Monday 9 April 2012

Event - Titanic archive on display in Notts (Nottingham)

THREE Notts men who lost their lives in the Titanic disaster – and one remarkable story of survival – are the subject of an archive display.

Notts County Council archive assistant Sue Norwebb has spent hundreds of hours going through records, newspaper reports and censuses to trace local connections to the liner disaster.

To coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic on April 14 and 15 there is a display case devoted to the disaster in the reception area at Notts County Council's archives service in Castle Meadow Road.

Visitors can read accounts of Notts people and view records of survivors and those who died.
Ms Norwebb said: 'It brings the relevance of the Titanic tragedy closer to the county as there were local people involved. We hope the display case we have set up for the public will be of great interest – particularly with the anniversary coming up."

Three Notts men were missing presumed dead following the sinking of the Titanic.

All were working on board at the time – William Moss and Albert Edward Lane who were both saloon stewards, and William Ewatt Caunt, a cook.

Boarding records show they were from the county, and state that "if they were discovered, they were never identified" following the sinking.

But one remarkable tale of survival centres on Mary Kezziah Roberts, a stewardess in first class.

Ship boarding records list her as living in West Bridgford and the 1911 Census states she was married to David Roberts, proprietor of West Bridgford Motor Company.

Mary not only survived the Titanic – she was rescued in lifeboat 16 – but two years later she cheated death again in another shipping disaster. She was on board the HMHS Rohilla, which claimed 85 lives when it struck Whitby Rock.

She passed away in 1933, and is buried in Epsom, Surrey.

The Titanic display is on for the next few weeks. Visit the Notts Archives, Castle Meadow Road, Nottingham, on Tuesdays from 9am to 8pm, and Wednesdays to Fridays from 9am to 4.45pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 12.45pm.

From: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Titanic-archive-display-Notts/story-15762200-detail/story.html

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