FOUR men with strong ties to Southport are known to have been among the 1,522 people who perished when the RMS Titanic sunk, 96 years ago this week.

All were members of the crew of the ill-fated liner that set off on its maiden voyage to New York on April 10, 1912, and struck an iceberg four days later.

A decade ago – at the time of the release of director James Cameron’s smash hit film, Titanic – a TA Molly corr of Sandon Road, Birkdale, uncovered the backgrounds of three of the Southport men who died aboard the vessel.

They were:
- Walter Ennis, of 141 Bedford Road, Birkdale.
Walter worked as the attendant in the ship’s Turkish bath and was a father-of-two.
He had previously worked at Smedley Hydro and his wife had tried to discourage him from pursuing a career at sea.
- James Walpole was the chief pantryman in first class.
He was born in Southport, and his brother, Horace, lived at 17 Lime Street.
Like many of the crew, James had previously served on her sister ship, the Olympic.
When White Star – the ship’s owners – were based in Liverpool, he lived with his brother in Southport between voyages and provided more than 30 years’ service to the line.
Violet Jessop, a stewardess, described James as a large man with a bushy beard and a “heart of gold”.
- William Theodore Brailey was one of the ship’s two pianists and, although he lived in London, had previously spent two years working at the Southport Pier Pavilion.
At the time of his death on the ship, he was engaged to a Miss Steinhilber of St Luke’s Road, Southport.
There were no survivors among the boat’s musicians or engineers.
Both groups of staff worked until the end, trying to keep passengers calm with their music or fighting to save the ship.
- It is also known that the liner’s chief steward, Andrew Latimer, hailed from Southport.
His wife Janet gave birth to a daughter, Jean, two months after the disaster.

- Do you have an ancestor who was aboard Titanic? If so, please call reporter Robert Alcock on 01704-398287 or email robert.alcock@southportvisiter.co.uk

A third-class breakfast menu which survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Southport-born James Walpole was the ship’s chief pantryman in first class

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