Arthur King was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England on 11 July 1892 and was baptised in St Alphonsus’ Church on 21 July. Hailing from a Roman Catholic family, he was the son of Irish-born parents Arthur King, a clerk, and Mary McElroy.
King appears to have worked at sea from the age of 15, serving aboard numerous voyages of the Ivernia between 1908 and 1911 before serving briefly aboard Carmania. However, at the time of the 1911 census, when the family were living at 7 Beattie Street in Bootle, Arthur was then described as a hotel waiter.
In April 1912 King was serving as a baggage steward aboard the eastward-bound voyage of the Carpathia when that ship rescued the survivors of the Titanic.
Arthur continued working at sea after the Titanic disaster, serving with the merchant fleet during both World Wars. In January 1923 he married Bridget Grannell and they had four children.
Arthur King died in Southampton aged 82 in 1974 and was buried in St. Mary Extra Cemetery (section M 108, plot 60).
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