Titanic survivor buried in Malta gets headstone after 100 years

A Titanic survivor who died in Malta has finally been given a marked grave, more than 105 years after he was buried without one.  

A headstone was installed on Saturday at Ta’ Braxia Cemetery in Gwardamangia for British sailor Allen Marden Baggott, who survived the 1912 disaster but died nine years later while en route to a naval hospital in Malta. 

Saturday's ceremony was attended by researcher and tour guide Mario Cacciottolo, Titanic enthusiast James Borg and members of Friends of Ta’ Braxia Cemetery.

The idea came from Cacciottolo two months ago when he visited the cemetery.

 “As I stood on the patch of grass where he was buried, I saw how he didn’t have a headstone and immediately thought. ‘Well, I’ll just get him one'.

“I thought it is a poor state of affairs not to have a proper grave. And I knew how easy it is to get a headstone, so why not try?”

Allen Marden Baggott's headstone at Ta Braxia Cemetery Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

His decision was also shaped by personal experience. Cacciottolo’s father, who was also a sailor, did not have a headstone when he died. Cacciottolo later arranged for one to be placed on a family grave.

“Given that my dad was also a sailor, there is a bit of symmetry in play. Ultimately, I just believe everyone should be given a dignified place to rest,” he said. 

Before proceeding, Cacciottolo contacted Baggott’s family, who gave their consent for the headstone.

He also shared Baggott’s story on his social media page, Dark Malta Tours, drawing attention to the unmarked grave and prompting wider interest.

Baggott, a first-class steward on board the Titanic, survived the ship’s sinking in 1912 after escaping on lifeboat number nine, which is believed not to have been filled to capacity.

He would have witnessed the chaos in the freezing Atlantic waters before being rescued by the RMS Carpathia.

However, his later life appears to have been marked by hardship. As Cacciottolo noted, the White Star Line, the company that owned the Titanic, stopped paying its employees as soon as the ship sank, leaving him to resume his maritime career without support.

“He definitely had no support or sympathy professionally for the trauma he went through.”

Records from the RFA Perthshire, on which he later served, describe repeated incidents of drunken and disorderly behaviour. Some have speculated that he struggled with the psychological aftermath of the disaster.

“The survivors always speak about the horrendous screams of people in the water... furthermore, as a man he would have been shamed for surviving and he would have had to live with that," Cacciottolo said.

In 1921, while serving aboard the Perthshire, Baggott suffered a seizure while the ship was docked in Grand Harbour. He collapsed and died while being taken to hospital.

He was buried at Ta’ Braxia Cemetery in Pietà on February 21 of that year, but his grave remained unmarked until now.

Mario Cacciottolo, James Borg and Alexander Welsh (President of the Friends of Ta Braxia) with Baggott's headstone. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Support for the initiative also came from Borg, a keen Titanic enthusiast who was the only Maltese person to have taken part in a memorial cruise marking the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking.

He said he got in touch after watching Cacciottolo's video on social media and learning that the grave had no marker.

Initially intending to install a plaque himself, instead, he contributed towards half the cost of the headstone after discovering that Cacciottolo had already begun the process.

“When I found out there was a Titanic survivor who passed away in Malta, I felt compelled to contribute to his memory,” Borg said.

During Saturday’s ceremony, Borg also paid tribute to a friend, Neil Powrie, who had shared his interest in the Titanic and died last year.

“If he knew we did this, I know he would have been proud.”

Borg said the event also provided a sense of closure, as he had never had the opportunity to say goodbye to his friend.

For Cacciottolo, the headstone is a simple but meaningful gesture.

“He didn’t have a happy ending in life but this is a way of acknowledging him and I feel honoured to do so.”