RMS Titanic Sea Postal Clerks
Video: Posted Aboard the RMS Titanic. A Graphic Showing the Location of the Postal Mail Room on the Ship. The National Postal Museum Exhibit (1999-2000). Frame 1:56/5:27. | GGA Image ID # 10ef0c03b6
On April 9, 1912, Sea Post clerks March and Gwinn toured their new ship and found much to like. Titanic’s mail sorting room was far superior to any they had ever worked in before. Most mail sorting rooms of the time were far removed from where the mailbags were stored, often relegated to a cramped and poorly ventilated space. The mailbag storage compartment aboard Titanic, however, was conveniently located directly below the mail sorting room.
The mail clerks objected to their sleeping and meal arrangements among the third-class passengers, however, and secured alternate accommodations and permission to dine in a private area.
- Mr. William Logan Gwinn, (37) Postal Clerk [P-BNR]
- Mr. John Starr March, (50) Postal Clerk [225-MB]
- Mr. John Richard "Jago" Smith, (35) Postal Clerk [P-BNR]
- Mr. James Bertram Williamson, (35) Postal Clerk [P-BNR]
- Mr. Oscar Scott Woody, (41) Postal Clerk [167-MB]
Checking the Mail Sacks on Board a Fast Mail Steamer. The World To-Day (December 1910) p. 1411, GGA Image ID # 1088f35764
The Sea Post Office. From one to three thousand sacks of mail are sorted here every trip. The World To-Day (December 1910) p. 1411, GGA Image ID # 108903420e
In all, 3,364 mailbags were brought aboard Titanic at three points — at its embarkation port at Southampton, England (1,758 bags); at Cherbourg, France (1,412 bags); and at Queenstown, Ireland (194 sacks) — before the ship headed for its final destination of New York City. Before sailing, the clerks carried out the routine tasks of checking the mail sacks and storing those that did not require their attention during the voyage.
As Titanic set sail, the five postal workers began sorting the mail, distributing letters and packages into mailbags according to their final destination. Their goal was to dispatch Titanic’s mail immediately upon arrival at the Quarantine Station in New York Bay, where all incoming ships were detained for health inspection purposes.
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