Upon becoming a teenager, on a number of occasions I overheard my mother and grandmother speaking about our ancestors being of high rank in the Royal Navy and my grandfather a spitfire mechanic in the Royal Airforce in the Suez Canal Crisis. It was also spoken about that my GGF had 'hopped ship' and opted out of sailing on the Titanic but that 2 other family members had sadly perished in that disaster. It was also discovered that my Grandmother had served as a 'Skivvy' (Domestic Servant) to the late Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, a close relative to the British Royal Family. This was documented as her trade in my mothers Birth Certificate. As it became obvious that I was very interested in researching the family history in more detail, it was strictly forbidden, to the point that I was ostracised from my parents, never to be welcomed again. There was clearly a reason for this and my belief is that my mother and grandmother knew far more than they were willing to let on after I came across the evidence of the 2 distant cousins on the Encyclopedia Titanica Website. After studying the evidence it was clear that it wasn't my GGF that opted out of boarding the Titanic that day but for some unknown reason there was an exchange of family members at the last minute. Maybe nobody will find out the truth of why that happened.....

The photographs above are of my Great Grandfather of whom I am proud of for the service that he showed to humanity. Charles Robert Cooke, Naval Officer and Chief Superintendent of the NSPCC for 30 Years. Pictures include Alice Winifred Cooke (Nee Martin) {wife} & Charles Martin Cooke & Kenneth George Cooke {Sons}. 

However, I do believe the true Heroes are those workers that got very little recognition for offering their lives in place of the safety of others. They deserve to be remembered for centuries to come and the Metaverse is a place that I believe will outlive me and my future generations. Long live the memories of the true courage shown from these men of the waters.

On 6 April 1912, someone signed the crew list for the RMS Titanic’s maiden voyage as “James Cooper” – trimmer, aged 25, of 27 Pound Street, Shirley, Southampton, late of the Olympic.

That signature really was James’s. But the man who stepped aboard four days later, worked in the stokeholds, and went down with the ship in the freezing Atlantic was my distant cousin, his younger brother Frederick George Cooper.

The Cooper Family of Southampton

James Edward Cooper was born on 14 April 1886 in Southampton, the second of fifteen children born to Henry Cooper, a house painter from Botley, and Maria Lock from Bishops Waltham.

James went to sea young and by 1911 had married Alice Wilkins. Their first daughter, Winifred, arrived in January 1912. James was the one who should have sailed on Titanic – he signed on, gave his correct address, and then, according to the story that has come down through the family, went for a few sociable drinks in Southampton and simply never went back to the ship.

Frederick Steps In

Frederick George Cooper, born 3 February 1888 in Northam, was two years younger than James. In 1911 he was still living with his parents at 71 Manor Road, Itchen, and already working as a trimmer for the Union-Castle Line. He had briefly joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1909, trained at Netley, and remained on the Army Reserve.

For reasons lost to time – perhaps to help his brother out, perhaps to grab a last-minute berth – Frederick took James’s papers and place. He sailed as “James Cooper”, aged 25. In reality he was 24 when Titanic left Southampton on 10 April 1912.

Frederick died in the early hours of 15 April 1912. His body, if recovered, was never identified. The official victim lists still record “James Cooper, trimmer” as lost. My cousin Frederick lies beneath the Atlantic remembered under his brother’s name.

Life Went On for James

James lived until 1950. He and Alice had eleven children in total, eventually left the sea, and settled in Portsmouth where he worked as a house painter like his father. He died at the age of 64, having carried the secret – or perhaps the guilt – for the rest of his life.

Their parents, Henry and Maria, received money from the Titanic Relief Fund because their son Frederick was officially listed as a crew victim. Maria passed away in 1927, Henry in 1942.

A Story Kept Alive in the Family

This isn’t just another Titanic crew biography to me – it’s family. The tale of the brother who stayed ashore and the brother who took his place has been spoken about in quiet corners of family gatherings for generations.

Acknowledgements

Huge thanks to the people who helped piece the paperwork together and confirm what the family always knew:

Gavin Bell

Phil Brown

Michael Cooper

Andrew Williams

If you’re part of the wider Cooper clan from Southampton/Itchen/Portsmouth or have any photographs, letters, or memories of James, Frederick, or their siblings, I’d love to hear from you – drop me a message here or on X

@KevBarefoot

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For Frederick George Cooper (1888–1912) – my cousin, who sailed as someone else and never came home.

First published November 2025

© General KevBarefoot – All rights reserved

Another branch of my extended Cooper family from Southampton sent a second young man to the RMS Titanic — and like Frederick, he never returned.

Henry William Cooper was born on 7 May 1886 in Southampton, the only son of Henry Cooper, a dock labourer, and Hannah Knight. He had an older sister Jane and a younger sister Florence (born 1890). Tragedy struck the family early: Henry’s mother Hannah died while he was still a small boy. His father later remarried a woman named Jane, originally from Frome in Somerset.

By 1901 the family was living at 5 William Street, Northam. Around 1907, at the age of about 21, Henry followed so many local lads and went to sea as a trimmer. His first ships were Union-Castle liners Walmer Castle and Armadale Castle — the very same ships my other cousin Frederick George Cooper had worked on a few years later.

In 1911 Henry was boarding at 9 George Street, Northam, in the home of fellow marine fireman Thomas French and his wife Annie. He was 24, single, and already described on the census as a “ship’s fireman” — the hard, hot, coal-dust world of the stokehold.

On Saturday 6 April 1912 Henry signed on to the Titanic as a fireman. He gave his address as 9 George Street, his previous ship as the White Star liner Oceanic, and his age as 25. His monthly wage was to be £6 — 10 shillings more than a trimmer earned, reflecting the brutal nature of the job.

Four days later Titanic sailed. Henry was below decks in the roaring heat of Boiler Room No. 5 or 6 when the iceberg struck. Like most of the engineering crew, he had virtually no chance of escape. Henry William Cooper died in the early hours of 15 April 1912 at the age of 25. His body, if recovered, was never identified.

Two Coopers, One Voyage, No Survivors from Our Line

It still feels unreal that two distant cousins — 

both stokehold men — were signed on to the same ship within hours of each other on that April Saturday in 1912.

Henry William Cooper (b. 7 May 1886) — fireman, lost.

Frederick George Cooper (b. 3 Feb 1888) — trimmer, sailed as “James Cooper”, lost.

Neither came home. Southampton’s streets were full of grieving families that spring, and my wider Cooper clan mourned two of their own.

Henry’s father (the elder Henry) and stepmother Jane received a small amount from the Titanic Relief Fund. The family eventually drifted apart in the way working-class Southampton families often did after such losses, but the name and the story have stayed alive down the generations.

For Henry William Cooper (1886–1912) — another cousin who went down with the ship, remembered with pride and sadness.

If you’re connected to the Northam/William Street Coopers or have any photos of Henry or his sisters Jane and Florence, I’d be incredibly grateful to hear from you — reach out here or on X

@KevBarefoot

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First published November 2025

© General KevBarefoot – All rights reserved