Sarah Agnes Stap

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August 1st, 1864 - March 27th, 1937

She is a Leo.

Sarah Agnes Stap was born at sea off the coast of the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean to Henry Stap (born 1829), a native of Skipsea near Bridlington in East Yorkshire, and his wife Stella (née Cawkwell; October 14th, 1835), a native of Bermondsey, London. The couple were married in Mile End, London on August 31st, 1861 and Henry was then described as a master mariner. Sarah was born aboard one of the vessels he commanded and he reportedly held several commands in the White Star and Leyland Lines. Sarah was one of 5 children, her siblings being: Stella (1862 - 1943; later Mrs. Edward Wood Tagg), Edith Mary (1868 - 1953), Henry (1871 - 1933), and William Cawkwell (1875 - 1923). Her sister Stella was also born at sea whilst Edith was born in London.

Both of her brothers were born in Essex, her brother Henry later working as a teacher where he was a master of Oake's Institute in Liverpool for 25 years. Sarah first appears on the 1871 census when she and her family are living at Willesly Road, Wanstead, Sssex. At the age of 16 and without profession by the time of the 1881 census, Sarah and her family were by now living at Philip's Terrace, Kensington, London. The whole family later shifted northward and settled in Seacombe, Wallasey, Cheshire, being listed there at Church Street on the 1891 and 1901 censuses. Sarah would be absent from the latter, perhaps at sea. Her mother died in 1903 at the age of 67 and Sarah, her widowed father, and several siblings appear on the 1911 census living at Bidston Avenue, Birkenhead.

Aboard Titanic/April 14th-15th, 1912:
Sarah had been on the maiden voyages of the Baltic and Adriatic and also served on the Celtic, and most recently the Olympic, then as a nurse. When she signed onto the RMS Titanic on April 9th, 1912 Sarah gave her address as Bidston Avenue, Cloughton, Birkenhead. She signed on as a 1st class stewardess although according to her great-nephew Gordon Stap, she wasn't a stewardess but a ship's matron. In her position, she received monthly wages of £3, 10s. Sarah later recalled that on the night if the sinking she in bed at the time of impact and was awoken by a "slight bump" but took little heed, claiming she had become accustomed to a "ship's bumping before" and she lay in bed for a further 3 quarters of an hour before rising.

When she reached the boat deck the lifeboats had already been slung out. Sarah claimed that she owed her survival to a young cabin boy beside her, who, when she was told to get into a lifeboat by the crew-member in charge of that lifeboat, that there was room for her, she told the young cabin boy that she was into her 30s and had had her life, he should take her spot. The cabin boy's answer was to simply pick her up, and put her in the lifeboat, which she described as the last-but-one (some historians place her in lifeboat 11). She later recalled the crowded conditions in her lifeboat (over 70 persons) and the bitter cold of the night, the ordeal lasting for over 6 hours:

"We could see the lights of the ship slowly disappear beneath the waves one by one, until there remained alone the masthead light. Then suddenly the great ship gave a lurch and disappeared gracefully out of sight. All this time the people on board were shrieking in their death agonies, and the passengers in the boats were under the impression that it was the people in the other boats cheering. Only the members of the crew knew what it was, and we dare not say. After the ship had gone down an explosion rent the air, and the shrieks of the dying were positively awful." - 1912 interview, reprinted Birkenhead News, 3 April 1937

After The Sinking/Later Life/Death:
Sarah returned to sea and maintained her residence at Bidston Avenue for a time; she lost her father on March 2nd, 1914 when he died at the age of 85, later being buried in Rake Lane Cemetery in Liscard, Cheshire. After this loss, Sarah moved to Egremont in Wallasey where she spent a few brief years. Her 1924 crew card described her as standing at 5'3 and with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. By August of 1917, Sarah was serving as a stewardess aboard the Justicia, another ship that eventually met a brutal demise. Towards the end of the decade, she began working as a stewardess aboard the Olympic when the ship entered New York; 3 of her fellow stewardess at the time were Mabel Bennett, Elizabeth Leather, and Violet Jessop.

She ultimately transferred to the new flagship Majestic sometime around 1922 and she would spend the rest of her career. During her tenure aboard Majestic, she was presented to King George V, Queen Mary and the Duke of Connaught, who shook her hand and congratulated her on her bravery during the Titanic disaster. Her last known recorded voyage aboard Majestic was in September of 1930 when she was described as standing at 5'2, weighing 108 lbs, and at the age of 48 (she was in fact 68 years old). Sarah moved from Egremont, Wallasey back to Birkenhead where she spent the last 2 decades of her life. Her last few years were spent living with her 2 sisters at Park Road North and she died there in her sleep at the age of 72 on March 27th, 1937. She was buried on April 1st, 1937 in Rake Lane Cemetery following a service at the same venue.

Sources:
www.encyclopedia-titanica.org

Rest In Peace Sarah Agnes Stap.

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