Wilfred Deable Seward

http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/wilfred-deabl...

• Name: Mr Wilfred Deable Seward
• Born: Saturday 5th March 1887
• Age: 25 years
• Last Residence: in London London England
• Occupation: Chief Pantry Steward (2nd Class) Victualling crew
• Last Ship: "Olympic"
• First Embarked: Southampton
• Rescued (Boat 3)
• Disembarked Carpathia: New York City on Thursday 18th April 1912
• Died: Thursday 12th December 1963
• Reference: https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-lifeboat-3/ Life Boat No. 3
• Reference: https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-deckplans/ R.M.S. Titanic deck plans

Mr Wilfred Deable Seward was born in London on 5 March 1887.

Seward had transferred from the Olympic and was on board the Titanic for her trip from Belfast to Southampton although he does not appear to have signed-on for the trip.

When he did eventually sign-on to the Titanic on 4th April 1912, he gave his local address as 5 Shirley Rd., (Southampton) (1). As Chief Pantry Steward he received monthly wages of £4 10s.

On the night of the sinking:

"I remember one of my staff coming to the cabin and telling me that the ship had bumped something. I didn’t think it was anything important so I just lay on my bunk, and read on. Shortly afterwards, someone called, ‘You’d better get up, there’s something wrong.’ I went on deck and was told we had hit an iceberg.

When he arrived on deck he said he helped passengers on with their life-jackets, then he made his way to lifeboat 5 but then went to his allocated boat (#3.)

I was ordered into a boat; there were about fifty or sixty other people with me. When we were being lowered and still a long way above the water, the boat capsized us and we were all pitched into the water."

When Seward testified at the British Inquiry. He did not mention the boat being capsized and other survivors accounts only mention difficulty with lowering the boat. For his attendence on the fifteenth day of the hearing he received expenses of £10.8s.

In 1954 he moved to Ballymoney, County Antrim, Northern Ireland and in 1962 the newspaper The Constitution carried an article telling his story.

Wilfred Deable Seward on 13th December 1963.

Notes His home address was 54 Stamford Street, London.

References and Sources Board of Trade Hearings, Day 15, Testimony Agreement and Account of Crew (PRO London, BT100/259) Stephen Cameron (1998) Titanic: Belfast's Own. Dublin, Wolfhound Press. ISBN 0 86327 685 7 United States Senate, Washington 1912. n° 806, Crew List The Constitution, 1962 (Reprinted in The Chronicle, 31 January 1998)

Credits Cameron Bell, Northern Ireland Hermann Söldner, Germany Brian Ticehurst, UK Bill Wormstedt, USA

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/104822780/wilfred-deable-seward Titanic survivor.

Worked on the Titanic as the Chief Pantry Steward for the Second Class Passengers.

Survived the sinking in Lifeboat #3.

Testified at the British Inquiry.

Married in 1917 to Lylla Marion Box.

Moved to Ballymoney, Northern Ireland in 1954.

Wilfred Deable Seward passed away in 1963.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: May 24 2019, 11:12:43 UTC
• Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: May 24 2019, 11:15:09 UTC
• Reference: Full text- https://archive.org/details/truthabouttitani00grac/page/n6 "The Truth About the Titanic" by Colonel Archibald Gracie, IV 1913 pp. 248-261

BOAT No. 3.*

No disorder in loading or lowering this boat.

Passengers: Mesdames Cardeza and maid (Anna Hard), Davidson, Dick, Graham, Harper, Hays and maid (Miss Pericault), Spedden and maid (Helen Wilson) and son Douglas and his trained nurse. Miss Burns, and Misses Graham and Shutes.

Men: Messrs. Cardeza and man-servant (Lesneur), Dick, Harper and man-servant (Hamad Hassah) and Spedden.

Men who helped load women and children in this boat and sank with the ship: Messrs. Case, Davidson, Hays and Roebling.

Crew: Seamen: Moore (in charge), Forward Pascoe. Steward: McKay; Firemen: '5 or 6'; or '10 or 12.'

Total: 40