RMS Titanic Book 1

Hugh Woolner

September 28th, 1866 - February 13th, 1925

He is a Libra

Hugh Woolner was born at Wellback Street, Marylebone, Middlesex, England and later was baptized on November 22nd, 1866 at St. Mary's Church. He was the son of Thomas Woolner (born 1826), a sculptor, poet, and art-dealer and Alice Gertrude Waugh (born 1845), the latter a native of Middlesex; they were married on September 6th, 1864. His father hailed from Hadleigh, Suffolk and trained with the sculptor William Behnes, exhibiting work at the Royal Academy from 1843 with his detailed busts and medallions. Woolner had 5 siblings: Amy (born 1865), Geoffrey (1867 - 1882), Clare (born 1869), Dorothy (born 1873), and Phyllis (1875 - 1960). Woolner appears on the 1871 census when he and his family were still residents of Wellbeck Street, living among 4 servants (2 nursemaids, 1 housemaid and 1 cook). The family were at the same address by the time of the 1881 census but Hugh and Geoffrey were listed as students at Melborough, Wiltshire. Geoffrey died there in 1882 at the age of 14 whilst Hugh went on to become a graduate of Cambridge University.

Thomas passed away on October 7th, 1892, leaving an estate valued at £65,766, 19s, 3d and that same year Hugh began his career with the London stock exchange, later founding the brokerage firm Woolner & Co. Both the 1901 and 1911 census records show Alice, Amy, Clare, Dorothy, and Phyllis continuing to reside on Wellbeck Street. Alice died on March 9th, 1912, leaving an estate value at £3445, 0s, 1d. Woolner was the recipient. Woolner was married in Scarborough, Yorkshire in 1892 to Mary Simpson (born 1868), a native of Thurnscoe, Yorkshire and they had 5 children: Christopher Geoffrey (born 1893), Juliet (born 1895), Cynthia Mary (born 1896), Katherine Amy (born 1898), and Rosalind Frances (born 1900). The 1901 census records shows the family living at Ford's Grove, Winchmore, Middlesex and Woolner is described as a stockbroker. Mary died December 18th, 1906 at the age of 38. Woolner isn't listed on the 1911 census but his children are shown residing at Glebe Road, Bedford, Bedfordshire and in the care of their maternal great-aunt Mary Frances Alice Sheppard (1859 - 1943) and their mother's sister Frances Harriet Fleetwood Simpson (1870 - 1951). 

Onboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912:
By 1912 his home address was Wellbeck Street, London and he was a director of various companies. Woolner boarded the RMS Titanic at Southampton on April 10th, 1912 as a first class passenger which cost £35, 10s and he occupied cabin C-52. While aboard her became acquainted with Helen Churchill Candee and others that be known as "our coterie"; others include Archibald Gracie IV, Edward Colley, James Clinch Smith, and Mauritz Häkan Björnström-Steffansson. On the night of the sinking, Woolner had been in the first class smoking room at the time of the collision and was sitting with Mauritz and Edward Kent, possibly also James C. Smith.

When the collision occurred Woolner reported that there was no sensation of an impact but that the ship stalled slightly and that the smoking room seemed to twist somewhat. All those present in the room jumped to their feet and hastened to A-Deck promenade; whilst there he heard another man exclaim that he has seen an iceberg astern. Woolner proceeded to try and find Helen and located her just outside her cabin and suggested that they go for a walk, explaining that something had went amiss but that he didn't consider that it was anything serious. They appear to have spent around 10 minutes strolling around the aft end of the promenade deck when they saw people inside walking around with lifebelts on. Enquiring from a steward nearby whether order had been given to start wearing lifebelts, the steward acknowledged this was the case. Woolner escorted back to her cabin and assisted her with her lifebelt and went to his own cabin took the two lifebelts there with him, giving one to a passerby who had none.