3rd class berth numbers

[Ryan McKeefery]

I am gathering information for my novel.
On F deck in compartment 3, adjacent to the main stairwell for that area and directly facing the forward face of the casing for hatch number two are a row of 4 four-berth cabins. does anyone know what number the starboard-most one will have been, as this is the cabin that my primary character occupies.
I know that it will have been somewhere between F1 and F25, and currently have it as F16.
I would like my book to be accurate in every detail, so would appreciate it if anyone can help. Thanks.
Regards, Ryan.

 

[Lester Mitcham]

Hello Ryan,

To start with take off the F. No 3rd Class cabins had a deck letter; that is unless as with Titanic's maiden voyage a block of rooms on G-deck which could be let to either 2nd or 3rd Class passengers were used as 3rd Class.

What the 3rd Class rooms did have were section numbers, so you had a room number starting at No 1 and going all the way up to 260. - The room I understand you to be looking at is room 33, Section C. - see the attached.

<table border=1>[tr][td]

room 33
Room 33.bmp (4.3 k)[/td][/tr][/table]​

 

[Ryan McKeefery]

Thanks, Lester. Your information was invaluable, and I hope to chat with you elsewhere on the boards sometime. You are clearly very knowlegable on the subject of the Titanic, and there are many small details, such as the one that you have just supplied, that I wish to know, so perhaps you could help me with those, too.
Regards, Ryan.

 

[Lester Mitcham]

Hello Ryan,

Thank you. On the other hand this may muddy things!

It may be that the numbering system for 3rd Class is more complex. - If you look at the Biography of Anthony William Sage it says: List No. 20, Berth 126. - Should List No 20 be read as room No 20? Even if each berth also had a number, there were only by my count 84 berths for the 19 rooms [rooms 1 to 19 (excluding 13, but with a room 9A)] in Section B on E-deck forward, which would suggest that the berths in Room 20 were berth numbers 86 (there being I would guess no berth 13) and 87.

Room 126 was in Section M, near the after end of E-deck.

On the understanding that Section Numbers were stamped on the Tickets, the Sage information is questionable. So on the 1st count of room 20 being berths 86 & 87, in which room would berth 126 be? - I will have to work on that another time. But the Section would be C, so has section C been transcribed as List No 20?

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Hallo, Lester. Attached image shows the format of the information supplied to 3rd Class passengers on their inspection cards, which served also as boarding cards. Their tickets were generally given up at the same time as they received these cards. In this case we learn that Sarah Roth was allocated berth 1 in cabin 121 in M section (E deck).

The descriptions of bodies and effects from the recovery ships often referred to 'tickets' which must actually I think have been the inspection cards. These descriptions are generally very brief and often include only part of the info from the card, perhaps just that which was still legible (if any) or that which the writer thought would be most useful. In the case of Will Sage, this is where we get the first reference to 'WILL SAGE on ticket, List No 20, Berth 126'. This collection of info was taken from various sections of the card. I imagine that only the cabin number 126 relates to the 'berth no' section. But has the Sage ticket/card survived and has anybody here seen it?

.

 

[Lester Mitcham]

Hello Bob,

Thank you for that. So the information under Berth No is actually the Section No and the Room No, with a berth number above that. Makes sense. - Any thoughts on the large S?

Regards,
Lester

 

[Bob Godfrey]

That would be S for Southampton, I think, Lester. Unfortunately there are none available with C or Q for comparison!

 

[Lester Mitcham]

Sounds probable! - By the way did the Card have Sarah's name on it?

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Yes, it was auctioned (along with a 3rd Class menu and various items of correspondence) several years ago by Sotheby's. The seller was Sarah's great grandson.

 

[Lester Mitcham]

Thank you Bob. As always the information you provide is appreciated.

Regards,
Lester

 

[Robert T. Paige]

Any information on numbers of the vacant cabins ?
In ANTR , I believe Andrews advises one of the officers to get the lifebelts out of all the spare cabins.

 

[Lester Mitcham]

For 1st Class there were 6 rooms on the Boat Deck, 36 on A-deck, 101 on B-deck, 137 on C-deck, 49 on D-deck and allowing that there was no one on E-deck aft of E-68 [although up to E-88 was designated 1st Class] 71 on E-deck. = 400 [420] rooms. Take off the ones we know were occupied, allow enough rooms for those passengers [singles or couples] and servants for whom we do not have room assignments and you should get an indication.

 

[Robert Hall]

Was "Steerage" ever really used as a class ? I know it is sort of derogatory now, but it must have come from somewhere.

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Absolutely. In fact, your ticket for the Titanic would have been headed: THIRD CLASS (Steerage) PASSENGER'S CONTRACT TICKET.

By 1912, 'steerage' was no longer a single level of quality. The 'old steerage' still existed on some ships and was just as awful as it always had been. 'New steerage', sometimes listed as '4th Class' was a great improvement. 3rd Class was a fairly recent development and could be considered as a deluxe form of the 'new steerage'. It was still legally classed as a form of steerage in terms of the shipping regulations and US immigration laws, but was really a downgraded version of 2nd Class, and much closer to that level of accommodation and service than to the horrors of traditional steerage.
.

 

[Robert Hall]

Thank you. Could the "S" on the ticket then indicate steerage ?