Mr Walter John Williams

Mr Walter John Williams, 28, was born in Southampton, Hampshire on 27 July 1883.

Williams signed-on to the Titanic on 4 April 1912, he gave his address as 52 North bld (?). Road., (Southampton). He had transferred from the Olympic. As a second class steward he received monthly wages of £3 15s.

Williams recalled that the ship was in an unfinished state, and that paint on some of the lockers was still wet. He was surprised that no lifeboat drills had been held at any point during the voyage. He claimed that in 1911 he had expressed concern, whilst working on the Olympic, that there were insufficient lifeboats. He was later on board when that ship had its collision with H.M.S. Hawke, which necessitated a trip to Belfast for repairs.

On the night of 14 April 1912 a colleague joked to Walter, "We've only hit an iceberg. It's another job for Belfast."

Williams made a jump for lifeboat 13. He recalled that many lifeboats were far from full.

"During the night we were passed by what looked like a sailing ship. As we got closer we realised it was a small iceberg."

Walter Williams lived the rest of his life in Southampton. He died there in February 1972, aged 84.

References and Sources
British Census 1881
Donald Hyslop, Alastair Forsyth and Sheila Jemima (1997) Titanic Voices: Memories from the Fateful Voyage, Sutton Publishing, Southampton City Council. ISBN 0 7509 1436
Southern Daily Echo, 10 May 1962