The Horsham man who died on the Titanic

In the early hours of this day in 1912 the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage, having struck an iceberg the previous night.

Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew, around 1,500 died. One of those crew members was local man John James Charman.

He was aged just 26 and was on his first job at sea.

The Charman family moved to Horsham, having lived at Cuckfield and Holbrook. When John’s father died his mother was left a widow with eight children.

John was given a job by Mr Henry Tanner, of Denne Parade, to help the family’s income. The boy was well known as a promising student at Brighton Road Baptist Sunday School.

Before engagement on the Titanic, John had been a ‘hall-boy’ (young domestic servant) and a valet and then a waiter. He worked in London, Slough and then Southampton where he obtained a berth on the Titanic as a second class steward.

He had seen this job as a major step up and had written to his, now blind, mother, saying: “I hope to make a bit of money this trip, so you will be alright when I come home, don’t worry, dear Mother.”

When the disaster was first announced most of the Horsham churches held memorial services. Not surprisingly, particular mention was made at Brighton Road Baptist Church where the Rev Adam Waugh said: “Mr John Charman was a bright young fellow, the son of one of our most respected members of the congregation, upon whom the loss has fallen as a crushing load.

“John Charman was formerly a Sunday School scholar belonging to us, and we deeply lament his premature end.”