Albert Martin is believed to have been born in Bridgwater, Somerset, England, in 1879, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Martin. His father was a brass finisher, but nothing further is known about his family.
He joined the British Mercantile Marine as a fireman on steam ships and moved to Liverpool where he married Annie Brace on the 13th September 1905. The couple resided at 42. Edinburgh Street, Everton, Liverpool, and later at 49C. Skirving Street, Everton. They had no children.
He served with the Cunard Steam Ship Company for many years, mainly on the Lusitania, and on the 25th June 1911, he was accused of assaulting Fourth Engineer James Richard Tate in the engine room of the liner while at sea. When the allegation was heard at Liverpool Police Court on the 29th June, a number of firemen gave evidence which contradicted the complaint of Mr. Tate, and the case against him was dismissed.
He engaged as a fireman in the Engineering Department on board the Lusitania, at Liverpool, on the 12th April 1915, at a monthly rate of pay of £6-10s.-0d. (£6.50p.) and was on board when the liner left the Price’s Landing Stage on the River Mersey on the morning of the 17th April on what would prove to be her last westbound voyage to New York.
Having safely arrived in New York, he was still on board when the Lusitania departed on her return crossing to Liverpool on the afternoon of the 1st May. Then, on the afternoon of the 7th May, while the liner was steaming about 12 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale in southern Ireland, the Lusitania was sunk by a torpedo launched by the German submarine U-20.
Albert Martin was fortunate to survive this action and having been rescued from the sea and landed at Queenstown. From there, he eventually made his way back to Liverpool.
Having recovered from his ordeal, he enlisted in the British Army at Liverpool on the 25th May 1915. As 29416 Private Albert Martin, he joined the 15th Bn. King’s Liverpool Regiment; however, on the 11th June, he was medically discharged as being unfit to serve.
Albert Martin was obviously affected by his experiences as a result of the sinking of the
Lusitania and never returned to the sea. He found work on shore with H. & C. Grayson Limited, ship repairers.
In 1921, he was residing at 100B. Fonthill Road, Kirkdale, Liverpool, with Mrs. Bridget Gaul and her children. His marital status was described as ‘single’ in the 1921 Census of England, indicating that his marriage had ended by this time. Bridget Gaul was the widow of Richard Gaul, a greaser who lost his life in the sinking of the Lusitania, and it is therefore likely that he knew the family prior to the sinking.
Nothing further is known about him.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Liverpool England Church of England Marriages and Banns 1754 – 1935, 1911 Census of England, Liverpool England Crew Lists 1861 – 1919, Cunard Records, UK British Army World War I Pension Records 1914 – 1920, Liverpool Echo, PRO BT 100/345, PRO BT 351/1/88652, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated - 28th October 2024.