April 1st, 1909 - January 9th, 1988

He is a Aries.

William Rose Richards was born St. Mary's Street, Penzance, Cornwall, England as the eldest son of James Sibley Richards (1887 - 1939), a general labourer, and Emily Hocking (1887 - 1972). He first appeared on the 1911 census living at St. Mary's Place, Penzance, a boarding house ran by his grandmother Eliza Hocking. He and his parents later moved to The Meadow in Newlyn, Cornwall and he gained a brother in 1911, Sibley George. His father and uncle George Hocking subsequently emigrated to Akron, Ohio. William, his mother, and brother boarded the RMS Titanic at Southampton as 2nd class passengers, having been transferred from the Oceanic due to the coal strike. Travelling with them was his grandmother, aunt Ellen Hocking, uncle Richard George Hocking, who had returned from Akron to accompany them, and his great-aunt Ellen Wilkes.

On the night of the sinking, William and Sibley were asleep in their cabin with their mother when their grandmother came to alert them of the danger. The family escaped in lifeboat 4 but William and Sibley's uncle was among the lost. Boarding the RMS Carpathia, William was hoisted aboard in a sack. The same sack was later fashioned into a makeshift garment for him and he was photographed in this when he eventually made it to New York, being met by his father. He and his family settled in Akron, Ohio but the death of his grandmother in April of 1914 perhaps compelled their family to return to England and they did so before the end of the year. William continued to live in Cornwall and on May 26th, 1929 at High Street Chapel, he married Edith Melva Frances Hicks (May 17th, 1909) and they had 3 children: George Hocking (1930 - 1998), Mavis (born 1932), and Jeanette (born 1945).

During WW11, he served in the Royal Navy and was involved in the evacuation at Dunkirk in 1940. He later worked as a general manager in a smoked salmon company before retirement. He and Melva later divorced and he later lived with a woman named Barbara Grace. They lived at White House Close, Carbis Bay, St. Ives, Cornwall but were later forced to to move due to subsidence in 1986. They chose to call their new home in Carpathia Longstone, also located in Carbis Bay. Despite few recollections of the events of the Titanic disaster, William was frequently called upon for interviews by local media. He died on January 9th, 1988 at the age of 78 following a heart attack and was interred in Longstone Cemetery, Carbis Bay, Cornwall. Melva passed away on their wedding anniversary just 4 months later: May 26th, 1988.

Sources:
Titanic Wiki

Rest In Peace William Rowe Richards.