William John Carney was one of the lift attendants on the Titanic.
Early life[]
William Jorn Carney was born between 1880 and 1881 in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales. He was the son of Charles Carney and Eliza Jane Harris. While Charles was a Welshman, Eliza was English and from the Devon region. He was the eldest child, having 2 younger sisters and 4 brothers. The first three were Bertie Constantine, Reginald Henry and Dora Vivian, born in 1882, 1886 and 1887 respectively. John Edgar was next in 1890, Elsie Alice came after him in 1892 and finally, William and Eliza had Ivor Charles in 1895.
William's career started after his father premature death in 1895, forcing William to make the money for the family. He worked as a laborer at a shipyard and as an assistant boilermaker.
Titanic[]
He signed-on to the Titanic on April 6, 1912 and boarded her in Southampton. He had worked on the Majestic before he joined the new liner for her Maiden Voyage. On Titanic, he would attend the First Class elevators.
On April 14, the ship had stuck an iceberg. The damage sustained on her hull let a lot of seawater in. On April 15, after midnight, the commanders of the ship concluded that she couldn't stay afloat and evacuation was needed. Two hours and 40 minutes after the collision, Titanic foundered. During the evacuation, the lifts were out of operation.
William died in the sinking. He is body was recovered by the CS Mackay-Bennett and marked as number #251. He was buried in Fairview Lawn Cemetry in Halifax, where many other Titanic victims were buried after their bodies were found.
NO. 251 - MALE - ESTIMATED AGE, 50 - HAIR, FAIR
CLOTHING - Brown suit; steward's jacket and buttons; blue pants below.
EFFECTS - Nail clipper; keys; comb; letters; gold ring.
NAME - William Carney
11 Caird St, West Derby Rd, Liverpool
Popular Culture[]
A possilble appearance of William John Carney in the 1997 movie 'Titanic'.
Titanic (1997)[]
Carney presumably made an appareance as a lift attendent in the 1997 movie 'Titanic'. He was at the scene of Rose and Jack running from Lovejoy while they barge into the lift while Rose flips Spicer off when he's too late to get in and the doors are closed, Lovejoy slamming on them in frustration. One could only wonder what the lift attendant was thinking.
On the night of April 15, with Titanic's bow is laying deep into the water while she is sinking faster, it's just after 1 o'clock, when he is seen standing near the lift on A-Deck, telling an older pair of First Class passengers that the lifts are closed and can't be used, to his regret, which annoys the lady. He repeats his given orders to Rose who storms at the elevator and nearly bumps into him, in her bid to save Jack from drowning. Already hating the presumptious nature of First Class manners, she is not dissuaded by this and with a wild expression in her eyes, she pushes the attendent against the wall, to his surprise, while he is also not seeming to mind the fiery expression of this woman. She orders him to take her to E-Deck and he complies, shutting the doors and bringing the elevator down.
The lift attendent and Rose silently are in the elevator when the lift descends. When reaching E-Deck, the water suddenly splushes into the lift, making the attendent and Rose scream as they are knocked back a little bit. The attendent wants to go back up immediately but Rose thrusts forward, not letting him stop her from going out of the elevator. He warns her a couple times, that he is really going back, but Rose is persistent to get to Jack and gets onto the flooded E-Deck. She looks back one last time while the attendent takes the lift back to the upper decks, which is happening slowly with all the water in it.