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William Clifford Weller was an Able Seaman on the Titanic.

Background[]

William Weller was the latest of 9 children begotten by James Weller of Littlehampton and his wife Jessie Colbury Heard from Southampton. He was given life on the 20th of November 1881 in Littlehampton, Sussex, England. He was often referred to as ‘Willie’ by his close relatives and his father. The Weller pair brought forth just one daughter, who was the first to appear in 1865. Her name was Jessie Louisa. The year 1867 saw the birth of a son, James Edward Rothwell. Another son was John Stenkley Charles, emerging in 1871. Thomas George saw the light next, in 1873. His younger brother was Ernest Henry. The last boy conceived before William was Richard Harold, leaving the womb in 1877.

James Weller was a matelot, a profession that would be carried through via his son. In 1891, Young Weller received education and had his home in Newhaven, Sussex . Close to 18, William was ready to prove his worth in the Royal Navy in the late 1890s. He switched to the civil shipping business later.

In 1911, William was a the house of the father of Susanna Kate Beeden, a Huston native. Mr. William Beeden, to get his approval for taking her hand. It was granted and they were officially a couple in September 1911. Susanna was a culinarian, still her daily job as they made Southampton their hometown.

William was very keen on law and he knew a thing about civil rights, which came in handy when Olympic’s voyage was interrupted by a coming-together with a Navy vessel, the HMS Hawke. The stricken ocean liner had a gaping hole in her body on her starboard stern and had to be dragged to Southamtpon for a partial fix, although she was seaworthy enough to help herself to England. He was one of her sailors when it happened.

William conspired with Fireman Thomas D. Fraser to begin a lawsuit against White Star Line and bring them to court. With his wits and knowledge of the law, William thought he had a solid case and they hoped they could get themselves a month’s payment, which would be £5 for William as a Able Bodied Seaman and Hunston and £6 for Fraser as the standard wage for a stoker. Their attorney made strong arguments, but the respresentatives for White Star Line had even better points, so the judge did not decide in the favor of the two gentlemen. They had to make do with 3 days worth of salary.

Titanic[]

The outcome of the hearing was as given while he was busy sailing with the Oceanic on April 4. This was his last ship before White Star Line wanted his services as Able Seaman for the upcoming Maiden Voyage of the sistership of RMS Olympic: The new Titanic. She was already famous before she got to Southampton from Belfast on April 4. The day of setting sail would be April 10. On this day, a Wednesday, after noon, the mighty luxury liner left port.

On April 14, at late night, two lookouts on Titanic peered into the distance on their watch shift. Even though they looked at every corner, they had no notion of an iceberg being approached.  It was 23:39 P.M when they saw it from their vantage point in the crow’s nest. It was huge and it was not too far away. Immediately one of them picked up the phone and warned the bridge. Quick action was taken. The helm was put to hard over, to starboard, as to turn the ship to port. The engines were reversed but the iceberg was still right in front, untill the last seconds, when Titanic finally made a swing to the left, only to scratch the iceberg on the starboard side over a great length of her lower hull. The water gurgled up the stricken parts, which were just like small but were enough to allow the ocean inside Titanic.

At midnight, April 15, The captain and the ship designer had appeared on the bridge after looking around in the lower parts of the ships to see her leaks and now they were back on the Boat Deck to discuss this ordeal. As far as they could tell, Titanic’s first 6 compartments were breached. There was no possible way she would live to see another day, is the verdict that Thomas Andrews, the shipbuilder, gave to Captain Smith. Smith knew enough. He gathered the deck crew, which was no laided with the task to see that as many passengers were taken off the ship as they could. To do this, they had to set up and lower her 20 lifeboats.

As George Alfred Hogg was taking command of lifeboat 7, which left as the first boat at 12:25 A.M, his fellow lookout Archie Jewell saw Weller go with them in boat 7, which left as the first boat, at 12:28 A.M. Lifeboat 7 had only 28 people, of which those were the crew manning her.

Less than 2 hours later, Titanic’s stern was towering out of the water and something had snapped as her submerged bow lifted the rear further out of the water. Titanic’s parts were devided and those 2 large sections disappeared quickly after one another. It was 2:20 A.M. when Titanic’s death struggle was over. Not long after that, the death struggle of swimmers that had stayed on the ship as long as they could. The cost of life was huge, 1503 people met their end that night, most within half an hour after Titanic’s sinking.

After the sinking[]

Lifeboat 7, like all other lifeboats, awaited any sign of life or another vessel coming to get them off the ocean. Their prayers had been heard as through the process of Titanic’s demise, her two Marconi operators, of which one survived, had managed to lay a connection with the telegrapher of the RMS Carpathia, a Cunarder that was heading east. She had cut her plans of her Europe-bound voyage instantly to come to the aid of the giant, stricken vessel. She had a long way to go, but at 4:00 A.M, with Titanic’s two halves resting on a seabed, she was at the position that had been passed through.

Carpathia hauled in all the lifeboats that were still floating and everyone that had made it off Titanic was taken aboard for the trip to New York, where Titanic was originally going for.

On April 18, Weller’s Atlantic crossing had finished, but not in the way that he would have expected. History would repeat itself and he would again have to see his month’s income be diminished. But all would come good for him in the end.

Like many of Titanic’s crew, William chose the Lapland as the vessel to bring him back to his native country.  In England, his attendance to the British Inquiry was wanted at first, but that later changed and he was not needed after all. As a small consolation, they gave him £8, 12 shillings and 6 pence for the troubles.

Later life[]

Back in Southampton, he started to expand his family with his wife Susanna. Stanley William blessed the family in that same year. It is uncertain whether he was born before, during or after the Titanic voyage. There was luckily the Titanic Relief Fund, who made sure the family was always warm and had enough to drink, by supplying them with milk and coal every week.

During the War, in 1915, his second son, Ernest Clifford, was given life. In 1918, it was time for Frederick Charles to show himself and John Henry was the last in 1923. A few of them went into the same line of business as their adventurous father. Sadly, William survived his son Stanley as he was no longer there in 1937.

On the first of May, 1954, William Clifford Henry Weller was felled by an infectuous disease, being 72 at the time of passing.

Susanna lived on in Southampton for the rest of her live, to pas away in 1972.  Her son Ernest was taken from life in the same year. Her youngest son John was still alive of 2008.

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