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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December 9th, 1871 - September 4th, 1949
She is a Sagittarius.
Ellen "Nellie" Wallcroft was born to John Wallcroft (Brewer's labourer) and his wife Rebecca (née Broughton). At the time they were living at West Street, Maidenhead, Berkshire. In the 1881 census the family are listed as living at Norfolk Park, Cottage, Cookham, Berkshire. Nellie had an older brother, Fred (1873 - 1893) and 3 younger brothers Walter (1879 - 1968), Arthur (1882 - 1924), and John (1884 - 1885), their mother died just 3 days after John's birth. On September 22nd, 1885 their father remarried Louisa Hicks and had 5 more daughters. In the 1901 census Nellie was listed as a cook at the home of surgeon George Moore, in Castle Hill, Maidenhead.
Aboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912: By 1911 he had become a cook in the household of Mr. Evan Spicer (a paper manufacturer) at Belair Park, Dulwich. In order to learn more money, Nellie decided to go to America. Travelling with her friend Clear Cameron Nellie originally booked on another vessel, but they were transferred when their ship was laid up because of the coal strike. The 2 ladies boarded the RMS Titanic at Southampton as 2nd class passengers. On the Titanic they shared a 2nd class cabin for two on E-deck. Her destination was given as Ruddington Farm, Mamaroneck, New York to join her half-sister Lucy Land who had emigrated in 1911. Nellie wrote a letter to the Maidenhead Newspaper dated April 23rd, 1912 telling her story.
She recounted how she had left Maidenhead on April 9th, staying in London and caught the special train to Southampton at 8:30 AM, April 10th. A sister and a friend said goodbye to her. The train arrived at Southampton Dock station at 10:15 AM. On Sunday night, the 14th, they went to their stateroom about 10:30 AM and soon fell asleep. Suddenly there was a crash and she was nearly thrown out of her berth. She woke Clear, by shouting: "Clear, what's that!?". The engines had stopped. A steward arrived and said "Go back to your beds, no danger!" but she heard outside "an iceberg". They dressed and went on deck. There they walked around, when suddenly rockets went up. They finally entered lifeboat 14. Lowe was in command. He shot twice, over the side of the ship, to keep men away from the lifeboat. Then it was lowered and they towed away.
Nellie said she saw the ship split and heard two more explosions from underneath the water, when the Titanic went down. For a few months it was silent, then terrible crying arose from the people left behind. This seemed to last for hours. When say broke, they saw 6 large icebergs. Nellie and Clear were transferred to lifeboat 10 when Lowe decided to go back and search for survivors. 6 were pulled from the water, 2 of them died. At a quarter to 7 they were picked up by the RMS Carpathia. They found they had to sleep on the tables of a Dining Saloon. They arrived at New York about 8:00 PM on April 18th, 1912 where her sister and brother-in-law met her. Carl Land was a chauffeur who had been lent the family car to collect the girls.
After The Sinking/Later Life/Death: From Mamaroneck she sent a cablegram to her parents at 'Brairwood' Furze Road, Furze Platt, Maidenhead, England: "Arrived, well, Nellie". Nellie put a claim to White Star for her loss valued at $651. Nellie stayed for some time at Ruddington Farm. She got a job as a cook at Mamaroneck, but she left very unhappy. Another job at Rye, New York, was no better. Leaving Rye in August, she went to Springfield to look for another job. This didn't materialize so she spent a month at Ruddington Farm with her sister. She tried several other jobs, but couldn't find one to suit her. She returned to England during the first world war, and served as a forewoman cook in Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps. Her efforts were rewarded in 1919 by the British Empire Medal, Military Division, which was presented to her by the Consul General in New York on November 1st, 1920.
Retuning to America, she was counted twice during the 1920 Federal census, on January 11th, 1920 she was listed as staying with Lucy and Carl Land, Nellie's half-sister and brother-in-law, their daughter and another sister of theirs, Eva Griffin on Wood Cest Ave (the Bronx or Brooklyn?). It lists her as being 40, single and a cook and having immigrated in 1917. On January 29-30th, 1920 she is listed as a cook in Manhattan in Henry Schniewand's home in Manhattan. It states that she was 44 and had immigrated in 1912. Later in the 1920's she married an Irishman named William George Lipscomb. They lived in Brooklyn, New York with William's sister Rebecca.
In 1930 they were living at Ryerson Street, Brooklyn, William was listed as a 'Floor Man' in a bank. By 1940 they had moved to 18th Street, Brooklyn; William's occasion was apartment House Superintendent and Nellie was listed as a seamstress. William died on November 28th, 1945 and Nellie died on September 4th, 1949. At an auction in Devies, England, in January of 1999, a letter she had written, detailing her travels, was sold for $13,200.
