Arthur John Priest
{{Short description|Fireman and stoker who survived the sinking of the Titanic (1887–1937)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Arthur Priest
| honorific_suffix = The Unsinkable Stoker
| image = Arthur_John_Priest.jpg
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| caption = John Priest c. 1912
| birth_name = Arthur John Priest
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1887|08|31|df=y}}
| birth_place = Southampton, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1937|02|11|1887|08|31|df=y}}
| death_place = Southampton, England
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| resting_place = Hollybrook Cemetery (Southampton)
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| occupation = {{unbulleted list|Stoker}}
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Arthur John Priest (31 August 1887 – 11 February 1937) was an English fireman and stoker who was notable for surviving four ship sinkings, including the {{RMS|Titanic}},{{cite book|author=C. Brian Kelly|title=Best Little Stories from World War I: Nearly 100 True Stories|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WnuWBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT130|accessdate=27 May 2018|date=7 October 2014|publisher=Sourcebooks|isbn=978-1-4022-9344-3|page=130}} HMS Alcantara, HMHS Britannic and the {{SS|Donegal}}.{{cite news|title=Titanic's unsinkable stoker|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17543632|accessdate=27 May 2018|agency=BBC Northern Ireland|date=30 March 2012}} Due to these incidents, Priest gained the moniker "the unsinkable stoker".
Life
Priest was the son of Harry Priest, a labourer and his wife Elizabeth Garner, and was one of twelve children. In 1915, Priest married Annie Martin (née Hampton) in Birkenhead and had three sons; called Arthur John, George and Frederick Harry. The family lived for a number of years at 17 Briton Street, Southampton.{{cite web|title=Mr Arthur John Priest|url=https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/arthur-john-priest.html|website=Encyclopedia Titanica|date=16 October 2005 |publisher=2018 Encyclopedia Titanica|accessdate=27 May 2018}}
Priest worked as a stoker, in the bowels of steam-powered ships. He was considered a part of the black gang, in a group of 27 men, which consisted of six firemen, two trimmers, and the firemen's steward colloquially known as a 'peggy' whose task was to bring food and refreshments to the group. The work was intense and often done while stripped to the waist due to the sustained and intense heat of the furnaces. Whilst working as a stoker, Priest survived four ship sinkings and two major collisions, most of them during World War I. The ships in question were RMS Asturias (collision on her maiden voyage, 1908), {{RMS|Olympic}} (collision with HMS Hawke, 1911), {{RMS|Titanic}} (sunk by an iceberg, 1912), HMS Alcantara (sunk in combat with SMS Greif, 1916), HMHS Britannic (sunk by a mine, 1916) and {{SS|Donegal}} (torpedoed by {{SMS|UC-27|sub=y}}, 1917). Two other survivors of the Titanic, Archie Jewell and Violet Jessop, would later also survive the sinking of the Britannic with Priest, with Jewell later being killed on the Donegal. In 1917, Priest was awarded the Mercantile Marine Ribbon for his service in the Great War.
After the sinking of SS Donegal, Priest retired from working at sea and left his job as a stoker. He lived out the rest of his days in Southampton, with his wife Annie. He claimed that "no one wished to sail with him after these disasters."{{Cite news|url=https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-survivor/arthur-john-priest.html|title=Arthur John Priest : Titanic Survivor|work=Encyclopedia Titanica|access-date=2017-11-30|language=en}}
Other than his survival stories, there is little information about his personal life. According to sources, he died in 1937 at his home in Southampton at the age of 49 from pneumonia with his wife Annie by his side. He is buried at Hollybrook Cemetery in Southampton, England.{{Cite web|url=http://www.titanic-whitestarships.com/John%20Priest.htm|title=Titanic and Other White Star Line Ships - Arthur John Priest|website=www.titanic-whitestarships.com|access-date=2017-11-30|archive-date=27 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927095650/http://titanic-whitestarships.com/John%20Priest.htm|url-status=usurped}} He was given the nickname "the unsinkable stoker" because of his stories of survival at sea.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.oldsaltblog.com/2012/04/arthur-john-priest-violet-jessop-titanics-unsinkable-survivors/ Titanic’s Unsinkable Survivors] The Old Salt Blog. The Arthur John Priest & Violet Jessop
- [https://warandsecurity.com/tag/alcantara/ The man who survived 3 sinkings in the First World War and the Titanic] February 29, 2016
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20191219121334/https://www.world4ufree.email/2019/12/amazing-street-arts-thatll-blow-your.html Amazing Street Arts That'll Blow your Mind] Street Arts, Amazing "To the Bitter End," December 2019
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130514050845/http://www.titanicandco.com/olympic.html The Old Reliable, RMS Olympic] Nov, 15, 2017
- [https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?11043, The wreck Site, RMS Alcantara (+1916)] Allen Toney, 2006
- [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-17543632 Titanic{{'}}s unsinkable stoker] Peter Engberg-Klarström, Brian Ticehurst, Bill Wormstedt, "Mr. Arthur John Priest" 2017
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20171101174458/http://forgottenwrecks.maritimearchaeologytrust.org/asturias Forgotten Wrecks of the First World War] Beresford, Katherine. Maritime Archaeology Trust. 22 November 2017
{{RMS Titanic}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Priest, Arthur John}}
Category:19th-century English people
Category:20th-century English people
Category:People from Southampton
Category:RMS Titanic survivors