Major Arthur Godfrey Peuchen

By: Mattea Pezza

Arthur Godfrey Peuchen was born on April 18, 1859 in Montreal, Quebec.  He was the son of Godfrey Peuchen of Westphalia, Prussia, and Eliza Eleanor Clark of Hull, England. His father had the job of a railroad contractor in South America. His grandfather had managed the London, Brighton, and Midlands railway. So Arthur had a history in railroads, but he did not go into the railroad business himself. Arthur was sent to Montreal private schools until he was older and moved to Toronto in 1871. There he signed up for the Queen’s Own Rifles where he became a Lieutenant in 1888. In 1894, he became a Captain, and in 1904, he finally earned the title of Major. In 1911, Arthur was a marshalling officer at the coronation of George V.

Arthur Peuchen was a very busy man. He had company refineries in England, France, and Germany, so he was often found traveling. He was part of many clubs, including the National, Toronto; the Hunt, Toronto; the Ontario Jockey; the Albany, Toronto, and the Military Institute, Toronto. He was president of the Standard Chemical Company from 1897-1914. He was one of the first men to “manufacture acetone (used to make explosives) from wood.” It was stated that he owned big forest reserves near Hinton, Alberta. He looked over operations of McLaren Lumber Company, located near Blairmore, Alberta. He was also the Vice-Commodore of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club.  (The Address Book) ("Major Arthur Godfrey Peuchen")

In 1893, Arthur Godfrey Peuchen married Margaret Thompson. She was the daughter of John Thompson of Orillia, Ontario. Margaret and Arthur later had children, a son and daughter. Arthur had a house at 599 Jarvis St., Toronto, but “he considered ‘Woodlands’, his mansion on Lake Simcoe, home.” Arthur Peuchen also had his own yacht, called Vreda. When Arthur decided to go on the Titanic, he was registered as a businessman/chemist from Toronto, Canada. He was 52 years old, and he bought ticket # 113786, £30 10s. When Arthur learned that Smith was to be captain, he exclaimed, “Surely not that man!”  Arthur thought that Captain Smith was too old for the job. Arthur embarked from Southampton and occupied cabin C104. “Crossing on the Titanic was to be his fortieth transatlantic voyage.” (The Address Book) ("Major Arthur Godfrey Peuchen")

When the Titanic was sinking, Arthur saw lifeboat 6 going down “poorly manned.” Robert Hichens, who was already in the lifeboat called for help. Captain Smith, who was standing nearby, suggested that Arthur go down in the boat to help. Arthur then slid down 25 feet of rope and dropped into the boat. He left behind $200,000 in bonds, and $100,000 in stocks in his cabin. Critics later pointed out that when Arthur had been rowing in the boat, he had complained that he was tired, and stopped. The only reason he started rowing again was because the “one and only” Molly Brown, who was also on the boat with him, told him to row.,

Arthur was also criticized because, since he was a military officer, he should have told the quartermaster Robert Hichens to turn the boat around and rescue survivors from the water. He said, “…in passing the wreck the next morning I was standing forward, looking to see if I could see any dead bodies, or any of my friends, and to my surprise I saw the barber’s pole floating. The barber’s pole was on C deck, my recollection is, the barber shop, and that must have been a tremendous explosion to allow this pole to have broken from its fastenings and drift with the wood.”  (Quinn 100)

Most of the other men who had survived got criticized a lot. Arthur was deemed a coward. Contemplation gathered because Arthur’s “expected promotion” to Lieutenant-Colonel from his previous standing of Major in the Queen’s Own Rifles would not be awarded. Even with the publicity, the promotion was finally given on May 21, 1912. Arthur was also given the Officer’s Long Service Decoration. Arthur retired from Standard Chemical when World War I began to conduct the Home Battalion of the Queen’s Own Rifles. He fought in and survived World War I. When he returned, he lost a lot of money in the 1920s. He died on December 7, 1929 at the age of 69 in Toronto. Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Godfrey Peuchen is buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Works Cited

1)Quinn, Paul J. Titanic at Two. 4. Hollis, NH: Fantail, 1998.

2)Parsons, J. (2008). Titanic Articles: Biography of Major Arthur Peuchen. Retrieved April 2, 2008, from TITANIC-TITANIC Web site: http://www.titanic-titanic.com/article_james_parsons_bio_arthur_peuchen.shtml

3)Unknown. "Arthur Godfrey Peuchen." Wikipedia. 2008. Unknown. 2 Apr 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Godfrey_Peuchen>.

4)Unknown, Unknown. "Peuchen, Major Arthur Godfrey." The Address Book. 9 April 2008. Infinity Plus One Productions. 9 Apr 2008 <http://areallydifferentplace.org/titanic/address.php?id=1216>.

 5)Unknown, "Major Arthur Godfrey Peuchen." encyclopedia titanica. 1996-2007. encyclopedia titanica. 9 Apr 2008 <http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/biography/234/>.

6)Unknown, Unknown. "Titanic Tragedy." Frontline. 1995-2008. wgbh educational foundation. 9 Apr 2008 <http://www.frontline.org.za/articles/titanic_tragedy.htm>.

7)“Arthur Godfrey Peuchen.” Online image. Findagrave.com. 9 April 2008. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3947