An interesting couple travelling on the Titanic's maiden voyage were Leopold and Mathilde Weisz. He was Hungarian and Jewish and she Belgian and Catholic but they lived in Bromsgrove in West Midlands, England (a place where I briefly worked in the late 1980s). Leopold Weisz was a stonemason and carver by trade and travelled to Canada in 1911 (ironically, on board the Lusitania) and set-up business with Edward Wren of Montreal. This reportedly showed a lot of promise and so he went back to England to return with his wife and settle in Canada. They boarded the Titanic in Southampton as Second Class passengers.
During the voyage, Leopold Weisz had gold coins worth $15,000, practically the couple's life savings, sewn into the lining of his greatcoat. On the night of Sunday 14th April 1912, he was strolling on the ship's deck while his wife attended the hymn singing session in the Second Class dining saloon. They had just met and returned to the cabin as the ship collided with the iceberg. Leopold Weisz was lost in the sinking while still wearing his greatcoat, but Mathilde survived, presumably on Lifeboat #10 and eventually reached Canada. But broke, she faced deportation back to England till her husband's body was recovered and the greatcoat - with the gold still in place - returned to her. She settled in Canada and eventually married Edward Wren, her husband's business partner.
Later in life, Mathilde Weisz-Wren reportedly did a lot of charity singing for soldiers during the World Wars and raised some money. She was honoured for the effort.
A strangely fascinating story IMO.
