Thomas Byles in ministry and his final hours on board the RMS Titanic. Thomas Byles Thomas Roussel Davids Byles (26 February 1870 – 15 April 1912) was an English Catholic priest who was a passenger aboard the "RMS Titanic" on its maiden voyage when it sank after striking an iceberg during the night of 15 April 1912. He was reported as being amidst the throng of trapped passengers on the ship's rear deck in its final moments of descent, audibly praying. Thomas Byles was born Roussel Davids Byles in Leeds, Yorkshire, the eldest of seven children of the Reverend Alfred Holden Byles,
Grand Staircase of the RMS Titanic Grand Staircase of the RMS Titanic The Grand Staircase is the name sometimes given to the large ornate staircases in the first-class section of the White Star Line liner RMS "Titanic", which sank following a collision with an iceberg in 1912. The staircase has been prominently featured in "Titanic" media and often recreated in film, making it one of the most recognizable features of the lost liner. Sited in the forward part of the ship, the Grand Staircase was the main communication between decks for First-Class passengers and the point of entry to numerous public rooms. It descended in seven