Wilfred Deable Seward
Wilfred Deable Seward was part of the Second Class' Victualling Crew on Titanic.
Early life[]
Wilfred Deable Seward was born in on March 5th, 1887 in Shoreditch, London. His father was William Henry Seward who originated from Southampton and his mother was Alice Louisa Trout from Cork in Ireland.
Wilfred was the eldest of ten children and the family moved to various locations over the years from Borkenhead, Liverpool, Essex and Tottenham. In the year 1911, aged just 14, Wilfred already worked as a ship steward.
Titanic[]
In 1912, Seward transferred from Olympic to Titanic and was on board from Belfast, although he did not sign-on for the delivery trip. He formally signed-on in Southampton as Second Class Chief Pantry Steward. He was 25 years old at the time and unmarried, while paying rent at a place in Southampton, which he house with two other men, who joined him on Titanic. They were colleagues on the Olympic as well and their names were Frank Herbert Morris and Ernest Hamilton. Frank was a First Class Bathroom Steward and Ernest had found work as a First Class Smoke Room Assistant.
On April 14 at late night, the unthinkable happened. Titanic struck an iceberg. At the time of the collision Wilfred was in his bunk. He got up but returned to his bunk to sleep. He was awoken when a steward ordered all men on deck. Seward checked the lifeboat list in the pantry and assisted passengers with their life preservers.
During the evaction on April 15, he first went to help with lifeboat 5, and then moved to his assigned lifeboat, number 3. When it was lowered, he was saved from the sinking ship.
He was called to give evidence at the British Inquiry. His account didn’t reveal much noteworthy for the investigators. He would give a very exaggerated estimation on the number of occupants in his lifeboat.
Later life[]
Seward returned to sea. In 1914 enlisted to the 10th Scottish Battalion, The King's Liverpool Regiment. He arrived in France on November 1st but was discharged four weeks later suffering from rheumatism. ‘The Liverpool Daily Post’ reported he contracted frostbite in the trenches over the Christmas period.
He then served in the Merchant Navy during the War and married Lylla Marion Box on August 17, 1917. They had two children: a girl named Doris was born in 1920 and a son, Peter James was conceived in 1926. His daughter recounted an amusing anecdote regarding his long periods away from home at sea. She and her fiancé wrote to him for permission to marry and his reply arrived 18 months after their ceremony.
Wilfred worked aboard Majestic and the Olympic before a long association with the Queen Mary. He served in the Merchant Navy once again during the Second World War and then retired from sea bound work in 1953 . It didn't mean he could be tempted away from his "beloved ships" as he still worked as a patrol officer on the Southampton docks for the Queen Mary.
In 1954 Wilfred and his wife moved to Ballymoney, County Antrim in Northern Ireland to be close to their daughter. He provided his account to William McQuitty as part of the preparation for the film 'A Night to Remember'. He would tell about his Titanic experience to the local media. For example, it was reported in the 'Ballymena Weekly Telegraph' that he still had the keys to Titanic's Second Class Pantry in his possession.
Wilfred passed away on December 12, 1963 in Ballymoney, County Antrim, Ireland. His wife died in December 1967. They were both laid to rest in the Ballymoney Borough Council Cemetery.