William Stephen Faulkner was a First Class Bedroom Steward aboard the RMS Titanic. William survived the sinking.
Early Life[]
William Stephen Faulkner was born on March 31st, 1875, in the Oxton Village suburb of Birkenhead, England. His parents were Samuel Faulkner (1852-May 12th, 1931), an iron-turner and professional cricket player, and Harriet Elizabeth Jenkins (September 29th, 1857-1928). His father, Samuel, was originally from Birkenhead, while his mother was born over two hundred and forty miles south in Southampton. The two of them married on March 9th, 1875, at St. Paul's Church in Liverpool, England.
William was one of ten children born to his parents. There are conflicting reports of the birth year of one of his siblings, George. Some place him as being born in 1875, making William and George twins, while others state he was born in 1877, meaning that William would be the sole eldest child. Whether George was born in 1875 or 1877, he would not make it past infancy, passing away in 1877. His other siblings were Henry Victor (born 1879), Beatrice Helen (born 1881), Harriet Maud (born 1883), Charles Frederick (born 1889), Florence Mary (1893-1976), Mildred Muriel (1894-1957), Lester (1896-1962), and Frank (1898-1898). Only George and Frank died in infancy.
When the 1881 census was recorded, six-year-old William was not living with his parents, but with his grandparents, William and Jane Faulkner, 64 and 61 years old, in Birkenhead, England. Also living there were an aunt and uncle, Mary and Geo Faulkner, 32 and 26 years old. Both his grandfather, William, and uncle, Geo, are described as domestic gardeners, while his grandmother, Jane, and aunt, Mary, have no listed occupation. On the other hand, his parents and two-year-old brother Henry were also living in Birkenhead, with his father being listed as an iron-turner and professional cricketer. In addition to parents and brother, William's other grandmother, Harriett Jenkins, a 42-year-old domestic cook, and uncles Stephen T. Jenkins, a seventeen-year-old domestic gardener, and George Jenkins, a sixteen-year-old clerk, were residing there too. It is possible that the Faulkner household had no extra space for William during the time of the 1881 census, but the reason for William's separation from his parents is ultimately unknown.
A decade later, the 1891 census no longer lists him living with his grandparents William and Jane, but with his parents and his four siblings living siblings at the time. The Faulkner's were living in Oxton Village, Birkenhead. His father was still working as an iron-turner and professional cricketer. By 1891, William, sixteen, had already left school and was recorded as an office boy - all of his other siblings were still in school. Also living with them was an uncle, George Faulkner, a domestic gardener.
However, William would not stay working on land for long. Within the next two years, he would leave his job as an office boy and begin working at sea. Mr. Faulkner would first appear in crew records in 1893 at the age of eighteen while working aboard the Britannia as a smoke room steward. However, the Britannia was not the first ship he worked aboard; it was the SS New York, but he was not listed on any crew records. Throughout his years at sea, William would work aboard ships from the Pacific Line, the Booth Line, and the White Star Line.
At the age of 24, William married Sybil Isabel Beams (June 9th, 1871 - November 12th, 1941), a lady from Ewell, England. The two married in the third quarter of 1899 in Birkenhead. Sybil was the daughter of Thomas (born 1838), a gardener, and Elizabeth Beams (born 1837). William and Sybil would have four children together, but only three would live past infancy. Their children were Frank Victor (October 4th, 1900-January 12th, 1983), Leonard Henry (October 30th, 1902-1976), Dorothy Adeline Sybil (1905-1905), and Eileen Marie (May 6th, 1906-July 31st, 1975).
For both the 1901 and 1911 censuses, William was not listed anywhere as he was working at sea. However, according to the 1901 census, his wife, Sybil, and his first son, Frank, were living on Woodville Road in Birkenhead, England. Due to this, it can be assumed that this was also Mr. Faulkner's place of residence. In 1906, his little brother, Charles Frederick, was working aboard the RMS Republic when it collided with another ship - he survived. Ten years later, his family was living at 16 Mounsey Road in the Tranmere suburb of Birkenhead, England. Sybil, 39, had no listed occupation, while his sons, Frank and Leonard, ten and eight, were attending school, and five-year-old Eileen stayed at home. About a year later, William would board the RMS Titanic.
