Harry Gale

Mr Harry Gale was born in Calstock, Tavistock, Cornwall, England on 7 May 1874 and baptised on 6 December that same year.

He was the son of Elijah Gale (b. 1853), a tin miner, and Maria Sandercock (b. 1850), both Calstock natives.

He had seven known siblings: Alice (b. 1872), Rachel (b. 1876), Shadrach (b. 1878), Enoch Edward (1882-1939), Rebecca Spry (1883-1943, later Mrs William Mitchell), George (1886-1886) and Emily Knott (1888-1973, later Mrs Thomas Edwards).

Harry first appears on the 1881 census living at Rising Sun in Calstock at the home of his maternal grandparents, Thomas and Rebecca Sandercock. Still living with his grandparents by the time of the 1891 census, then at Harrow Barrow, CalstockHarry, then aged 16, had already left school and was working as a general labourer. Like his father, he would later work in the mines. The family later moved to 1 School Cottages in Harrow Barrow, appearing on both the 1901 and 1911 census records.

Harry later emigrated with his brother Enoch ¹, departing from Southampton on 25 August 1900 aboard St Paul and settling in Colorado where he continued to work in the mines. He would be joined three years later by another sibling, his brother Shadrach.

Harry and Shadrach, both bachelors, decided to return to Cornwall to visit their family and arrived back in Britain aboard Majestic on 15 June 1911. For their return to Colorado they boarded Titanic at Southampton as second class passengers on 10 April 1912 (ticket number 28664 which cost £21) and it is possible that they were travelling with Frederick Pengelly and William Ware, also both from the Calstock area.

His mother died on 9 May 1922 and his father on 1 November 1936 and are both buried in St Andrew's Churchyard in Calstock; Harry and Shadrach are commemorated on their headstone.

(Courtesy: Steve Coombes, UK)