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Bedroom steward William McMurray, 43 years old, was a married father of three from Kensington, Liverpool. He died in the sinking of the Titanic and his body was never found. When the ship was sinking he is said to have gone back inside to help the passengers, and was never seen again.
In the collections of the Maritime Archives and Library is a very touching letter written to Mr McMurray by his young daughter, May. It is especially poignant because it is dated 13th April 1912 (the day before the ship hit the iceberg). The first page of the letter, shown below, reads:
“60 Empress Road, Kensington, Liverpool
13.4.12Dear Father, It seems ages since I last seen you. I wish we w(h)ere in Southampton with you it is very lonely without you. Dear Father I have not been so very well I have had a bad throat hoping I will soon get better for Nana worries so much little Ernie as not been...”
Mr McMurray's widow and three children (May, Ivy and Ernie) later received some financial help from the Titanic Relief Fund. The standard weekly payments for dependants of bedroom stewards were £1 12s 6d for the widow, 6/3d for each child.
In 1916 the Titanic Relief Fund amalgamated with charitable funds for the Empress of Ireland and Lusitania disasters to become the Titanic, Empress of Ireland and Lusitania Mansion House Relief Fund. This was available to dependants and relatives of crew and passengers lost in these disasters.
Some of Mr McMurray’s surviving relatives still live near Liverpool, in the Wigan area. His photograph is shown courtesy of Messrs A and W McMurray.
Accession number 1989.192 (archive ref DX/1018/R)