Life on the Titanic[]
William was aboard the Titanic's delivery trip from Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Southampton, England. Mr. Faulkner would then sign on the Titanic's crew list to work aboard the liner for her Maiden Voyage to New York on April 4th. William gave his residence as 16 Mounsey Road, Birkenhead, England, which was the same place where his family was living during the 1911 census. His previous ship was listed as the RMS Celtic of the White Star Line. As a First Class Bedroom Steward, William would make a monthly salary of £3 15s, plus tips. When the Titanic left Southampton's port on April 10th, it nearly collided with the SS New York, which was the first ship William had worked aboard. After stopping in Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland, for more passengers and cargo, the Titanic sailed out into the open ocean.
Aboard the Titanic, William was one of 35 First Class Bedroom Stewards. It is known that Mr. Faulkner was responsible for staterooms in the forward starboard area of C-Deck. It seems probable that he took care of the pasengers staying in staterooms C-1 through C-15, only including odd numbers, and possibly C-41 and C-43, which were also nearby. There are two known occupants within this range of staterooms: Caroline Bonnell and Mary Natalie Wick in C-7. It's likely that Elizabeth Bonnell, George Dennick Wick and Mary Peebles Wick were also in this area as the five were all traveling together. Mr. Faulkner would have been responsible for the comfort of about four other First Class passengers in addition to these five.
The job of a First Class Bedroom Steward aboard the Titanic consisted of the following duties: vacuuming and cleaning the staterooms, bringing hot water and snacks when requested, cleaning the shoes of passengers when asked, supplying clean linen each day for beds, bringing meals to their passengers from the First Class Dining Saloon if they requested to eat in their room and adhering to any need or want their passengers may have. When not working, William shared a Glory Hole with either 25 other First Class Bedroom Stewards, or a space with 11 other First Class Bedroom Stewards, three pantry stewards, and five specialized stewards from First and Second Class. Both of these berths were located within Scotland Road on E-Deck.
The Sinking[]
When the Titanic struck the iceberg, it's more likely than not that William was asleep in his bunk on E-Deck. However, he and the other stewards would quickly leave their barracks when they figured out the ship was in danger. Just as the other First Class Bedroom Stewards, William would have when to his group of staterooms on C-Deck to wake and alert his passengers that there was a problem, assist them in finding their lifebelts, and ask them to quickly make their way up to the top decks.
Eventually, William found himself on the starboard side of the Second Class Promenade area of the Boat Deck, near the four starboard-aft lifeboats. There, it is likely he helped passengers board Lifeboat 9, which would become the 10th boat to leave the Titanic at 1:28 A.M. Mr. Faulkner would then move down one to Lifeboat 11, which would then be filled with passengers. While passengers were boarding the boat, First Class passenger Alice Catherine Cooper, a servant for the wealthy Allison family, came to him for assistance. Alice was holding an infant, Hudson Trevor Allison, who she was employed to take care of, which she passed over to William while getting in Lifeboat 11. He would hand her baby Trevor once she was safely in the lifeboat. William was also permitted to board Lifeboat 11, likely by First Officer Murdoch who was in charge of the filling and lowering of the boat. Lifeboat 11 was the eleventh lifeboat to leave the Titanic at 1:35 A.M., containing roughly forty people.
Lifeboat 11 would be the second to last boat picked up by the rescue ship, the RMS Carpathia, at about 8 A.M. During the three-day voyage aboard the Carpathia to New York, William was the only person that Alice Cleaver would allow to hold baby Trevor, who lost his whole family during the sinking, besides herself and Sarah Daniels, another surviving servant of the Allision family. The Carpathia arrived in New York on April 18th.
On April 20th, 1912, two articles were posted about William Faulker by the Birkenhead News:
- "Mr. William Faulkner Reported safe.
Probably among the best known of the Birkenhead members of the crew of the Titanic is Mr. William Faulkner, who was a steward on board the ship. Mr. Faulkner is the son of Mr. Samuel Faulkner, steward of the Birkenhead Constitutional Club, who is exceedingly well known to Birkonians as late groundsman to the Birkenhead Park Cricket Club.
