Bertha Watt
| Bertha Watt | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Robertha Josephine "Bertha" Watt September 11, 1899 Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Died |
March 4, 1993 (aged 93) Vancouver, Canada |
Robertha Josephine "Bertha" Watt (September 11, 1889 - March 4, 1993) was one of the last remaining living survivors of the sinking of RMS Titanic.
Early life
Robertha Josephine "Bertha" Watt was born on September 11, 1899 in Aberdeen, Scotland.
RMS Titanic
Robertha was 12 years old when she boarded Titanic in Southampton on April 10, 1912 as a second-class passenger together with her mother, Elizabeth "Bessie" Inglis Watt. They shared their cabin with Ellen Mary Toomey and Rosa Pinsky. Aboard the ship, Bertha befriended a 8-year-old girl named Marjorie Charlotte "Lottie" Collyer.
When the Titanic hit an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, Bertha was roused from her sleep. She was told to pray because the Titanic was in danger.
Bertha's mother was told by a man from Edinburg that Titanic hit an iceberg. Bertha, her mother and their roommates survived in lifeboat 9.
On the lifeboat, a minister sat with his chin on his walking stick moaning on about all the years of sermons he lost. A woman said, "If you can give me back my husband and my son I'll pay you for your sermons."
They were rescued by RMS Carpathia. There was a rope ladder with a belt.
Bertha's mother said, "Go on, you can climb that. I went up without the belt."
The captain roared down, "Don't let anyone come up without a belt on."
Later life
On 1923, Bertha married a doctor named Leslie Marshall. They moved to British Columbia where she became a Canadian citizen. They had 2 sons named James and Robert.
Her mother died on December 18, 1951.
One of her most valuable was the second class passenger list. She said, "A day out or so, passengers were given booklets with the names of those in the same class. My mother had it in the pocket of her tweed coat. When we were picked up by the Carpathia the officers borrowed it to radio the names of the second class passengers to New York."
Death
Bertha died on March 4, 1993.
References
| |||||||||||
