Miss Hilda Slayter was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 5 April 1882, the daughter of a doctor. Hilda left home in 1902 to study music in Italy. She had dreams of becoming a professional singer, but her ambition exceeded her talent. Her older brother was an officer aboard the royal yacht, Victoria and Albert, and helped to support her.
By the time she was 27, she realized her career was going nowhere, her brother no longer wished to subsidize her studies, and she was unmarried. She met Harry Reginald Dunbar Lacon of Ottley, the son of a British MP and baron, Sir Edmund Henry Knowles Lacon of Ottley. Harry, who was living on Denman Island off the coast of British Columbia, proposed, and Hilda accepted. She was in England shopping for her trousseau, and booked passage home aboard Titanic (Ticket No. 234818, £12 7s). She boarded the Titanic at Queenstown as a second class passenger, she shared a cabin with Florence Kelly. In her trunks were "one satin opal and pearl wedding dress with silver opal and mesh scarf, satin slippers, silk stockings and a hair bandeau," worth $4,000. There was also a "blue satin silver net dress, silver and blue scarf, silver tissue and osprey and Italian embroidered lace hand made blouses" worth another $3,000.
Hilda survived the sinking, probably in lifeboat 13, but she lost lost all of her luggage including the trousseau.
She married Lacon on Denman Island on 1 June 1912.1 Their son, Reginald William Beecroft Lacon distinguished himself in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II.
He later lived in Norris Castle, East Cowes, Isle Of Wight, Hampshire and it was here that Hilda Mary Lacon (née Slayter) died on 12 April 1965. Her body was returned to the Slayter family plot in Camp Hill Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia for burial.
Comment and discuss
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I am trying to find info re Hilda also if she was related to the Slater family that resided in Sale, Cheshire. Can anyone help? Tks.
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Hi Michael, Welcome aboard. Have you checked out Hilda's biography right here on this site? If not, here's the link: She was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia; so I'm not sure if she was related to the family. I hope this helps though.
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I am looking for info re Hilda. Can anyone help?
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Hello Michael, See above. I have provided you with info.
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Its interesting; one article refers to her as Hilda Slater visiting her architect brother in New York ("The band played. . ")and the others refer to her as Hilda Slayter who was going to Novia Scotia to get married.
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I'll bet that the Worcester Evening Gazette just misspelled her surname. It wouldn't be the first time, nor will it be the last.
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Confusion of people with the same name was nothing new in connection with Titanic. In fact, one case of mistaken identity got into a book on Canadian passengers, which said that Bridget O'Sullivan was traveling to her brother in, I believe, Nova Scotia when the namesake who was actually on the ship was traveling to the US. Then there was Alice Cleaver, the Allisons' nanny who for many years was mistaken for the Alice Cleaver who murdered her baby.
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I've read - can't remember where - that Hilda's brother was a White Star Line captain (her ET bio says he was captain of the royal yacht). Could he have been the Captain R.N. William Slayter who was in charge of the Oceanic when it ran aground (and eventually wrecked) off the Shetland Island of Foula, of which Lusitania survivor Ian Holbourn was laird? (all this according to Wikipedia) Small world if it was.
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According to Craig Stringer's biographical research, the brother's name was James and he was one of the officers on the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert.
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Hi went in the titanic in Cobh co cork ,the ticket was that of Hilda Mary Slayter would like to know about her.Valerie
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