Key facts about Bertha Watt Marshall
- Robertha Josephine Watt, usually called Bertha, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1899.
- She and her mother Elizabeth travelled second class to join her father, architect James Reid Watt, in Portland, Oregon.
- Bertha and her mother survived in Lifeboat 9.
- Bertha later married dentist Leslie Frederick Marshall and settled in Vancouver, British Columbia.
- She died in Vancouver in March 1993 at age 93 and was the last living Titanic survivor then residing in Canada.
- Bertha Marshall was not a Titanic victim. Marshall was her married surname, acquired years after she survived the sinking.
Bertha Watt was twelve when her family moved toward Oregon
Robertha Josephine Watt was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, on September 7, 1899. Her father, James Reid Watt, was an architect, and her mother was Elizabeth Inglis Milne Watt, often called Bessie. James travelled to the United States ahead of them as the family prepared to settle in Portland, Oregon.
Bertha and her mother followed in 1912. They boarded Titanic at Southampton as second-class passengers on ticket C.A. 33595. Specialist records say they shared accommodation with fellow passengers Ellen Toomey and Rosa Pinsky and became acquainted with several other second-class travellers during the crossing.
Mother and daughter escaped together in Lifeboat 9
Bertha was asleep when Titanic struck the iceberg. Her mother investigated and then prepared her for the evacuation. The two eventually reached the starboard side and entered Lifeboat 9, one of the standard wooden boats launched before the final rush of the sinking.
Later accounts from Bertha describe a calm sea, frightening sounds from the ship and the long wait for daylight. Her memories also preserve details about the boat’s crew and the uncertainty among passengers who did not yet know whether Titanic would remain afloat.
The Watts completed their move after the rescue
After Carpathia brought the survivors to New York, Bertha and her mother reunited with James Watt and continued west. Bertha attended school in Portland and later studied at Oregon Agricultural College. She worked as a bookkeeper before marriage.
In 1923 she married Leslie Frederick Marshall, a Canadian dentist. The couple settled in Vancouver, where they raised four children. From that point onward she was often known publicly as Bertha Watt Marshall or simply Bertha Marshall.
She kept sailing and built a life in British Columbia
Titanic did not leave Bertha afraid of boats. She and her husband belonged to the Burrard Yacht Club, owned a yacht and spent time at a family cottage near Gibsons that was reached by water. Her later life therefore included the sea in a very different setting from the disaster she had survived as a child.
She gave occasional interviews and remained known to Titanic researchers, but she did not make the disaster the centre of her public life. That balance makes her recollections especially interesting: the sinking was unforgettable, yet it was only one part of a life that lasted more than nine decades.
Bertha Marshall was a survivor, not a victim
An older version of this site incorrectly created a victim biography under the name Bertha Marshall. The record was a classification error. Bertha Marshall was Robertha Josephine Watt, the twelve-year-old second-class survivor who later took Marshall as her married surname.
Current specialist passenger records place Robertha Watt and her mother among the survivors of Lifeboat 9. Bertha died in Vancouver on March 4, 1993, one of Titanic’s longest-lived survivors and the last survivor then living in Canada.
Sources used for this biography
Bertha’s identity, class, family, Lifeboat 9 assignment and later life are checked against specialist passenger research and contemporary or near-contemporary reporting.
- Encyclopedia Titanica: Robertha Josephine Watt Family background, second-class voyage, Lifeboat 9, marriage, Vancouver life and death.
- Encyclopedia Titanica: Titanic Lifeboat 9 Boat roster including Elizabeth Watt and Robertha Josephine Watt.
- Los Angeles Times: Bertha Marshall obituary 1993 obituary identifying Bertha Marshall as a Titanic survivor who travelled with her mother from Scotland.
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Frequently asked questions
Did Bertha Watt survive Titanic?
Yes. Bertha Watt and her mother Elizabeth survived in Lifeboat 9.
Is Bertha Watt the same person as Bertha Marshall?
Yes. Robertha Josephine Watt later married Leslie Frederick Marshall and became known as Bertha Watt Marshall or Bertha Marshall.
Was Bertha Marshall a Titanic victim?
No. She was a survivor. An older page on this site classified her incorrectly and has been replaced by this corrected biography.
How old was Bertha Watt on Titanic?
She was twelve years old when Titanic sank.
Where did Bertha Watt live later?
After time in Portland, Oregon, she settled in Vancouver, British Columbia, after marrying Leslie Marshall.