Wyckoff Van der Hoef

[Arun Vajpey]

Harold Sanderson was there, too.

This is incredible. I confess that up to now I had never heard of Harold Arthur Sanderson. But obviously, he was a passenger from Belfast to Southampton in his capacity as a VP of International Mercantile Marine. Could he have been performing a similar supervisory function for IMM just like the Guarantee Group for H&W?

Either way, it then looks like Wykoff van der Hoef had some company for a chat over cigars and drinks. They were in the same "Upper class middle aged men" group and would have been socially compatible.

But unlike WvdH, Sanderson left the Titanic in Southampton and did not return for the maiden voyage.

But one thing I don't understand. On Sanderson's ET bio it says that he was the sole passenger from Belfast to Southampton, which cannot be right if WvdH was also there. On Wykoff van der Hoef's ET bio it says the same thing but that he was the sole paying passenger. Could that mean that as VP of IMM, Sanderson did not have to pay for his passage?

 

[Thomas Krom]

Mr. Sanderson was on-board as the representative of White Star Line during the Titanic her sea trails, just as Thomas Andrews Jr was on-board to represent Harland and Wolff. Just as the members of the guarantee group, Mr. Ismay, Mr. Ismay his secretary Mr. Harrison, his valet Mr. Fry and Mr. Reuchlin of the Holland America Line he had a complimentary ticket.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Mr. Sanderson was on-board as the representative of White Star Line during the Titanic her sea trails, just as Thomas Andrews Jr was on-board to represent Harland and Wolff.

That's what I thought (as mentioned above) when I looked up the credentials of Sanderson just now. Therefore, the mention on ET bio that he was the only passenger of the Titanic from Belfast to Southampton might have to be rephrased. Sanderson was a similar (if not the same) kind of "passenger" as Thomas Andrews or William Parr ie, there in his official capacity. Wykoff van der Hoef on the other hand was an independent businessman with no direct connection to Harland & Wolff, White Star or IMM as far as I am aware. That and since he was the only Belfast boarder with a Ticket Number and Fare makes WvdH the only bona fide paying passenger on that delivery trip. (Thomas Andrews had a ticket number and cabin but no fare mentioned while Harold Sanderson had neither, as far as I could see)

 

[Encyclopedia Titanica]

It's been corrected... that entry must be 20+ years old!
Does this look right?

Titanic Delivery Trip Passengers | Encyclopedia Titanica

Titanic passengers for the delivery trip Belfast to Southampton

www.encyclopedia-titanica.org

 

[Arun Vajpey]

It's been corrected... that entry must be 20+ years old!
Does this look right?

It looks more than right! Thank you.

Am I right in thinking that Harold Sanderson, who was there on behalf of IMM and Francis Carruthers for the Board of Trade would have been present mainly on an official supervisory capacity and would not have had a great deal to do during the delivery trip, unlike Edward Wilding or Thomas Andrews & his Guarantee Group?

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Wasn't Wyckoff Van der hoef actually breaking the law by been a paying passenger at Belfast, before Titanic had received from the Board of Trade certificate of clearance for paying passengers at Southampton?

I would not have thought so, not with a Board of Trade official and VP of IMM also present. They would not have wanted to start with someone breaking a rule even before the proper Maiden Voyage started.

 

[Encyclopedia Titanica]

I wonder if there is a primary source somewhere that shows that he did actually pay for his ticket. If he was able to book as the Belfast Newsletter reported (although they may have been using the term loosely), then what was to stop other people doing so. Perhaps he just knew someone in authority and hitched a lift?

 

[Thomas Krom]

It looks more than right! Thank you.

Am I right in thinking that Harold Sanderson, who was there on behalf of IMM and Francis Carruthers for the Board of Trade would have been present mainly on an official supervisory capacity and would not have had a great deal to do during the delivery trip, unlike Edward Wilding or Thomas Andrews & his Guarantee Group?

The only thing Mr. Sanderson did outside observing in the name of the White Star Line was putting his signature, as well as Thomas Andrews Jr his signature, on the certificate of the Board of Trade.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

I wonder if there is a primary source somewhere that shows that he did actually pay for his ticket.

It says on WvdH's ET bio that he paid £33 10s for his First Class ticket. But whether that was in Belfast when he first boarded or when he returned to the ship in Southampton is hard to tell. Obviously, the fare covered his trip up to New York.

 

[Mike Spooner]

Do we known why Wyckoff Van der Hoef was in Belfast at the time?

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Do we know why Wyckoff Van der Hoef was in Belfast at the time?

It says here on ET that Wykoff van der Hoef left for Europe on 26th March 1912 on a trip that was a combination of business and pleasure. His visit to Belfast is thought to have been due to his desire to explore his Irish ancestry (despite the Dutch sounding name). A lot of Americans visiting the 'old country' in those days tried to search for their roots.

 

[Mike Spooner]

I take your point of an American visiting the 'old country' in those days tried to search for their roots.
Do you think Titanic was his plan beforehand?

 

[Arun Vajpey]

I take your point of an American visiting the 'old country' in those days tried to search for their roots.
Do you think Titanic was his plan beforehand?

Hard to tell but on balance I would have thought not; with the coal strike and all that, it would have been difficult to plan ahead with precision.

My guess is that Wykoff van der Hoef happened to be in Ireland at the time and discovered that the Titanic was due to sail out of Belfast on 2nd April 1912. He took his chance, perhaps contacted a few officials at H&W and White Star and requested them to accommodate him. They probably allowed him thinking that it would be an interesting publicity gimmick. I am sure that if the Titanic had not sunk and reached New York safely, WvdH would have given a press interview specifically about the delivery trip.

Come to think of it, did he do that in Southampton or elsewhere in the UK? He had almost 6 days between arrival and departure in Southampton and the opinion of a "proper" First Class passenger about the ship even before the start of its actual Maiden Voyage would have been something of a small news scoop for an enterprising reporter.

 

[Mike Spooner]

I am trying to understand why was he was given permission to board the ship, when the ship has not been given a Board of Trade passenger clearance certificate whilst in Belfast. Was there a backhander? As I see Smith would have the last word and had ever right to ordered him off the ship to?

 

[Encyclopedia Titanica]

This seems to suggest he did book a legitimate passage.

Belfast Telegraph - 15 Apr 1912