His son William Faulkner, is 33 years of age, and is married, his home being in Mounsey Road, Birkenhead. He has been in the service of the White Star Line for a some considerable time, and was prior to joining the Titanic at Steward on board the Celtic. We reproduce a photo in this issue showing Faulkner on board the Celtic, with another member of the crew and a lady passenger. Mr. Faulkner has had considerable experience of life on the ocean, being formerly in the service of the Pacific and Booth Lines. It is interesting to recall that Mr. Faulkner’s brother, Charles, who is now on the ss Herefordshire, was a member of the crew of the ss Republic when that vessel collided with the Italian steamer Florida, about 170 miles east of New York. Mr. William Faulkner has himself had some exciting experiences at sea.
The greatest anxiety has been felt as to the safety of Mr. Faulkner by his parents and wife, who have been daily in communication with the White Star Line offices in Liverpool. Yesterday their feelings were somewhat set at rest by a cablegram received by Mr. Faulkner's wife - it read - ‘Safe, Willie’." The second article read by the Birkenhead News says:
The second article says:
- "Local Survivors
Birkenhead People Among The Saved
Yesterday at noon Mr. Sam Faulkner of Birkenhead crossed over to Liverpool to the offices of the White Star Co., to hear if tidings had been received of the fate of his son, Mr. William Faulkner. As was reported in our Wednesday’s issue, this young man was a steward on board the ill-fated liner. That journey of Mr. Faulkner’s was one of many, and was as fruitless as the rest. The officials could not state that his son was numbered among the survivors. An hour or two later a telegraph messenger knocked at the door of Mr. Faulkner’s residence in Mounsel Road, Higher Tranmere. Mrs. Faulkner received from him a cablegram which gave her the most pleasurable shock of her life. It read ‘’Safe, Returning Lapland’’. The cablegram was handed in at New York at 10.55 a.m. (American time), and came through Charing Cross Post Office.
After the anguish of the last few days the message came as a great relief to Mrs. William Faulkner, and to the young man’s father and mother, and his large circle of acquaintances in Birkenhead. Mrs Faulkner, we understand, intends to frame the cablegram." William was not required to give testimony at the American and British Enquiries. He returned to his home in Birkenhead aboard the SS Lapland. William was one of six out of 35 First Class Bedroom Stewards to survive the sinking.
Later Life[]
Even after surviving the Titanic disaster, William continued to work at sea. Due to no English censuses past the 1911 census being currently available, details about William's life become quite vague. However, by looking at crew manifest records, his employment can be loosely tracked. During the mid-1920s, Mr. Faulkner worked aboard the RMS Adriatic, and from 1930 until his retirement in the mid-1940s he served aboard the MV Britannic. William was never deterred from working in the Victualling Department, however, he did change his job from a Bedroom Steward at least once. For at least one voyage aboard the MV Britannic during the 1940s William worked as a First Class Bath Steward. After decades of working at sea, Mr. Faulker would retire at some point during the mid-1940s.
At an unknown time between the sinking of the Titanic and the 1940s, the Faulkner family left Birkenhead to move to 20 Greenbank Drive in the Wirral area of Liverpool, England.
On November 12th, 1941, William was made a widower when Sybil, his wife of 42 years, passed away in Liverpool, England, due to an unspecified illness.
William Faulkner himself would pass away a few years later on September 22nd, 1949, in Liverpool at the age of 74 years. At the time of his death, William was suffering from both stomach cancer and bronchopneumonia. He is buried with Sybil at the Landicran Cemetery in Birkenhead, England.
The first-born son of William and Sybil, Frank, would go on to a shipbuilding electrician. He would marry a woman by the name of Sybil Mutch (1905-1978) in 1927. They would have two children together: Doreen (born 1929) and Brian (born 1937). Frank passed away on January 12th, 1983 in Birkenhead aged 82.
Their son Leonard would work as a shipwright and would web a lady named Nellie Hunt (1904-1975) in 1929 in Birkenhead. They had multiple children together. Leonard passed away in 1976 at the age of 73 or 74 years. William's surviving daughter, Eileen, would never marry or have any children. To make a living, she found employment as a clerk. Eileen died at the age of 69 in Birkenhead on July 31st, 1975.