Shropshire woman performing in Titanic musical in memory of relative who died in sinking
A Shropshire woman is getting ready to perform in Titanic the Musical, in honour of her Great Uncle Bob who died on the ocean liner.
Susan Steele, from Much Wenlock, is the great niece of the Rev Dr Robert James Bateman – known to his family as Great Uncle Bob – who died when the ship sank in April 1912.
While Susan has always been a lover of history and has produced detailed research on the British passenger liner, she admitted that performing in a musical was out of her comfort zone.
She said: “It’s always been a big thing in the family to research history and it’s something so important and it’s something that we want to be remembered.
“My daughter does history at university and she’s fascinated by it. When ‘Get Your Wigle On’ came up I knew I wanted to get involved.
“It’s totally out of my comfort zone, but something I felt I had to do in honour of Great Uncle Bob.”
Born in Bristol in 1860, Dr Bateman moved to Jacksonville in the late 1880s with his children and wife Emily.
Susan said that her great uncle returned to England in 1912 to lay a grave stone for his mother and to encourage her grandparents to join him in returning to America.
Although Susan’s grandparents chose not to go with him, Dr Bateman did board the ship with his sister-in-law Ada Balls as a second-class passenger.
Ada survived the sinking and passed the story on through the generations in the family.
Susan said: “When they heard of the imminent sinking she said that he knocked on her door and she ventured out in her nightgown – she didn’t get chance to get a coat on.”
Dr Bateman made sure that his sister-in-law got on a lifeboat and gave her his silk scarf before she was lowered down into the water, later to be picked up by the British passenger liner Carpathia. Susan said that Ada requested he tell the band to play ‘Nearer, My God, To Thee’, which was a favourite of Dr Bateman’s, being a deeply religious person.
Dr Bateman was lost with the ship. He was aged 52; his body was found weeks after the sinking and was sent home to his wife and six children to be buried.
Dr Bateman’s funeral was held on May 12, 1912 and he was subsequently buried at Evergreen Cemetery. The hymn ‘Nearer, My God, To Thee’ was sung at the service.
“He’d gone out (to America) as a missionary to spread the gospel, but his everyday job was as a mason. They set up a home in his name over there, for the destitute,” Susan added.
Susan’s brother keeps the Bateman name and also inherited his great uncle’s pocket watch.
He is also in possession of a letter that Dr Bateman wrote to ‘Herbert and Phoebe’ – Susan’s grandparents – which Dr Bateman posted in Southampton on RMS Titanic notepaper.
Titanic the Musical is a production based on the real story and people who were on board the ship.
With music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone, the pair have collectively won an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, an Olivier Award and three Tony awards.
The original Broadway production of Titanic the Musical won five Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book.
Following on from the success of last year’s productions of Calendar Girls, Grease and Nativity the Musical, Get Your Wigle On’s adult company will be bringing Titanic the Musical to Shrewsbury audiences in February.
Co-founder of Get Your Wigle On, James Broxton said: “We are thrilled to be bringing this incredible story to life.
“The music is just stunning and we have a magnificent cast. We can’t wait for audiences to see it.”
Titanic the Musical is showing at Theatre Severn’s main auditorium from February 15 to 18.
Tickets are available to buy now from £16.50 and can be booked at theatresevern.co.uk/shows/whatson/titanic-the-musical/.
To find out more about the Rev Dr Robert James Bateman or the loss of the Titanic, visit encyclopedia-titanica.org.
