Gurshon ("Gus") Cohen was born on December 31st, 1893 in Whitechapel, London. He was an out of work printer who was seeking his fortune in America. He borrowed the equivalent of $32.00 and booked passage on the Adriatic, but the coal strike forced him to take the Titanic instead. His father saw him to the ship at Southampton on 10 April 1912 as a Third Class passenger. Cohen managed to escape lifeboat 12. He later claimed that the last tune the orchestra played was not Nearer My God To Thee. He died at Rochford Hospital, Rochford, Southend-on-Sea, on August 4th, 1978.