Edwin Perkins was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, in 1874, the son of Edwin Joseph and Alice Ann Perkins (née Holden). He was one of twelve children, and his father was a metal worker. He had a married sister, Mrs. Edith Gregory, 474. Oldham Road, Newton Heat
He was a commission agent and merchant and represented the Belfast firm of W.R. McCall & Co., who manufactured and sold Irish linen. He was, for many years, their main representative in Cuba and his address there was San Ignacio 82, Havana. In fact, he was one of the best known people in the dry-goods trade, worldwide! Whilst in Cuba, he made regular visits to New York, sometimes taking members of his family, who had joined him from Manchester, with him.
On the 14th February 1903, he married Juanita Montero in Havana, however, she died on the 27th January 1907, and it is not known if they had any children.
In April 1915, he left Havana on board the ship S.S. Havana of the Ward Line and arrived in New York on the 28th, for what was his last ever visit. He had intended to return to Belfast after his business there was concluded and as a consequence, he booked a saloon passage on the May sailing of the Lusitania.
Before he joined the vessel, on the morning of 1st May 1915, in time for her scheduled 10.00 a.m. departure, he stayed at The Astor Hotel in New York and once he had boarded the Lusitania, with ticket number 46119, he was allocated room E44, which was the personal responsibility of First Class Bedroom Steward John Charlton, who came from Waterloo, in Lancashire, not far from Liverpool.
The liner’s departure was actually delayed until the early afternoon, so that she could take on board passengers, cargo and crew from the Anchor Liner Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war work 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 just eighteen minutes later. At that stage of her voyage, she was only about 250 miles from the safety of her home port.
Edwin Perkins was one of over 175 saloon passengers to be killed as a result of this action and despite searches in all the temporary mortuaries in Queenstown by a representative of his firm specially despatched for this grim duty, his body was never recovered from the sea and identified. He was aged 41 years.
Bedroom Steward John Charlton did survive the sinking, however, and eventually got back to his Waterloo home.
Administration of his estate (with limited will), was granted to Francis Edward Hildyard, bank manager and attorney, of The Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company at London, on 16th July 1915 and his effects amounted to £14, 337-14s-9d., (£14,337. 74p.), which was a considerable sum for 1915!
Curiously, it was stated that administration of his estate (with limited will) was granted to William Relph Easterby, banking company manager syndic of The Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company at London, on the 14th April 1917, and his effects amounted to £1,140-4s.-3d. (£1,140.21p.), so either this was an additional sum of money, or else the original figure had been reduced!
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1881 Census of England & Wales, 1891 Census of England & Wales, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Manchester Evening News, Northern Whig, PRO 22/71, PRO BT 100/345,
UniLiv D92/2/64, UniLiv D92/2/203, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.