A real Titanic love story

Ada and Will met on the Runic, a White Star liner going from Sydney to Europe in 1903.
Ada was a 29-year-old school teacher from New Zealand, beautiful, lively and Will was a second officer - handsome with a distinguished moustache.
They began corresponding - love letters - that spanned several years and thousands of miles - and ended up marrying on September 7, 1907 in Southampton, living in Portswood. He was 34 and she was 33, late in life for people to marry back then.
They had five years together before Will’s death.
Ada Florence Banks had been born on December 28, 1873, in Christchurch to James Banks and Mary Ann Cook.
Ada grew up in a politically progressive family, and she, along with her mother and sisters, signed the petition for women’s suffrage.
William - usually called Will - McMaster Murdoch had been born in Scotland on February 28, 1873 to Samuel Murdoch and Jeannie McMaster.
Like his father and grandfather before him he went to sea. He was apprenticed but was so competent after only four years that he gained his second mate’s certificate on the first go.
A member of the Royal Naval Reserve, he became employed by the White Star line in 1900. He had quite a number of ships under his belt, the Medic, the Runic, the Arabic, the Celtic, the Germanic, Oceanic, the Cedric, the Adriatic and the Olympic.
Like many seamen he had been in his share of incidents, a near miss with another ship on the Adriatic and a collision between the Olympic and a navy cruiser.
On April 8, 1912 Ada visited Murdoch on his latest ship, marvelling at the size and magnificence.
Murdoch had been appointed a first officer on the Titanic.
Murdoch was on the bridge of the ship as it hit the iceberg. His body has never been recovered. Although pictures of him show his moustache, he had very recently shaved it off, apparently at Ada’s request.
Devastated by his loss, Ada went to stay in Brittany while their Southampton home was sold.
She was forced back to London by the start of the first World war where she lived until 1918 when she returned to Christchurch.
Ada never remarried and remained bitter toward the White Star line who treated her badly, continually questioning if she should continue to receive a small stipend from the Titanic disaster relief fund, which was stopped in 1929.
Ada went to live with her father and unmarried sisters then in 1939 she moved to a nursing home in poor health.
Ada died on April 21, 1941 aged 65 and is buried in Linwood Cemetery in a family plot.​