Mr. James Reid, Seaman

James Reid (1894 – 1915), 21, was a seaman employed in the deck department of the Lusitania on the ship’s last voyage. Reid was lost when the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk on 7 May 1915. His body was not recovered or not identified, and he is memorialized at the Tower Hill Memorial, London, United Kingdom.

The following biography is made possible by Peter Kelly and a collaboration with the Merseyside Maritime Museum.

Biography

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James “Jimmy” Reid, and his twin brother, William, were born in Liverpool, Lancashire, on 29 March 1894, the sons of James and Mary Ellen Reid.  A few years later, their brother, John, was born.  In 1915, the family home was at 14, Harlow Street, Toxteth, Liverpool, Lancashire.  All three brothers served apprentices as seamen, commencing their training in their early teenage years, no doubt following in their father’s footsteps, he being a boatswain in the British mercantile Marine

James joined the mercantile marine, and he engaged as a fireman in the Engineering Department on board the Lusitania, at Liverpool, on 14 April 1915.  He reported for duty on board at 8 a.m. on 17 April before the liner left the River Mersey for the last ever time and having crossed the Atlantic Ocean without incident, the Lusitania docked in New York on 24 April 1915.  She then left there on the early afternoon of 1 May, for her return to Liverpool. Six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20, within sight of the coast of southern Ireland.  At that time, she was only about fourteen hours steaming time away from the safety of her home port.

James Reid was killed as a result of this action and his body was never recovered and identified afterwards.  His name is embossed on the Mercantile Marine Memorial at Tower Hill, London.  He was aged 21 years.

The records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission show his rank to be that of able seaman, but a list of the crew published by Cunard in March 1916 shows his rank as that of seaman.  The Cunard list is the more likely one to be accurate.

On 11 May at Liverpool, four days after the sinking of the Lusitania, and the loss of his twin brother, William Reid enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery as L17876 Gunner William Reid.  He was listed as a deserter, however, on 29 October while stationed at Heytesbury, Wiltshire.  It is possible, like many other seamen who enlisted in the British Army at that time that he deserted to return to sea and do his bit for the war effort in a way he knew better.  He certainly was serving in the mercantile marine after the war, which makes this scenario very probable.  He died at sea on Christmas Day 1942 when he fell 35 feet down into a cargo hold while serving as boatswain on the King Frederick.  His remains were interred in Basra, in present-day Iraq, where they lie today.

The King Frederick was sunk when torpedoed by the German submarine, U-181, in the Arabian Sea on 19 July 1944, with the loss of 27 of the 56 persons on board.

Links of interest

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James Reid at the Merseyside Maritime Museum

Contributors
Peter Kelly, Ireland
Ellie Moffat, UK

References
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths

1901 Census of England and Wales

1911 Census of England and Wales

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Cunard Records

PRO BT 334