Introduction
For many people, the biggest scandal and most poignant aspect of the Titanic story is the loss of so many third class passengers. But did you also know that a higher proportion of crew members died in the sinking? Around three-quarters of her staff – deck crew, engine room crew, engineering crew, officers and more – died when Titanic went down. Read key facts about the crew of the Titanic below.
Crew Statistics
908 – the total number of crew members on board the RMS Titanic.
696 – the number of crew members who perished.
212 – the number of crew members who survived.
76% – the percentage of crew members who died, a higher death rate even than third class.
4 – the number of crew members who failed to get to the ship before she left Southampton, following an evening spent drinking together. A passing train near the docks delayed their progress, and so brothers Alfred, Bertram and Thomas Slade, along with a trimmer named Penney, narrowly avoided sailing on the doomed liner.
724 – the number of crew members who came from Southampton.
549 – the number of crew members from Southampton who died in the sinking.
5 – the number of days after the disaster that the names of survivors were posted up outside the offices of the White Star Line, at which point the scale of the losses amongst Southampton families became clear.
1 – the number of crew who left the ship early in the voyage (a young stoker named John Coffey jumped ship at Cobh in County Cork, Ireland – then known as Queenstown – the last port of call on the Titanic’s maiden voyage before heading into the Atlantic. Coffey claimed to have had a ‘sense of foreboding’ about the voyage).
Above: L-R: Chief Officer Lt. Henry Tingle Wilde, First Officer Lt. William McMaster Murdoch, Third Officer Herbert John Pitman, Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller.
Ships Officers
| Name | Age | Position | Survivor (Boat) or Victim (†) |
| Commander Edward John Smith | 62 | Captain | † |
| Lt Henry Tingle Wilde | 39 | Chief Officer | † |
| Lt William McMaster Murdoch | 39 | First Officer | † |
| Sub-Lt Charles Herbert Lightoller | 38 | Second Officer | Lifeboat B |
| Herbert John Pitman | 34 | Third Officer | Lifeboat 5 |
| Sub-Lt Joseph Groves Boxhall | 28 | Fourth Officer | Lifeboat 2 |
| Sub-Lt Harold Godfrey Lowe | 29 | Fifth Officer | Lifeboat 14 |
| James Paul Moody | 24 | Sixth Officer | † |
14 – the age at which Fifth Officer Harold Lowe ran away from home and began life at sea, starting as a ship’s boy on schooners around the Welsh coast.
14 – the ages of the two youngest crew members aboard Titanic, Frederick William Hopkins (Plates Steward) and William Albert Watson (Bellboy) both of whom were born in 1897. Both boys perished when the Titanic sank.
Male Crew Statistics
885 – the total number of male crew members on board.
192 – the number of male crew members who survived.
693 – the number of male crew members who perished.
22% – the percentage of male crew members who survived.
Female Crew Statistics
23 – the total number of female crew members on board.
20 – the number of female crew members who survived.
3 – the number of female crew members who perished.
87% – the percentage of female crew members who survived.
Titanic Deck Crew
2 – the number of doctors in the crew, a Surgeon and an Assistant Surgeon (neither survived).
29 – the number of Able Bodied Seamen (21 survived).
2 – the number of Boatswain Mates (1 survived).
2 – the number of Master-at-Arms (1 survived).
7 – the number of Quartermasters (all 7 survived).
1 – the number of Storekeepers (survived).
2 – the number of Carpenters/Joiners (none survived).
6 – the number of Lookouts (all 6 survived).
6 – the number of Mess Hall Stewards (1 survived).
2 – the number of Lamp Trimmers (both survived).
2 – the number of Window Cleaners (1 survived).
Titanic Engineering Crew
25 – the number of Engineers (none survived).
10 – the number of Electricians (none survived).
13 – the number of Stoker Foremen – i.e. leading firemen (3 survived).
163 – the number of Stokers – i.e. firemen (an estimated 45 survived).
They must have known that pumping could do no more than delay the final catastrophe, yet they stuck pluckily to their duty. – Sir Archibald Denny, unveiling the Titanic Engineers’ Memorial on 22 April 1914
73 – the number of Coal Trimmers (an estimated 20 survived).
33 – the number of Greasers (4 survived).
22 April 1914 – the date on which the Titanic Engineers’ Memorial was unveiled at Andrews Park in Southampton, England.
100,000 – the approximate number of people who turned out for the unveiling ceremony.
More To Explore
If you have found these facts about the Titanic crew of interest, why not read all about Captain Smith, the brave members of the orchestra, and about the casualties of the Titanic.