Who was Alice Frances Louisa Phillips?

Miss Alice Frances Louisa Phillips was a 21-year-old (twenty-one) English passenger who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic in April 1912. Born on January 26, 1891, in Ilfracombe, Devon, she was traveling to America with her father, Escott Robert Phillips, when tragedy struck on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic.

Early Life and Family

Alice was the only child of Cardiff-born parents, Escott Robert Phillips (b. 1868) and Hannah Maria Knight (b. 1868). Her parents had married just a year before her birth. The family’s life in Ilfracombe can be traced through census records:

1891: Living at 85 High Street, Ilfracombe
1901: Residing at 9 Belvedere, Ilfracombe
1911: Settled at 23 Westbourne Grove, Ilfracombe

Alice’s mother ran a boarding house in Ilfracombe from 1904 until her untimely death from tuberculosis in August 1911. This tragic event would set in motion the plans for Alice and her father to emigrate to America.

The Journey to America

Following her mother’s passing, Alice and her father made preparations to join her uncle William Phillips in New Brighton, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. William had emigrated in 1892 and established himself as a painter. Escott had secured a position as a factory foreman, and they were ready to start a new life across the Atlantic.

Their initial travel plans included passage on the American Line’s Philadelphia. However, due to the ongoing coal strike, they were transferred to the Titanic. On April 9, 1912, Alice and her father left Ilfracombe by train, arriving in Southampton 9 hours later.

Boarding the Titanic

Alice and her father boarded the Titanic on April 10, 1912, as second-class passengers. Their ticket number was 2, which cost £21. During their time on the ship, they made friends with a family of four who shared their table at mealtimes.

Alice shared a cabin with fellow travelers from Cornwall:

Mrs. Agnes Davis
John Davis (Agnes’ son)
Miss Maude Sincock

All of Alice’s cabinmates were from St. Ives, Cornwall.

The Night of the Sinking

On the fateful night of April 14, 1912, Alice experienced the terrifying moments of the Titanic’s collision with an iceberg. In her own words, published in the North Devon Journal on April 25, 1912, she recounted:

“I was in the cabin when all at once there was a tremendous shock. Naturally, I was dreadfully frightened, and at once ran outside. Just beyond the doorway, I met the cabin steward and asked him what had happened, but he assured me there was nothing wrong.”

Despite initial reassurances, Alice’s instincts told her something was amiss. She made her way to the upper deck, where she was quickly placed into a lifeboat. The time was 1:25 am, and Alice found herself in Lifeboat 12.

Survival and Rescue

Alice spent approximately nine hours in the lifeboat before being rescued by the Carpathia. She described the experience in a letter to her friend May Williams:

“After drifting around for nine hours, almost frozen with the intense cold, we were rescued by the ‘Carpathia.’ I cannot tell you the joy we felt when we were safely on the boat. We had hot coffee and brandy, which warmed us. We were sleeping in the smoke-room on the floor or anywhere, and were only too thankful to do so!”

Upon arriving in New York on Thursday evening, Alice was met by her uncle at Pier 54. He took her to his home at 700 13th Street, New Brighton.

Life After the Titanic

The trauma of the Titanic disaster had a profound impact on Alice. She fell ill for some time but eventually recovered enough to train as a stenographer at her uncle’s workplace. However, homesickness soon set in, and Alice returned to England, arriving in Liverpool aboard the Baltic on November 2, 1912.

Alice received a total of $650 from various American relief sources to help her rebuild her life.

Marriage and Family

On February 5, 1916, Alice married Henry Leslie Mead (b. June 23, 1892) at St. Mark’s Church in Cheetham, Lancashire. Henry was an accounts clerk with an interesting background:

Son of a Welsh father and an English mother
Born in Dublin, Ireland
Raised in Droylsden, Lancashire

The couple welcomed their only child, a daughter named Josephine, in 1921.

Tragic End and Legacy

Sadly, Alice’s life was cut short. She died in Salford, Manchester in mid-1923, reportedly from influenza. She was just 31 (thirty-one) years old. In a cruel twist of fate, her infant daughter Josephine passed away later that same year.

Alice Frances Louisa Phillips’ story is a poignant reminder of the human cost of the Titanic disaster. Her survival against the odds, her bravery in the face of unimaginable tragedy, and her attempts to rebuild her life afterward stand as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Though her life was brief, her experiences as a Titanic survivor ensure that her memory lives on in the annals of maritime history.