Frederick ‘Fred’ Cooper was stated to have been born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, in 1896. Other than the fact that he lodged at 38, Dane Street, Bootle, Liverpool, when ashore, not a lot is known about him.
He was a professional seaman in the Mercantile Marine, and he engaged as the Fourth Baker in the Stewards' Department on board the Lusitania at Liverpool on the 12th April 1915. He reported for duty on the morning of the 17th April, in time for the liner’s last ever sailing out of the River Mersey on the first leg of her return trip from Liverpool to New York. As a Fourth Baker, his monthly rate of pay was £3-15s.-0d. (£3.75p). His previous ship had been the Cunard liner, Ivernia.
Having completed this voyage, he was on board when the liner left New York for Liverpool, just after mid-day on the 1st May 1915.
Six days out of that port, on the afternoon of the 7th May, the Cunarder was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine, U-20, within sight of the coast of southern Ireland and within fourteen hours sailing time of her home port.
Fortunately, Fourth Baker Cooper survived this sinking and after being rescued from the sea, he was landed at Queenstown, from were he eventually made it back to Liverpool. Once there, he was officially discharged from the Lusitania’s last voyage and paid the balance of wages owing to him, which amounted to £4-1s.-10d. (£4.09p.). This was in respect of his service on board the ship from the 17th April 1915 until the 8th May, 24 hours after ’the greyhound of the seas’ had gone down.
Extra Fourth Baker John Kennedy, who also survived the Lusitania’s sinking, lived next door to Fourth Baker Cooper, at 40. Dane Street, and obviously knew him well.
Nothing further is currently known about him.
Cunard Records, PRO BT 100/345, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 15th January 2023.