Encyclopedia Titanica

William Stephen Faulkner

William Stephen Faulkner
William Stephen Faulkner

Mr William Stephen Faulkner was born in Oxton, Birkenhead, Cheshire, England on 31 March 1877.

He was the son of Samuel Faulkner (1852-1931), an iron turner and a professional cricketer, and Harriett Elizabeth Jenkins (1858-1928). His father was a native of Birkenhead and his mother from Southampton and they had married in Liverpool's St Paul's Church on 9 March 1875. His cricketer father was later a steward of the Birkenhead Constitutional Club and was well-known in the locality.

William was the eldest of ten children, two of whom died in infancy. His siblings were: George (1875-1877), Henry Victor (b. 1879), Beatrice Helen (b. 1881), Harriet Maud (b. 1884), Charles Frederick (b. 1890), Florence Mary (b. 1892), Mildred Muriel (b. 1894), Lester (b. 1896) and Frank (1898-1898). His brother Charles would also go to sea and would be a member of the crew on board SS Republic in 1906 when that liner collided with the Italian steamer Florida and sank.

William Faulkner
William Faulkner as a younger man
(Birkenhead and Cheshire Advertiser, 20 April 1912)

William first appears on the 1881 census whilst living with his grandparents William and Jane Faulkner at 24 Bright Street, Birkenhead; his parents and younger brother Henry were listed at an address in Oxton Village. The 1891 census has William and his family living at 24 Mornington Street; William, aged 14, had already left school and is working as an office boy.

Faulkner later went to sea, working for the Pacific and Booth Lines before joining the White Star Line. He first appears on crew records in 1893 when, aged 16, he was working as a smoke room boy aboard Britannia, his ship prior to that being the New York; a year later he was engaged to join the same ship as an engineer's servant but failed to join on that occasion.

He was married in Birkenhead in 1899 to Sybil Isabel Beams (b. 19 June 1871 in Ewell, Surrey) and they would have four children, three living past infancy. Son Frank Victor arrived on 4 October 1900 followed by son Leonard Henry on 30 October 1903 and daughter Eileen Marie on 6 May 1906. Another child, daughter Dorothy Adeline Sybil was born in early 1905 but lived just a short while.

The 1901 census shows that William was absent from the home but his wife and first child were living at 76 Woodville Road, Birkenhead. He would be absent again from the 1911 census, his family then living at 16 Mounsey Road, Birkenhead.

When he signed on to the Titanic on 4 April 1912 Faulkner gave his address as 16 Mounsey Road Birkenhead. His previous ship had been the Celtic and as a first class bedroom steward, he could expect to earn monthly wages of £3, 15.

On the night of the sinking, William was assisting to fill and lower the aft starboard lifeboats. He was reportedly handed the infant Trevor Hudson Allison, a first class passenger, whilst the child's nanny Alice Catherine Cleaver was assisted into lifeboat 11. William, with a child in his arms, was permitted to follow suit. Following rescue by the Carpathia, and during the voyage to New York, Faulkner was reportedly the only person whom Alice Cleaver would let visit the orphaned child.

Faulkner, not being required to testify at either the US or British Inquiries into the disaster, returned to England and continued a career at sea into the 1920s and beyond. The mid-1920s saw him serving aboard the Adriatic; in 1930 he began a long career with the Britannic (1930-1960) and was still shown working as a bath steward aboard that vessel in November 1944.

In his final years, William Faulkner and his family lived at 20 Greenbank Drive, Pensby in the Wirral. He was preceded in death by his wife Sybil who passed away following a long illness on 12 November 1941.

William Faulkner battled in his last months with stomach cancer; bronchopneumonia hastened his demise and he passed away at the Royal Infirmary, Liverpool on 22 September 1949 aged 72.   He was buried 26 September 1949 in Landican Cemetery and Crematorium, Wirral, Merseyside, England, in section 2 C/E, plot 746.

His son Frank later worked as a shipbuilding electrician; he married Sybil Mutch (b. 1905) in 1927 and had two children, a daughter Doreen (b. 1929) and son Brian (b. 1937). He died in Birkenhead on 12 January 1983.

Son Leonard later worked as a shipwright; he was married in 1929 to Nellie Hunt (b. 1904) and raised a family. He died in Birkenhead in 1976.

Daughter Eileen later worked as a clerk; she never married and died in Birkenhead on 31 July 1975. 

