Encyclopedia Titanica

W L Gwyn, Former Brooklyn Mail Clerk, May Have Been Lost

Brooklyn Daily Times

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Postmaster Edward M. Morgan said yesterday that the Titanic was carrying 3,423 sacks of mail and added:

"There are generally about four bags of prints---a postal term applied to all other pieces than letters---to one of letters. A bag contains about 8,000 letters. There are probably about 200 bags of registered mail, though I cannot say with certainty until I hear from England."

There were three American and two English sea post clerks aboard the Titanic. The names of the two Englishmen are not known here. The three Americans are: J. S. March, of Newark, N. J.; O. S. Woodie, of Washington, D. C., and W. L. Gwyn, of Brooklyn. All are experienced men who have been in the postal service from seventeen to twenty-two years. March is 48 years old and was formerly in the railway postal service. Gwyn is 36 and Woodie 40 years old.

Edwin Sands, assistant superintendent of foreign mails in this city, said yesterday that there was a hope that the three clerks bad been saved as part of the Titanic's crew.

"In case of an emergency such as this," said Mr. Sands, "the sea post clerks are regarded as passengers, that is to say, they are subject to the captain's orders and rules as other passengers, but ordinarily they are regarded as members of the crew though assigned to no duty other than postal work. There is a possibility that our men were among the part of the crew saved.”

It is now understood that Gwynn lives in Manhattan. Years ago he was a resident of this borough, but he moved back to Manhattan, where he was a native. He was thirty-six years old. Mr. Gwynn was a married man. Mrs. Gwynn is dangerously ill at her home in Manhattan, and no one has been allowed to speak to her about the disaster, as it is feared that the shock might kill her.

[Note: The erractic spleling of "Gwynn" is from the original.]

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Encyclopedia Titanica (2004) W L Gwyn, Former Brooklyn Mail Clerk, May Have Been Lost (Brooklyn Daily Times, Wednesday 17th April 1912, ref: #4266, published 28 December 2004, generated 6th December 2024 08:39:43 AM); URL : https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/w-l-gwyn-former-brooklyn-mail-clerk-may-have-been-lost.html