English-American soldier and Titanic survivor Edward Arthur Dorkings was BOTD in 1893. Born in London, his father was a policeman. His parents appear to have separated, and he and his sisters were raised by his mother in Cambridge. By 1911, he was working as a servant to a circus and theatrical proprietor. He decided to emigrate to the United States, possibly triggered by his family’s embarrassment over his homosexuality. In April 1912, he boarded the RMS Titanic as a third-class passenger, but was almost turned away due to bloodshot eyes, which he attributed to travelling all night to reach the terminal at Southampton. After the ship hit an iceberg, he survived by swimming to a lifeboat and was later rescued by the Carpathia. Arriving in New York, he testified before the United States investigating committee and the British investigation into the disaster. He moved to Illinois to live with relatives, and was immediately booked as a vaudeville act, touring through the Mid-West and recounting his experiences as a Titanic survivor. He joined the US Army in 1917, though it is unclear whether he saw active service during World War One. After his discharge in 1919, he moved to Los Angeles, apparently to escape run-ins with the Illinois police. He commenced a career as a sailor, travelling to China and Hawaii and returning to Britain in 1927 to visit his mother. On his return to America, he applied for US citizenship in 1928. By 1933, he was living in an army veteran’s home in Los Angeles, suffering from arthritis and dental problems. Conscripted into the US Army in 1942 during the Second World War, no evidence exists of his service record. For reasons that remain unclear, he was imprisoned in Terminal Island in San Pedro, California, dying there in 1954, aged 60. His ashes were buried in an unmarked grave in Los Angeles.