My second book about the RMS Titanic and her passengers and crew along with some movie talk. Same rules apply, no drama, trolls, and disrespecting the people on this ship
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July 10th, 1876 - October 17th, 1917
He is a Cancer.
Ernest Archer was born in Whitenap near Romsey, Hampshire, England and was baptized September 10th, 1876. He was the son of Robert Archer (1842 - 1888), a farm labourer, and Ann Townsend (born 1848), natives of Romsey, Hampshire and Dorset respectively who married in Romsey on February 12th, 1867. One of 8 children, Ernest's siblings were: Herbert (born 1870), Eveline Ella (born 1873; later Mrs. Harry George Mills), Beatrice Amy (born 1879), Cecil Victor (1880 - 1882), Ada Alice (born 1883), Agnes Mabel (born 1884), and James Richard (born 1887). He first appears on the 1881 census living at Whitenap Lodge in Romsey. His father died in the early weeks of 1888. His mother remarried in 1890 to Joseph Annett (born 1851), a Romesy-born sawyer, and the family appear on the 1891 census living in Spring Place, Romsey where a 16 year old Ernest is described as a grocer's labourer. He is believed to have gone to sea within the next year or so and later became rated as an able seaman.
Ernest was married in South Stoneham, Registry Office on September 26th, 1896 to Elizabeth Mary Spencer (March 28th, 1876) in Woolston, Hampshire, the daughter of seafarer Edward Jeremiah Spencer and Frances Callen; both listed their address as Dukes Road, St Denys, Portswood. The couple had 9 children, 7 living past infancy. They consisted of Ethel Elizabeth (1898 - 1976; later Mrs. Arthur Thomas), Ernest Edward Arthur (1899 - 1968), Walter John (1900 - 1972), AMH Beatrice (1904 - 1967; later Mrs. Ivan C. Robinson), Florence Eva (born 1907), Elsie Ada (1910 - 1913), and Hilda Bessie (1913 - 1967; later Mrs. Edgar B. Griffins). Absent from both the 1901 and 1911 census records, Ernest's family were recorded as living at Albert Road, St Mary and Portchester Road, Woolston respectively on those conditions.
aboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912: When he signed onto the Titanic in Southampton on April 6th, 1912, Ernest gave his address as Portchester Road, Woolston, Southampton. He had transferred from the RMS Oceanic and as an able seaman, he received monthly wages of £5. He had served with White Star Line since around April of 1907 and was neighbors with another Titanic crewman, James Witter, who lived at Portchester Road. He joined the ship on the morning of departure, April 10th, 1912. On the night of the sinking Ernest was in his bunk asleep, situated forward on E-Deck. A light sleeper by his own admission, he was startled awake by a crushing sound which he likened to the anchor being dropped and the cable running through the hawse pipe. Although feeling no awareness of a thud or crash he described "a grafting sensation" running through the ship.
He jumped out of his bunk, threw on a pair of trousers and headed barefoot to the forward well deck where he saw numerous small chunks of ice scattered along the starboard side. Ernest returned to his bunk where he put on his shoes, a jumper and a cap; whilst doing so the boatswain arrived and ordered all men up on deck; he mustered with other men near the forecastle ladder where boatswain Nichols ordered them to proceed to the boat deck. He and the other men did so and once at the boat deck they began to prepare the lifeboats for launch. His assigned boat was lifeboat 7. Ernest didn't leave his assigned boat and assisted in lowering 3 starboard side boats, the numbers he couldn't recall, when an unidentified officer came and pressed for more crew on the port side. Over on the port side deck, Ernest helped load and lower lifeboats 12 and 14, before crossing back to the starboard side and seeing lifeboat 15 away. He then returned to the aft port side boat deck where he was ordered by an officer to check the plug was in place in lifeboat 16. He jumped into the boat and confirmed the plug was in place at which passengers began passing in, he assisting them and declared that there was no panic or disorder in doing so.
"Then when I got to No. 6 boat officer told me to get into the boat and see that the plug was in; so I got into the boat. I seen that the plug was in tight, then they started to put passengers in, and I assisted to get them in...I never saw any men got in...only my mate."
On the boat was filled with around 50 persons the officer ordered it lowered; the boat reached the water and cleared the ship without difficulty. An additional crewman, master-at-arms Henry Joseph Bailey, slid down the falls to take commend of the boat with Ernest and able seaman James Forward. After rowing about a quarter of a mile away from the ship Ernest claimed they stopped there and stood by, he was certain that the ship wouldn't sink and believed they would soon be summoned back. During the wait, Ernest claimed to hear 2 explosions, spaced between 20 minutes apart what he attributed to water reaching the boilers. Seated in the bow of his lifeboat, Ernest watched the ship gradually sink and saw all lights extinguished; he couldn't see however, if the ship broke apart during her final throes and described her as a black mass.
After the ship disappeared a female passenger reportedly called on the crew to return the boat to the wreck try and rescue anybody from the water; Ernest didn't identified the woman and he couldn't say what was said after that; the boat didn't return to the scene. One of the stewardesses in the boat asked that she be allowed to row to help keep arm. Earnest stated that those in his lifeboat spotted a light in the distance and they began to tow towards it; however the light of the Carpathia appeared in the opposite direction and they turned around and headed for her instead. A fireman was transferred from lifeboat 9 to assist in their rowing towards the rescue ship.
After The Sinking/Later Life/Death: Ernest returned to his family in Southampton and continued to work at sea during WW1 in troops transport; with his opinion of seafaring life perhaps coloured by experiences he reportedly forbade both his sons from becoming seamen and instead had then apprenticed in the shipyards. He and his family lived at Portchester Road, Woolsyon for the rest of his life.
Suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis in the years after the disaster, which his family attributed to his shock and exposure, Ernest died in prematurely in Southampton's R.S.H Hospital on October 17th, 1917 at the age of 41; he is buried in an unmarked grave in St Mary Extra Cemetery, Sholing, Southampton. In 1920, Elizabeth remarried Edwin Ashbolt, he died in 1939 when the widowed Mrs. Ashbolt was listed with her daughter Florence Eva Gawn (née Archer). She died in Worthing, Sussex on February 26th, 1960 and was buried in the same cemetery as her 2 husbands.
