Salaries and Duties: Medical Personnel

Surgeon and Assistant Surgeon

There were two doctors on Titanic; even though one was a Surgeon and the other was an Assistant Surgeon, both men were addressed by the title of Surgeon so one of them would not lose face or lose any of their authority in public.

On Titanic, Dr. William O'Loughlin was the Surgeon, Dr. John Simpson was the Assistant Surgeon, and the Hospital Steward was William Dunford.

The doctors were also given a rank but it was "for show." It was meant to give them some authority so they would be taken seriously.

With that said, the Surgeons were the only Officers on the ship who could usurp the authority of the Captain.  What the surgeon says, goes.

If the Surgeon said a crew member was sick and ordered to bedrest, then the Captain wouldn't be permitted to countermand the Surgeon.  If he did, he could expect swift consequences from White Star Line.

Sick crew members were reported to the Chief Officer, the Second Engineer, or the Purser depending on what department they worked. Then those officers would notify the Captain if needed. The crew sick bay was on C-deck near the bow.  

All medical occurrences had to be entered into the ship's log and signed by the Surgeon. If a passenger or a crew member died, the Surgeon could embalm the body if the family requested it but the fee would be £20.

The Surgeon was also responsible to oversee the kitchens and galleys to make sure good hygienic conditions were properly maintained and that there was adequate ventilation.

If any passenger became ill, there was no charge for the Surgeon's services. 

But if a First-or Second-class passenger were treated for an existing condition, they would be charged a fee that was stipulated by the Surgeon. Toothaches were the most common complaint.

Dr. William O'Loughlin's Surgery for First-and Second-class passengers was on the starboard side of C-deck. Directly below, was the hospital with four rooms for sick patients.  It boasted a padded room for those who complained particularly loudly. 

Assistant Surgeon Dr. John Simpson's Surgery was on the port side with a waiting room on D-deck and he treated Second-class and Third-class passengers.

A Surgeon could not expect to be promoted or ever receive a bump in salary.  Once his salary was fixed, it usually wouldn't change over the decades.

Being a Surgeon on a ship was a thankless job because he was a captive audience until the ship docked. The Surgeon and Assistant Surgeon were on call 24 hours a day. 

A Surgeon could easily find himself at the beck and call of a hypochondriacal passenger for the duration of the cruise.  


Dr. William O'Loughlin was paid £10 per month. 

Assistant Surgeon Simpson was paid £8 and 10 sixpence.

William Dunford, the Hospital Steward was paid £4 and 10 shillings. He was signed on in Third class but was responsible for the care of First-and Second-class passengers.  He slept in quarters between the hospital station on D-deck and responded first to any patient bells.

Incidentally, Dr. O'Loughlin was 62-years old and the oldest crew member on Titanic.  Even though the Captain was also 62 years old, he was three months younger than Dr. O'Loughlin.

Money values:

All crew were paid in British currency - pounds, shillings and pence. 

Note:  Use the link at end of this post to convert pounds to US dollars.

There were 20 shillings to a pound, 12 pence to 1 shilling, 240 pence to one pound.


The sinking of Titanic terminated each worker's contract so most weren't paid past April 15, 1912.


Refer to the conversion link at end of this post to convert British pounds to US dollars.

Examples of the Cost of Living in Great Britain in 1912

10 percent of the population lived below the poverty level.  15 percent lived within poverty.

The average monthly income for a household of four people was £6. 

A skilled tradesman earned about £8.

Unskilled workers earned about £4.

A small house for four people rented for £1 5 shillings per month.

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Conversion link - British pounds to US dollars.   In today's dollars, 1 British pound equals $1.28 US dollars. Use the link to convert pounds to dollars so you can see other crew salaries.  I have the converter set at £2 but you can change the number of pounds. 

Keep in mind the results you see will show the value of money on the day you are using the link, not the year 1912.