Thomas Kelland was a Second Class Library steward on the Titanic. He died in the sinking.
Background[]
Thomas Kelland was a native of Charlton, Wiltshire in England, where his parents, both from Sommerset, conceived him. He was born into a huge family in September 20, 1892. The parents names were William Kelland and Isolt Berryman Spiller. The father was a blacksmith and Isolt was his second wife, after having lost Sarah Dribble in 1981. His first wife had given him several sons and daughters. The first was Henry, who she bore in 1876. Henry had a brother in 1878: John. Albert Thomas was next in 1879. They were blessed with a first daughter in 1881 and named her Eliza and she perceeded Ernest who came in 1887, followed in 1888 by another daughter, Sarah Ann and lastly William George, who was from 1890.
William senior wasn't Isolt's first husband either. She lost hers, Robert Berryman, in 1885, with whom she had 4 children. Robert's first child was Agnes in 1876, before Isolt gave him Elizabeth in 1879 and Edwin in 1881. Fanny was their last child that came into this world in 1883.
This meant that William had a lot of half-siblings. His own sibling, from the bond between William and Isolt was Edgar, a younger brother who arrived in 1895. In the early 1900s, William was missing from the household. The most obvious explanation for this is that he could have gone to sea to have a job on various vessels.
It looks like his mother was left without a husband for the second time in 1911. It's not sure wether William abondoned her or had died.
Titanic[]
Thomas meanwhile had been working for the White Star Line for quick some years. When he signed-on to the Titanic on 4 April 1912 Kelland lived in Bitterne when he was given a job on the Titanic as. He had worked on the Adriatic before embarking on the Olympic as a crew member, which was his last vessel before he switched to her sistership, where he was the library steward for the Second Class. He officially signed his contract on the 4th of April and came aboard in Southampton, from where Titanic would start her Maiden Voyage.
Second Class passenger Lawrence Beesley mentioned seeing a library steward during his account of the Titanic's Atlantic crossing. His description gives an insight into what Thomas must have been like and what his work on board the ship behelst.
"Looking over this room, with his back to the library shelves, is the library steward, thin, stooping, sad-faced, and generally with nothing to do but serve out books; but this afternoon he was busier than I have ever seen him, serving out baggage declaration-forms for passengers to fill in."
On the night of April 14, Titanic was making pace but through special circumstances, her lookout wasn't aware of an iceberg till she was right in front of Titanic, less than half a mile away. They couldn't see it eaerlier since it was very obscure. The bridge could only turn to port and slow Titanic down, while hoping for the best. It didn't go well. The Titanic had scratched the surface of the iceberg with her broadside, on starboard side. The water entered the ship through various cracks and dents that the iceberg had caused.
Beesley mentioned Thomas again when describing the events after the collision.
".... and on the way back to my cabin passed some stewards standing unconcernedly against the walls of the saloon: one of them, the library steward again, was leaning over a table, writing. It is no exaggeration to say that they had neither any knowledge of the accident nor any feeling of alarm that we had stopped and had not yet gone on again full speed: their whole attitude expressed perfect confidence in the ship and officers."
From this it seems Thomas was not aware of the danger he was in. Perhaps this was why he died when the ship sank. As the captain ordered for the evacuation just after midnight on April 15, only less than a third of the souls onboard could find a spot in a lifeboat. Titanic had surrendered herself to the sea at 2:20 A.M. Many people perished in the ice cold waters as a result.
After his death[]
His body was never identified as it was probably not recovered. His mother and brother were listed as his dependents and got financial aid from the Titanic Relief Fund. They later moved to Paddington in London. Isolt died in 1939 and Edgar married in 1920. He named his only son Thomas.
Portrayals[]
S.O.S. Titanic (1979)[]
Arthur Malet as Thomas Kelland in S.O.S. Titanic
| “ |
Well, might as well be early as late. The way they're pouring on the steam, chances are we'll dock on Tuesday, late Tuesday rather than Wednesday morning. Tonight seems likely to be our last night but one. |
” |
—Thomas Kelland to Lawrence Beesley | ||
Thomas Kelland was portrayed by actor Arthur Malet in S.O.S. Titanic. However, he is depicted as an old man instead of a 19 year old crew.
He first appeared on the night of April 11, reading in the Second Class Library, near Lawrence Beesley and Leigh Goodwin. He was seen again on the evening of April 12, when he announced to the passengers that the library would close in 5 minutes. On the evening of April 14th, he was busy working out the declaration forms for American Customs, he also asked Lawrence Beesley if he had filled them in or not. He was then seen asleep while still holding a pen and books piled up on his desk. He doesn't reappear for the rest of the film, but he died in the sinking.
Sources[]
Special thanks and credits to Marie Keates for allowing me to use a large part of this information on her blog:
Titanic tales from Bitterne Village – I Walk Alone - https://iwalkalone.co.uk/titanic-tales-from-bitterne-village/#more-55168