Albert Charles Neville was born in Todenham, Gloucestershire, England, in 1874, the second son of Richard and Bertha Katherine Neville (née Denner). His father was a carpenter and Albert was one of eleven children.
On the 30th May 1898, he married Mabel Frances Smith and they had three children, Evelyn Mabel, born in 1901, Charlie Chamiere, born in 1902, and Muriel Elfrida, born in 1909.
Originally, the family had lived at 133, High Street, Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, where Albert Neville was a fishmonger and poulterer. He was a popular local figure and was a member of the local church choir.
In June 1913, however, the family had emigrated to Canada and firstly settled in Vancouver, British Columbia and then in August 1914, had gone to Toronto, Ontario, where Mabel Neville’s sister already lived. Once there he obtained a position as a superintendent with the Metropolitan Life Insurance company.
In the spring of 1915, Albert Neville decided to take them all back to Hertfordshire as he wanted to see some of his brothers who had enlisted in the British Army before they left for the Western Front, and consequently booked second cabin passage on the Lusitania, which was due to leave New York for Liverpool at 10.00 a.m. on 1st May 1915. They were all safely on board on that day, when the liner actually left her berth at Pier 54 at 12.27 p.m. after a delay caused when she had to load cargo and embark passengers and crew from the Anchor Liner Cameronia, which had been taken up from trade by the British Admiralty at the end of April.
Six days later, when ‘The Greyhound of the Seas’ was within sight of the coast of southern Ireland and only hours away from her Liverpool destination, the Neville family was all but wiped out, after she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20!
Of them all, only Mabel Neville escaped death. Albert, Evelyn, Charlie and Muriel all being killed. As none of their bodies was ever recovered and identified afterwards, none has a known grave. Albert Neville was aged 40 years.
Mabel Neville was eventually rescued from the sea after a terrible ordeal and was landed at Queenstown where she later met one of her brothers, who related her experiences in a letter to one of their sisters, a Mrs. Chilton of Watford. This letter told what happened to Albert Neville after the ship was struck and stated: -
It appears that they were altogether (sic) on deck when the torpedo struck the vessel. Albert ran and got lifebelts ..... .
There was not one for baby so Mabel took her in her arms and Albert stood at the back of her with his arms round the other two. Mabel looked
round just after, and he was missing. Then the vessel stood right up on end and there was a terrific explosion, which shot Mabel right clear of the vessel, and she went right down. .....
She held the baby in her arms for three hours and she saw two boats, and asked them to take her, but they wouldn’t, and just after they had passed, the baby died in her arms. After that, she lost consciousness. When she was taken out of the water the child was missing.
Baby, of course, was Muriel Neville, who despite being four years old, was obviously regarded as the baby of the family.
On 27th September 1915, administration of Albert Neville’s estate was granted to his widow, Mabel in London and his effects amounted to £844-14s-0d., (£844.70).
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Gloucestershire England Church of England Baptisms 1813 – 1913, England Select Marriages 1538 – 1973, 1881 Census of England & Wales, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Cunard Records, Brotherton Library UniLeeds, West Hertfordshire & Watford Observer, Probate Records, PRO BT 100/345, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Lawrence Evans, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.