Evelyn Mabel Neville was born in Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, England, in 1901, the eldest daughter of Albert Charles and Mabel Frances Neville (née Smith). She had one brother known as Charlie, born in 1902 and a younger sister, Muriel, born in 1909.
In 1915, the family home was in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where Evelyn‘s father was involved in the insurance business, although the main family home in England was still at 133, High Street, Berkhamstead in Hertfordshire. Evelyn’s father had been a fishmonger and poulterer in Berkhamstead before the war, but in 1913, had taken the family to Canada, firstly to Vancouver, British Columbia, and then in August 1914, to Toronto, Ontario where Evelyn’s mother had a sister.
In the spring of 1915, however, Evelyn’s father decided to take the family back to England, and as a consequence, booked them all as second cabin passengers on the Lusitania, which was due to leave New York for Liverpool, on the morning of 1st May. Having left Toronto at the end of that month, they all boarded the liner in time for her delayed sailing on 1st May, which eventually began just after mid-day.
On the voyage over, Evelyn Neville was befriended by one second cabin passenger Herbert Ehrhardt, an 18 year old also travelling home from Toronto. Ehrhardt was to write about Evelyn Neville in later life, although he erroneous referred to her as Katherine Neville: -
While on board I made friends with a number of people but in particular with small children. This started by one child of eighteen months leaving his mother, Mrs. Smith, to play with me. We were soon joined by other children who would come and go. The small boy also brought a teenage girl Katherine Neville who sat next to him at table to join the fun.
Ehrhardt was also mistaken about the child of eighteen months - his name was not Smith.
Six days out of New York in the afternoon of 7th May, Evelyn Neville, her father and her brother and sister were all killed after the Cunarder was torpedoed and sunk off the southern coast of Ireland, by the German submarine U-20, within hours of her Liverpool destination. Only Evelyn’s mother Mabel survived, out of the whole family! Evelyn Neville was aged 14 years.
Evelyn’s mother was ultimately rescued from the sea and landed at Queenstown, where she was met by a brother, who later related his sister’s experiences in a letter to another sister, a Mrs. Chilton, who lived in Watford. He wrote that: -
It appears that they were altogether (sic) on deck when the torpedo struck the vessel. Albert ran and got lifebelts ..... .
There was not one for baby so Mabel took her in her arms and Albert stood at the back of her with his arms round the other two. Mabel looked round just after, and he was missing. Then the vessel stood right up on end and there was a terrific explosion, which shot Mabel right clear of the vessel, and she went right down. .....
She held the baby in her arms for three hours and she saw two boats, and asked them to take her, but they wouldn’t, and just after they had passed,
the baby died in her arms. After that, she lost consciousness. When she was taken out of the water the child was missing.
Baby, of course, was Muriel Neville, who although five years old, was obviously regarded as the baby of the family.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Cunard Records, Brotherton Library UniLeeds, West Hertfordshire & Watford Observer, Probate Records, PRO BT 100/345, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Lawrence Evans, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.