Enid Marion Parlett was born in St. Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands, in 1902, the daughter of Frank and Hannah “Amy” Parlett (née MacGregor). Her father was a dentist, and the family home was at Norman House, Fauvic, Jersey.
Her maternal grandmother, Mrs. Betsy MacGregor, had immigrated to New York City, in the United States of America, in August 1908, and in August of 1909, Enid and her mother had travelled to New York City to visit her. She was living with Enid’s uncle, Arthur MacGregor.
Enid and her mother had stayed for six weeks, before returning to Jersey. Her grandmother and Uncle Arthur travelled to Jersey each year from 1910, onwards, to visit and enjoy a holiday.
Then, in April 1915, Enid and her mother travelled to New York City on board the Arabic to visit her grandmother and uncle for four weeks, and for their return voyage home, they had booked second cabin passage on the May sailing of the Lusitania. Her grandmother and uncle were also booked on the liner, as they were accompanying them back to Jersey for their holiday.
They boarded the liner at her berth, at Pier 54 in New York on the morning of 1st May 1915, in time for her scheduled 10 o’clock departure. This was then delayed whilst the liner loaded cargo and took on board passengers and crew from the Anchor Liner the S.S. Cameronia which the British Admiralty had requisitioned as a troop ship at the end of April. The Lusitania finally got under way at exactly 12.27 p.m.!
Six days later, however, on the afternoon of 7th May, she was torpedoed twelve miles off the coast of southern Ireland by the German submarine U-20, and sank within 18 minutes. At that stage of her voyage, she was only about 250 miles away from her Liverpool destination.
All four family members perished as a result of this action and as none of their bodies was never recovered from the sea and identified afterwards, none of them has a known grave. Enid Parlett was aged 13 years at the time of her death.
1911 Channel Islands Census, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, UK Incoming Passenger Lists 1878 – 1960, UK Outward Passenger Lists 1890 – 1960, Cunard Records, PRO BT 100/345, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Hal Giblin, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.