George Edward “Ned” Stokes was born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England, on the 8th September 1885, the son of George and Susannah Stokes (née Moore). His father was a baker and confectioner, and George was the fourth youngest in a family of thirteen children! The family resided over the family bakery and grocery shop at 68 & 69. Fitzroy Street, Cambridge.
On completing his education, he worked in a drapery shop before becoming a carpenter.
In May 1907, he arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on board the Sardinian, accompanied by his brother, William. They stated that their intention was to go to Regina, Saskatchewan, but by 1911, George was living and working in Victoria, British Columbia, where he lodged at the home of the Elliott’s at 2846. Graham Street, Victoria, British Columbia. The Elliott’s had emigrated from Ulverston, