Maude Louise Slocombe (July 31st, 1881 - July 30th, 1967) was one of the two Masseuses of the Turkish Bath on the Titanic. She survived the sinking and was photographed with colleagues after the disaster.
When she signed on to the Titanic, she noticed several parts of the ship were in unfinished condition and half-eaten sandwiches were left in various corners. This included the Turkish Bath, were she worked. She laughingly attributed this to the builders being Belfast men. This meant however that she could not open the place for business before April 14, because the whole mess had to be cleant first.
As she later recounted in an interview in 1957, she was in bed at the time of the collision and was alerted by a thud. she rose up, went out into the passageway and encountered Second-in-command Steward George Charles Dodd who told her to get dressed and go up on deck, but when she pressed for an explanation as to what was wrong, he replied that he did not know.
Upon reaching the upper decks she described a calm and almost "cheerful" atmosphere and had high praise for the conduct of the crew. Upon an attempted return to her cabin for some personal possessions, she was halted by rising water and she returned to the upper decks.
Although she would later claim she was in the last lifeboat to leave the Titanic, it is generally believed that she was rescued in lifeboat 11, as she described her boat as being loaded with 72 persons. From her vantage point in the lifeboat, she could watch the final moments of the ship, and she claimed to have heard the band play Nearer My God To Thee.
After surviving the sinking and making her way to New York aboard the Carpathia, she returned to England aboard the Lapland.
During the 1950s, she corresponded with Walter Lord during his research for his book A Night to Remember. She is credited in the book alongside her many anecdotes of the disaster.
Portrayals[]
S.O.S. Titanic (1979)[]
Anna Quayle as Maude Slocombe in S.O.S. Titanic
| “ |
Ten minutes more dear, be brave. And Mrs Brown, your time is up, Lovey! |
” |
—Maude Slocombe to Irene Harris and Margaret Brown | ||
Maude Slocombe was portrayed by actress Anna Quayle in S.O.S. Titanic.
She first appeared when first class passengers Irene Harris and Margaret Brown were in an electric bath, wherein Irene complained to Maude that she seemed to be half boiling, while Mrs. Brown, who had run out of bath time, asked for another half hour and asked her for an aspirin.
"And Mrs Brown, your time is up, Lovey!"
Maude was then seen massaging passengers in the Turkish Bath, and helping the Countess of Rothes get dressed.
Noticing that young Jack Thayer and Milton Long were peeking out of the door, Maude rushed over to them and scolded them. Thayer and Long reasoned that they were just looking for a way to the swimming pool, Maude snapped back and told them to leave immediately.
Sources[]
- ' Titanic: de ware verhalen', by Edward P. de Groot