Sidney Edward Daniels was a young Third Class steward on the RMS Titanic and the last surviving crew member of the sinking. He was born in Hampshire and just 18 years old at the time.
Biography[]
Mr Sidney Edward Daniels was born on November 19, 1893 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England.
He was the son of Walter James Daniels (1852-1920) and Louisa Mary Hunter (1857-1911), both natives of Hampshire, England who had married in Portsea in 1877. They would go on to have nine children: Walter James (b. 1878), Alice Louisa (b. 1879), George Alfred (b. 1881), Mabel Grace (b. 1883), Albert Frank (b. 1885), Ernest Frederick (b. 1889), Dorothy May (b. 1898) and Sidney.
Sidney first appeared on the 1901 census living at 29 Bessant Road, in Portsmouth. His father was described as a beer retailer. Sid's mother died in early 1911 and by the time of the 1911 census Sid is living with his widowed father, two sisters and a brother-in-law at 119 Albert Road, Southsea, Portsmouth, England. Sid was described as single and at that time unemployed. Later, he would work as a steward on the RMS Olympic and was on board that ship during its collision with the HMS Hawke.
Titanic[]
When he signed-on to the Titanic, on 4 April 1912, he gave his address as 119 Albert Road, Portsmouth. His last ship was the Olympic. As a Third Class steward he received monthly wages of £3 15s. He was acquainted with fellow third class steward Francis Edbrooke, son of a Portsmouth publican, perhaps through their respective fathers. Francis and Sid both slept in an open berthing room on F-Deck just aft of the bottom of the First Class staircase.
Location of the Open Berths
Zoomed in
On the night of April 14, after the ship had struck an iceberg, Daniels reported that he was in his bunk when a night watchman came in and told them to get dressed and up on deck. He recalled assisting women and children to the boats until all but the last two collapsible boats remained. He assisted working at Collapsible B until he described being up to his knees in water; following a quick glance around the deck, he jumped up onto the rail beside a davit and struck out for the water, where he swam around for a couple of minutes before climbing aboard Collapsible B. Sid reported men saying the Lord's prayer in unison. He also said that he informed a man near him that he was exhausted and needed to sleep; the man berated him and told him to stay awake, otherwise he might not wake up again. There's a good chance that this might have been Second Officer Lightoller. Most of the occupants of the upturned boat were later rescued by other boats and taken aboard the Carpathia. Sid later returned home aboard the Lapland.
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I just stopped at home. After a couple of days I went down with quinsy, a reaction had set in apparently. I was on the dole for about six months and I went back on the Olympic and stopped right there. I did roughly two hundred voyages on the Olympic, backwards and forwards to New York each time. |
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—Sid Daniels | ||
Sidney Daniels (right) with his colleagues on Olympic
Later life[]
During the 1914-1918 War, Sidney Daniels joined the Royal Army Service Corps, although he saw no direct combat, much to his chagrin, and he returned home in 1915. He was married in early 1916 to Gertrude Jessie Edbrooke (b. 1894 in Gosport, Hampshire), sister of his former Titanic colleague Francis Edbrooke. They would have no children and Gertrude died in 1918. Sid was remarried in 1920 to Alfreda Kathleen Clements (born August 15, 1895 on the Isle of Wight). They would have seven children: Kathleen (1922-1966), Sidney (b. 1925), Albert (b. 1928), Robert John (1930-1981), Marion (b. 1932), Richard (b. 1935) and Jean (b. 1938).
Sid continued to work at sea and would again serve during World War II for the merchant navy.
Sidney in later life
Sid Daniels was the last surviving member of Titanic's crew. He died in Portsmouth on 25 May 1983, aged 89. His wife Alfreda later moved to Surrey and died there in 1989. Daniels is buried with his wife Alfreda in Milton Cemetery, Portsmouth (plot V, Row 13, grave 18).
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Sources[]
- Sid Daniels on Encylopedia Titanica
- 'Titanic' ©1996 (second print, 1998) Edward P. De Groot -- Passenger- & crewlist Titanic p 175-186