Death of a Purser

Over the years I have tried to get the answers to the many, many questions that I have been asked regarding the RMS Titanic's Chief Purser Hugh Richard Walter McElroy, in doing this Autobiography and family research, the world can now know and hopefully understand Hugh, also I hope all those questions that have been asked over the years have now possibly been answered. Also, if others wish to go further into speculation, like they have in the past, will find that there is no substitute for the truth. I hope that they will do their research rationally in locating the raw truth and with some regard to the simple fact that there are no villains in this story: just human beings with human characteristics.

This book contains a large amount of unknown facts about the family and Hugh, regards his early life, his never before told story, and his unknown life with the White Star Line; what happened to Barbara after Hugh died; why did Hugh's sister Charlotte's name disappear so quickly from the Southampton Committee of the Titanic Relief Fund, in November 1914 — after all, she was a class "A" dependant.

The loss of the R.M.S. Titanic created a debate that has raged ever since, and probably will do so forever. It happened in 1912, prior to two world wars, long before television, indeed, long before talking pictures. It was an era as different from today as one can imagine. It was a world quite unlike our present days in nearly every respect, yet this event has even the most modern child's attention when it is spoken of. It is a story, and the effects of its happening endure, and will always endure, so long as humans remain human.