Marital Status Of Lee Fleet Evans and Jewell in April 1912

Oct 23, 2000
I know for a fact George Hogg was married with a wife and two kids in Southampton, and that George Symons was single and, apparently, resided at his parents home while in England (unless I am mistaken).
Yet what was the marital status of Frederick Fleet, Reginald Lee, Arthur Evans, and Archie Jewell in April of 1912? I know Fleet was married at one point in his life, but did he tie the knot before or after the Titanic's sinking?
Mar 30, 1997
Frederick Fleet married in 1909 (Eva LeGros). Reginald Lee was married (Emily Hill) at the time of his death in 1913. Archie Jewell married in 1915 (Bessie Heard). I think you mean Alfred Evans rather than Arthur Evans. He died in 1974 but I do not know if he was married.

david lee

Nov 11, 2007
Reginald Robinson lee was indeed married to Emily Selina Hannah Hill on 15th April 1897 in Portsmouth. The wedding was reported in the Portsmouth Evening News and Reginald must have been impressively resplendent in his dress uniform of a naval lieutenant being an assistant paymaster in the Royal Navy.
However, on the 1st February 1900 he was ignominiously discharged from the Royal navy as a hopeless alcoholic. He had previously been sent home from his posting in Jamaica on the 14th February 1898 suffering from delerium tremental and despite being given a second chance serving on HMS Diadem, he failed to shake off his reliance on alcohol
Having married into a typical middle class family of that time, I can well imagine that his intemperate behaviour and his disgrace in being discharged as an officer in the Royal Navy,led to the break-up of his marriage. This is indicated in the 1901 census when his wife had reverted to her maiden name and was living with her mother in an imposing house, St Hilda's, that still stands today on the main road out of Portsmouth on the London Road.
Frederick Fleet stated that Lee had turned to drink after the Titanic sinking. It begs the question: Did Reginald Lee manage to to shake off his addiction to alcohol between leaving the R.N. and joining the merchant fleet or was he able to continue serving as a lookout. And, in the event, be a totally unsuitable person to have been in the responsible position of a lookout in the Titanic crows nest on that freezing cold fateful night.
Reginald Robinson Lee died in the Sailor's Home in Southampton on the 6th August 1913 and is buried in a family grave with his mother and father in Highland Road cemetery, Portsmouth.

Megan McCarty

Feb 28, 2009
I am new here, but I had a question.

If Mr. Fleet got married in 1909, why does he say that he is single during the US Inquiry (

Senator SMITH.
Are you a married or a single man?


Also, I stumbled upon an article today from the Southampton Daily Echo 27/09/2006 ( that said that Mr. Fleet was married for 48 years, which would put his marriage in 1916... Can someone help me to make sense of this?

Thanks so much for your time,

Bob Godfrey

Nov 22, 2002
Hallo, Megan, and welcome to the forum. The marriage of Frederick Fleet and Eva LeGros at Southampton was registered in the second quarter of 1917.

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