Mr William Dibden was born on 29 October 1893 in Bramshaw, England, a small parish straddling the Hampshire and Wiltshire borders.
He was the son of William Dibden (b. 1857), a butcher, and Eliza Hester, née Dibden (b. 1864). His father was a native of Bramshaw and his mother of Nomansland, Redlynch, Wiltshire and they had married in early 1885. He had four siblings: Mary (b. 1886), Bessie (b. 1888), Benjamin (b. 1896) and Hester Eveline (b. 1900).
William appears on the 1901 and 1911 censuses living at Furzley in Bramshaw and he is described as a general labourer on the latter census. Living close by, among other family, was his aunt and uncle Ambrose and Sarah Hood and his cousin Ambrose. His father died in 1901 and his mother was never remarried.
William boarded the Titanic at Southampton as a second class passenger (joint ticket number 14879 which cost £73, 10s) and he was travelling with his cousin Ambrose Hood, Charles Henry Davies, Percy William Deacon, Leonard Mark Hickman , Lewis Hickman and Stanley George Hickman, all from the same locale. He was travelling to Eden, Manitoba.
William Dibden died in the sinking. His body, if recovered, was never identified. He is remembered on his parents' headstone in St Peter's Church, Bramshaw:
William, Eldest Son Of The Above
Who Was Lost In The Wreck Of The
S.S. Titanic April 15th 1912 Aged 18 Years
The seven men are also remembered on a memorial plaque in St Peter's Church:
Percy Deacon 17 Years old
William Dibden 18 Years Old
Charles Henry Davies 19 Years Old
Ambrose Hood 21 Years Old
Stanley George Hickman 21 Years Old
Leonard Mark Hickman 24 Years Old
Lewis Hickman 32 Years Old
All Of The Parish Who Were Lost In The Wreck Of The
S S Titanic On April 15th 1912 Through Collision With An
Iceberg In The Atlantic
William's mother continued to live at the same address for the rest of her life and she died on 30 May 1944.
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