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Mr William Murdock (1), was born on 18 September 1878 in Clifton, Bristol (2).
He lived at 78 Thorndyke Street, Belfast and was married to Catherine with whom
he had three children - Ann Martin, William John and Joseph.
Murdock first signed on to the Titanic on 29 March 1912 for her delivery
trip from Belfast to Southampton. He signed on again on 6 April and gave his
previous ship as the Brayhead, and his current address as the Sailors'
Home, Southampton.
Murdock was rescued, in which lifeboat is unknown (3).
About 10 years after the disaster he settled in Australia but continued to
sail the seas until retirement.
He died in Australia on 1 July 1941.
Notes
1. The Death Certificate) gives the name as William John Murdoch but he signed
on and off with the spelling Murdock.
2. The Death Certificate gives his birthplace as Cumberland.
3. Murdock claimed to have survived the sinking
by jumping into the water and being 'picked up' by the collapsible boat
he helped lowering (D). This
is not possible, however. Either he was in it from the beginning or he
was in his own assigned boat (16).
Boat D picked up Mr F M Hoyt and
nobody else. It is altogether possible that Murdock was one of the two
firemen in this boat, but if so, he was in it when it was lowered away.
Boat C never picked up anybody. Again Mr Murdock may have been one of
the firemen in this boat, but D is perhaps slightly more probable. Murdock
was assigned to boat 16, and may have been one of the firemen in that
boat after all. He would later claim he was in a boat with Mrs
Brown (how did he know who she was?). Then again one fireman was transferred
from boat 16 to 6...perhaps
this was Murdock (it was probably trimmer Pelham,
however).
Certificates
Certified Copy of a Registration
of Death New South Wales, Australia
Documents
Crew Particulars of Engagement
References
Stephen Cameron (1998) Titanic: Belfast's Own. Dublin, Wolfhound Press.
ISBN 0 86327 685 7
Contributors
Peter Engberg-Klarström, Sweden
Phillip Gowan, USA
Bill Wormstedt, USA
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Titanic Passenger and Crew Summary
Name: Mr William John Murdoch
Born: Wednesday 18th September 1878
Age: 33 years
Marital Status: Married.
Last Residence: in Belfast Northern Ireland
Occupation: Fireman
Engineering Crew
First Embarked: Southampton
Rescued
Disembarked Carpathia: New York City on Thursday 18th April 1912
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