Mr. Norman Frederick Allen, Second Class Waiter

Norman Frederick Allen (1890 – 1915), 24, was a second class waiter on the Lusitania from Surrey who was living in Liverpool, England. Allen died in the Lusitania disaster on 7 May 1915 after the German submarine U-20 torpedoed and sank the ship.

Life

Norman Allen was born on 14 September 1890 in Twickenham, Surrey, England, United Kingdom, and christened on 1 February 1891 in Richmond, Surrey. His parents were Frederick and Susan Grey (sometimes spelled Gray) (née Wiltshire) Allen. Frederick Allen was a commercial clerk, born around 1851 in Derby. Susan Wiltshire was born around 1855 in Pimlico, London, England. Frederick and Susan were married in late 1889 in the Wandsworth district of London. 

In 1901, the Allen Family lived on Meteor Street in Battersea, London. Norman was 10 at the time and had a sister, Gladys Gray Allen. As of the 1911 census, Norman Allen was described as an unmarried nursery gardener, living at Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England, with his widowed mother Susan. Susan’s address in Hurstpierpoint was 5, Victoria Terrace, Western Road.

At the time of the Lusitania tragedy, Norman Allen’s address was listed as 27 Tetlow Street, Liverpool (mis-transcribed as “Fetlow” Street in the record).

Norman Allen died in the sinking of the Lusitania. His name is one of the memorialized at the Tower Hill Memorial in London.

Contributors
Peter Engberg-Klarström

References
Engberg-Klarström, Peter. “Allen, Norman Frederick.” Peter’s Lusitania Page. Web. 22 June 2017. <https://lusitaniapage.wordpress.com/2017/06/22/allen-norman-frederick/>. Accessed 20 May 2020.

Lettens, Jan. “Norman Frederick Allen.” Wrecksite. Web. 4 February 2017. <https://www.wrecksite.eu/peopleView.aspx?697>. Accessed 20 May 2020.