Hugh McElroy. Herbert Fitzhugh Walter McElroy, Chief Purser of RMS Titanic, was born 28th October 1874 in Liverpool. Purser Hugh McElroy had been in White Starˇs service for some thirteen years and had served for three years on board the troopship ¨Britannic〃 during the Boar War. He signed on the Titanic on the 9th April 1912 as Chief Purser on a salary of ?20 per month. He helped load passengers in to the lifeboats when Titanic was sinking. Purser McElroy was last seen standing on the Boat-Deck near the gymnasium, beside mail clerk Mr William Logan Gwinn, both men died in the sinking of the Titanic. Titanic was built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast Ireland during 1910 - 1911, and sank on 15ht April, 1912, after striking an iceberg off the coast of New Foundland during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York, USA, with the loss of 1,522 passengers and crew.