Titanic's Crew

The list of the RMS Titanic crew named 869 men and 23 women as crewmembers, in addition to her officers. Most of the crew boarded in Southampton, England, just after sunrise on the day of her maiden voyage, April 10, 1912. All of the officers, except for Captain Edward Smith, had already spent the night on board. They would be in charge of all the day-to-day navigation duties. Captain Smith said goodbye-to his wife and daughter at his home in Southampton and boarded the ship around 7:30 am.

Titanic officers. Captain Smith is seated, 2nd from right

The crew included seamen, who assisted the officers; firemen (or "stokers"), who shoveled the coal into boilers; engineers, who helped run the engines and machinery; saloon stewards, bedroom stewards, and chefs. The women included 18 stewardesses, two cashiers, a masseuse, a Turkish Bath attendant, and a woman who chaperoned the single women in third class.

Titanic crew members wearing lifevests

Several teenage boys, a few as young as 14 and 15, were employed as crewmembers. They worked as bellboys (also called “buttons”) and carried luggage, as pageboys, running errands and delivering telegrams, or as “liftboys” operating the elevators.

Only 214 crew members survived the sinking of the Titanic, 194 men and 20 women. None of the bellboys, pageboys, or liftboys survived. Most of the crew came from Southampton. On one street alone, 20 families lost loved ones in the disaster. Their families could not claim any compensation from the Titanic’s White Star Line. However, over $2 million was raised by the British Titanic Relief Fund and other British charities to help the families of those hardest hit. In the United States, $261,000 was raised.

Do you have a question about the crew, or something else related to the Titanic? Leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer it next week. Thanks!