Bespoke House History Research

House history research into an address in a small West Sussex village surfaced the story of Arthur Victor Edwards Burrage. An ordinary young man, born into a large working-class family, who found himself living to tell a very extraordinary tale.

Arthur’s story began in the village of Warnham. Born in 1891, he was one of the eldest of ten children in a gamekeeper’s household. He remained in the local area throughout his childhood, and periodically returned to Sussex later on in life. Life in the home as a young man would have been busy and practical, with little room for idleness. For boys like Arthur, the expectation was clear: you found a trade, and you contributed.

He first trained as an agricultural engineer. It was a sensible choice for rural Sussex, where most men were tied to the land. But farming trades were poorly paid and offered little chance of advancement. Sussex villages were steady, predictable places. It’s possible Arthur was inspired by the prospect of seeing more of the world, and perhaps dreamt of a career change that would enable those types of opportunities.

In his early years, war was not yet on the horizon. There was no widespread sense that Britain would soon be drawn into conflict in Europe. Military service wasn’t compulsory. Arthur’s choices would have been shaped not by looming anxieties of conscription, but by more immediate concerns: wages, prospects, and perhaps the desire to see beyond the hedgerows of Sussex.

By 1911, the family home was a cottage by St. Mary’s church in Billingshurst, and Arthur was still recorded at home, working as an agricultural engineer. By the following year, he had turned to the sea. Attracted by the opportunity of a steward’s job, promising regular pay, food, and the possibility of tips from wealthier passengers. For a young man raised in a crowded cottage, the offer must have felt both practical and liberating. No less, he would be working on the “unsinkable” new ship: RMS Titanic. On 4 April 1912, Arthur signed on as a plate steward, earning £3 15s a month.

It was demanding work: long hours, polishing cutlery, refilling glasses, serving passengers who barely noticed you. But it was steady, and perhaps even exciting — a ticket across the Atlantic on the grandest ship afloat.

When the Titanic struck the iceberg, as crew, Arthur would have been asked to remain calm and assist passengers to the lifeboats. Perhaps through his will to survive, Arthur found his way into one himself, believed to have been lifeboat 13. Back in Sussex, his family must have been both desperate and terrified to read the news. Journalists scrambled to report details of both survivals and tragedies — but details were muddled in the rush, and newspapers confused his name with his father’s, Alfred.

Despite surviving, Arthur was never called to give evidence at the official Inquiries into the disaster — his name never made the headlines.

Many might have walked away from the sea after such a night. Arthur did the opposite. He went on to continue his pursuance of a career at sea, serving in the Merchant Fleet during the First World War and was also in the Royal Naval Reserve, ready to be called into service if needed.

Later he worked aboard other White Star liners, including the Majestic, Cedric and Homeric. Surviving the Titanic had not shaken him loose from the waves. If anything, it confirmed that the sea was his trade, perhaps even his destiny.

In later years Arthur broadened his skills. He worked as a mechanic, joined St David’s Lodge of Freemasons in 1918, and in 1923 he married Lillian Florence Foot. The couple had no children, but together they kept the Hop Pole Hotel in Bromyard, Herefordshire — a natural step for a man used to service and hospitality, but this time on his own terms.

Arthur died in Dorset in 1951. His story began in a modest Sussex cottage, passed through one of history’s most famous disasters, and carried on with quiet resilience. He was an ordinary man, who lived an extraordinary life.

Do you live in a period home? I’d love to help you discover the stories hidden in its past. Learn more about my house history services.

Further Reading on Arthur Burrage