Wessel van der Brugge

Name: Mr Wessel Adrianus van der Brugge Age: 42 years Last Residence: in Southampton Hampshire England Occupation: Fireman / Stoker Engine crew First Embarked: Southampton Died in the sinking. Body Not Recovered

Mr Wessel Adrianus van der Brugge, 42, was born in Holland.

He signed-on to the Titanic on 6 April and was on board on 10 April. His monthly wages were £6. He gave his local address as the Sailors' Home, Southampton. His previous ship was the Tamar.

Van der Brugge died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified.

Wessel Adrianus had two brothers and a sister, Cornelia van der Brugge, who became concerned about his whereabouts. In October 1911 she wrote a letter to the foreign ministery of Holland, asking where her brother might be? She was told, he was on his way to South-America. In May 1912, Cornelia received news from the consul-general of Holland in London, that her brother was on an English ship bound for Santos, Brazil.

On 16 August "The Royal Mail Steam Packet Co." told the consul that Wessel appeared in Southampton on 23 March 1912. In the end, on 31 August, Cornelia was told by the police that her brother died in the sinking of the Titanic. She could not believe it and wrote a letter to the consul in London on 1 September, whether this was true. The consul replied, and he confirmed the news to her by a notice of the Board of Trade from 23 July 1912, which asked to whom the estate of Van der Brugge (£1 4s) should go to. In October 1912 his siblings received the money. On Van der Brugges "Account of Wages and Effects of a Deceased Seaman" from 7 May 1912 only his outstanding wages of £1 4s are listed. Unlike his English colleagues, who received a half month's salary as bonus..

Dutch translation :

Wessel Adrianus van der Brugge (Delfshaven, 17 oktober 1873 - Atlantische Oceaan, 15 april 1912) was een van de drie Nederlanders aan boord van de RMS Titanic. Evenmin als de twee andere Nederlanders (jhr. J.H. Reuchlin en Hendrik Bolhuis) overleefde hij de scheepsramp die het einde betekende van de eerste vaart van het onzinkbaar geachte schip.

Van der Brugge was stoker aan boord van het schip. Hij had twee broers en één zuster. Deze laatste - Cornelia - was al een aantal jaren voorafgaand aan de ramp, op zoek naar haar broer. Via het ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken was haar in eerste instantie gemeld dat Wessel in Zuid-Amerika zou zijn. Pas op 31 augustus 1912 gewerd haar dat haar broer was overleden tijdens het zinken van de Titanic. Zijn lichaam werd - zo het al geborgen werd - nooit geïdentificeerd.