Charles Albert Beaverstock Palmer was born in Cardiff, Glamorganshire, Wales, in 1894, the son of Thomas and Eliza Ellen Palmer (née Beaverstock). The family home was at 24, Hereford Street, Cardiff, and his father was drayman for a local brewery, who died in 1899, when Charles was aged just three years. His mother was left to raise her family on her own until she re-married in 1901. Charles was one of six children, although two of his siblings had died by 1911.
Charles Palmer was house painter, and in April 1913, he had sailed from Liverpool to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America, on board the Haverford. He made his way to Camden, New Jersey, where he found work as an electrician in a local shipyard. At the time, he boarded at 554, Fairview Road, Camden, and another boarder was, Charles Cross, who was also an electrician in the shipyard, and also came from Cardiff.
In the spring of 1915, however, the two of them decided to return home, to visit their relatives in Cardiff, and consequently booked third class passage - with joint ticket number 1798 - on the May sailing of the Lusitania, which was scheduled to leave New York at 10.00 a.m. on 1st May 1915.
They arrived together at the liner’s berth at Pier 54 in time for the sailing, only to find it delayed until the early afternoon. This was because the steamer had to take on board passengers, cargo and crew from Anchor Liner Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty as a troop ship at the end of April. Then, six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed twelve miles off the coast of southern Ireland by the German submarine U-20, and sank two miles closer to the shore. At that stage of her voyage, she was only 250 miles from her Liverpool home port.
Charles Palmer and his friend both lost their lives as a result of this action and as neither body was ever recovered from the sea and identified afterwards, neither has a known grave. They were both aged 21 years.
Administration of Charles Palmer’s estate was granted to his mother, Eliza Ellen Griffiths, who was described as the wife of Albert George Griffiths, at London on 5th January 1916, and his effects amounted to £82-15s-1d., (£82.75½p.).
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, Pennsylvania Passenger Lists 1800 – 1962, Cunard Records, Philadelphia Public Ledger, Probate Records, PRO BT 100/345, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.