The Tragic Tale of Fred Wright

In April 1912 the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sunk below the freezing waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The story of the Titanic is well known to all of us, from the calls for women and children first, to the band playing stoically as the ship descended. It has become interwoven to our culture, thanks largely in part to the fictional tale of Rose and Jack - less known though is the story of Fred Wright.

Fred Wright was born in Great Billing, Northampton in 1888, He came from a long line of Great Billing residents and left school at 12 to become a domestic house boy. If it hadn’t been for a career change in his early 20s it is likely that Wright would have remained an unknown entry in the parish records.

While we don’t know the details, we do know that by 1911 he had moved out of Great Billing and was living in London and had started work as a racquet court attendant on the RMS Olympic. The Olympic was the sister ship of the infamous RMS Titanic. On 4th April 1912 Wright signed on to the Titanic. We do not why he changed ships; however, it is possible that they wanted an experienced coach used to the facilities for the maiden voyage. As the racquet court attendant, he received weekly wages of £1, a meagre sum and he perhaps relied heavily on tips from his wealthy clientele.

Archibald Gracie IV

Much of what we know about the Titanic disaster comes from the account written by Archibald Gracie who survived the sinking by reaching a capsized lifeboat. Unfortunately the time he spent in the Atlantic Ocean left him with chronic hypothermia and he died in December 1912, the first adult survivor to die.

Gracie was a keen racquet player and a client of Fred Wright, after an indulgent start to the journey he had a number of sessions booked with Wright for the last two days of the trip. After the ship struck the iceberg and the reality of the situation dawned for those onboard, Wright encountered Gracie. Gracie suggested that they cancel their appointment, which Wright replied “Yes, we better.” These were probably Wright’s last words and he drowned in the disaster. His body was never recovered. Unfortunately, there was another layer to this tragedy – due to a mistake in New York his family was told that he had survived (he was confused for William Wright a steward who survived) only to have it confirmed that he had died.