Colin Stanley Moorhouse Fenton was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, on the 17th August 1887, the son of William Carter and Mary Fenton, (née Moorhouse) of 21, Steade Road, Sheffield. He was the eldest of three children. His father was described as an architect, engineer, and surveyor!
In 1908, he was admitted to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, having studied at Sheffield University, and gaining experience by serving on several steam ships and working with a number of different engineering companies. Having decided to serve on steam ships, he enlisted in the Mercantile Marine and worked for a time with the P & O Steam Ship Company, before moving to Liverpool, Lancashire, to work for the Cunard Steam Ship Company. He lived at ‘Sandynook’, Sandy Road, Seaforth, Liverpool, Lancashire.
He served as Deck Engineer in the Engineering Department on board the Lusitania on what would be her final voyage, departing from New York harbour on the 1st May 1915. He was killed when the liner was sunk off the southern coast of Ireland on the afternoon of the 7th May.
His body was never recovered and identified after the disaster, and consequently, he is commemorated on the Mercantile Marine Memorial at Tower Hill, London. He was aged 27 years when he was killed.
Register of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1891 Census of England, 1901 Census of England, 1911 Census, Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, UK Mechanical Engineer Records 1847 – 1930, PRO BT 334, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 11th November 2023.