Newspaper Articles

Birkenhead News (20 April 1912) Mr. William Faulkner Reported Safe.
Liverpool Daily Post (15 November 1941) Death Notice (of Sybil Isabel Faulkner)

Images

Liverpool Echo (1912) William Faulkner

Documents and Certificates

1881, 1891, 1901, 1911 Census (England)
Agreement and Account of Crew, National Archives, London; BT100/259

Credits

Trevor Baxter, UK
Gavin Bell, UK
Peter Engberg Klarström, Sweden
Photo: National Archives (Courtesy of Gavin Bell)

Comment and discuss

  1. Bob Godfrey

    Bob Godfrey

    Hallo, Debs. Researcher Craig Stringer has supplied a bit more about Mr Faulkner. His home address in 1912 was 16 Romsey Rd in Southampton. At that time he and Sybil had 3 children, but I can't offer their names. Craig states that Faulkner continued to work at sea until he retired aged over 70, but the date of his death is not given.
  2. Dave Fredericks

    Dave Fredericks

    Faulkner did not live at 16 Romsey Road, Southampton. I believe this to be another case of the registry clerk writing what he heard instead of what was said. 16 Romsey Road in Southampton was a hair salon in 1912. Please see below for corrected details. FAULKNER, WILLIAM STEPHEN. Saved in Lifeboat number 11. Address - 16 Mounsey Road, Birkenhead. Bedroom Steward. 33. (Birkenhead). RMS Celtic. Was paid £11 15 0d in expenses to attend the British Titanic Enquiry in London. (From the Birkenhead News April 20th 1912) Mr. William Faulkner Reported safe. Probably among the best known of the Birkenhead members of the crew of the Titanic is Mr. William Faulkner, who was a steward on board the ship. Mr. Faulkner is the son of Mr. Samuel Faulkner, steward of the Birkenhead Constitutional Club, who is exceedingly well known to Birkonians as late groundsman to the Birkenhead Park Cricket Club. His son William Faulkner, is 33 years of age, and is married, his home being in... Read full post
  3. Yvonne Faulkner

    Yvonne Faulkner

    Granddaughter of William Stephen Faulkner. Yvonne Faulkner. William Stephen Faulkner is my great gandfather. Frank Victor Faulkner is my grandfather. Brian Faulkner is my father. I am Yvonne Faulkner now living in New Zealand. I was born in Holt Road, Birkenhead. I returned to the UK for the first time in 2012. My dads cousin Pat still lives in Birkenhead and has the cablegram that was sent to his wife along with the key to his room on the titanica.
  4. Janet Faulkner

    Janet Faulkner

    Hi Yvonne, Your dad Brian is my Dads cousin. My dad is Philip Henry Faulkner. Pat is my aunty. My grandad was Len Faulkner and William was also my Great Grandad. I think Pat donated the bedroom key etc to the museum in liverpool. How lovely to see your name on here!!! Are you related to Sandy? We were penpals for a little while when we were little. I think i still have a letter somewhere. All this info is fascinating. I obtained a copy of William Faulkners marriage... Read full post
  5. Yvonne Faulkner

    Yvonne Faulkner

    Thanks
  6. Haslam

    Haslam

    Hello all, I’m eldest great great granddaughter of William Faulkner. Rachael Haslam née (Faulkner) living in New Zealand in 2021! Plus bohemian Czech Republic on my fathers side. I never knew the story of our family history (Titanic) until I was in my late 30s, now it’s part of the history I pass down to my children. One day when the boarders up again I’d like to make the journey over (not via boats) family history says it all!
  7. Arun Vajpey

    Arun Vajpey

    Glad someone renewed this thread. William Faulkner is one of the survivors that I have an interest in because of the Allison family angle. On his bio on ET, it says that Faulkner was "handed" baby Trevor near Lifeboat #11 and so was allowed to enter himself with Alice Cleaver following. I assume it must have been Cleaver herself who handed the baby to Faulkner; he must have helped them in other ways to get to the boat deck since the eccentric and possessive Alice Cleaver allowed him to visit them on board the Carpathia. What I want to know is whether Faulkner made any serious attempt to alert rest of the Allison family of the danger earlier. Lifeboat #11 was not launched till around 01:32 am, by which time it would have been obvious to all on board that the Titanic was indeed sinking. In almost all accounts that I have read, it was the mysterious Sarah Daniels who twice tried to warn the family but was rebuffed by Hudson Allison. But then Sarah left on Lifeboat #8, the first to be... Read full post

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Titanic Crew Summary

Name: Mr William Stephen Faulkner
Age: 37 years and 15 days (Male)
Nationality: English
Marital Status: Married to Sybil Isabel Beams
Last Ship: Celtic
Embarked: Belfast on Monday 1st April 1912
Rescued (boat 11)  
Disembarked Carpathia: New York City on Thursday 18th April 1912
Cause of Death:
Buried: Landicran Cemetery, Birkenhead, Lancashire, England on Monday 26th September 1949

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