as a boarder. He was a Greaser, a function that beheld lubricating the ship’s engines. The mighty steamer left Southampton port after 12 P.M. on Wednesday April 10.
Several days later, Titanic found herself in a dire situation, while everything had gone to plan before. The night of April 14 looked sereen, with calm sea and little wind. The lookouts on Titanic didn’t see anything, but little did they know, they had been steaming towards an iceberg for a while now, an obstacle that was not clear to see just before Titanic would reach it. They alarmed the bridge and the First Officer made Titanic go to hard-to-port by turning her rudder to starboard, whilst also slowing the engines down. Titanic could not avoid the iceberg completely and struck it on starboard side, the hull bumping against it, which weakened the steel to have small slits appearing, letting the seawater in. The damage was on a large part of her hull, in six forward compartments. She could not stay afloat like this.
This was also the conlusion that shipbuilder Thomas Andrews had drawn, when he had been summoned by Captain Smith. On midnight, delivered his crushing verdict. Titanic could only hold on for 2 more hours at best. The captain was in shock and gave the order for the lifeboats to be detached from their stands.
Where Joseph Henry Couch was during the night is not known. Whether he was on duty, or in his berth at the time of the contact, is left open. Nevertheless, Titanic was sinking and she went into the depths, bow first, with her stern breaking off between funnels three and four. Then, she slid with her stern vertically in the air, down the surface. Over 1503 souls found their death. Joseph Henry Couch was one of them. Later, White Star Line had chartered vessels to be sent out looking for bodies, but Mr. Couch wasn’t among the bodies that were found.