The Murderer On Board the RMS Titanic
William Mintram was a crewman on the Titanic but he was also known to be a murderer
When the RMS Titanic set sail on its fateful voyage on 10 April 1912, there were more than 900 crewmen on board the ship. Out of the 900 crewmen, 150 men worked as stokers or firemen.
The job of a stoker was lowly and difficult. It involved back-breaking work and toiling by the heat of the Titanic’s 29 boilers. More than 600 tonnes of coals were needed to propel the ship every day and the stokers had to maintain the furnace. It was not easy work and it may explain why one particular stoker, William Mintram was hired despite having a criminal background.
William was no ordinary stoker. He had just been released from prison for killing his wife but he still got a job on the Titanic.
What led William to murder his wife and did he survive the sinking of the Titanic?
William was born in March 1866 in Southampton, United Kingdom. When he became older, he worked as a stoker at a large shipping firm. He was known to be an excellent worker.
In 1886, William got married to 17-year-old Eliza Mary Rose Veal. Eliza was already pregnant with their daughter and the couple felt forced to wed in a shotgun wedding.
