Mr Henry Rudd

(Chris Dohany, USA)

Henry Rudd was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England in early 1888 and his birth was registered in the first quarter of that year. He was the son of William George Rudd (1850-1902) and Rose Alice Sealy (1859-?), Southampton-natives who had married in 1879.

Henry was one of nine children and his siblings were: William Albert (b. 1880), Rose Alice (b. 1883), Florence Jane (b. 1885), George (b. 1891), John Alfred (b. 1894), Annie Margaret (b. 1896), Emma (b. 1898) and Lily (b. 1902).

Henry first appears on the 1891 census living at 39 Coleman Street, St Mary, Southampton and his father was described as a seaman. They have moved to 6 Houndwell Place by the time of the following census.

Henry's father died in 1902 aged 52 which coincided with the birth of his youngest sibling Lily. His mother apparently remarried, becoming Mrs Blake, but there is no record for such a marriage. Henry is absent from the 1911 census, perhaps already at sea, but his mother and siblings are by now living at 20 Peel Street, Southampton.

When he signed-on to the Titanic, on 6 April 1912, Henry gave his address as 20 Chapel Street, (Southampton), the home address of a Mr and Mrs William Green. His last ship had been the Oceanic. As a storekeeper he received monthly wages of £6.

Henry Rudd died in the sinking. His body was not positively identified for many years but was almost certainly that recovered by the Mackay-Bennett (#86) and buried at sea.

N0. 86. - MALE. - ESTIMATED AGE, 23. - HAIR, LIGHT. CLOTHING - Blue serge jacket and trousers; singlet. NO MARKS ON BODY OR CLOTHING. EFFECTS - Padlock; knife; keys marked "Engineer's Storekeeper"; 2 shillings. PROBABLY STOREKEEPER.

His mother's further whereabouts are unclear, but she is thought to have died in Hampshire in the early 1920s.

Henry is remembered in Southampton after a street was named after him; Rudd Way still there today.