It’s a fairly unremarkable three-bedroom semi-detached house, in a fairly unremarkable cul-de-sac in West Bridgford.
But if the house, at 9 Chestnut Grove, could speak, it would tell a truly remarkable tale. Because the woman who lived there with her family, in 1912, survived the sinking of the liner Titanic. And more than that, two and a half years later, she survived another disastrous shipwreck: that of the hospital ship Rohilla, in the North Sea.
Mary Kezia Roberts was a stewardess, earning three pounds ten shillings a month, on board the Titanic when it set sail on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on April 10 1912. Four days later it struck an iceberg, 400 nautical miles south of Newfoundland, and sank with the loss of more than 1500 lives.
Mary survived, on lifeboat number 11, but her connection with West Bridgford has remained a relatively well-kept secret – until now.
Hilary Waring and her husband, Bill O’Grady, bought 9 Chestnut Grove, which was built in 1887, 35 years ago. They had no idea that a survivor from the Titanic had lived there. The revelation came as a bit of a surprise.
“My first reaction was that I was embarrassed,” she told me, “because as a local history librarian I didn’t know that. And I hadn’t found that out, even though I lived here.”
Hilary is retired now, but she’s got the bit between her teeth and is thoroughly researching the story of Mary Kezia Roberts.
Husband Bill, a retired social worker, said: ” I was surprised that Hilary didn’t already know. She’s really excited.”
Hilary added: ”I think the most interesting thing is the fact that she was a married woman with five children who were quite young. At the time of the Titanic her youngest child was three and she had a responsible job and was able to go off and do that job. It’s just fascinating.”
As the huge liner foundered, Mary Kezia Roberts climbed on board lifeboat number 11. There she was given a 10-month-old child, Frank Philip Aks, to look after. In the chaos he’d become separated from his mother, Lea. Mary cared for him until the pair were, eventually, reunited after being picked up by the liner Carpathia. Frank, given a second chance at life, lived to the ripe old age of 80 and only died in 1991.
The sinking of the Titanic made headlines around the world. Mary’s young family in West Bridgford feared she may have drowned. But eventually her husband, David, received a cablegram announcing that she was safe. It must have been a great relief.
Mary’s remarkable story didn’t end with the sinking of the Titanic. Unfazed by her brush with death, she went back to work as a stewardess on the White Star liner Majestic. Then, after the outbreak of the First World War, she joined the crew of a hospital ship, the HMHS Rohilla. In late October 1914 the Rohilla was steaming south from South Queensferry in Scotland, to pick up wounded soldiers in Dunkirk, when it ran aground in a fierce storm off Whitby. The ship sank and, despite the heroic efforts of local lifeboat crews, 83 people were drowned. However, more than 140 people were saved, among them Mary Kezia Roberts.
Curiously, both the Titanic and the Rohilla were built in Belfast by the same company, Harland and Wolff.
A lesser soul might have taken the hint and given up seafaring, but not Mary. She carried on working until 1929, her last trip being on board the SS Rajputana, which sailed between Britain and India.
By then she had left West Bridgford and moved, with her family, to Ewell in Surrey. She died in the cottage hospital, there, in 1933, aged 62. Her husband, David, died around the same time, after being involved in a motorcycle accident.
Some may ask: ”Why did she leave her young family to go to work on board ocean liners?” Hilary Waring thinks she may have the answer. “The little bit of research I have done indicates that there were financial difficulties for the family caused by the failure of her husband’s businesses,” she said. “I think it must have been a financial imperative, really.” In addition, Mary’s mother-in-law lived with the family and probably looked after the children.
Meanwhile Hilary is intent on finding out quite a bit more about the indomitable woman who used to live in her house on Chestnut Grove.
“I should really be doing my own family history and Bill’s family history and I’m trying to write that up at the moment. So this has side-tracked me a bit,” she said. “But I’m quite happy to be side-tracked.“
Written by Chris Mills
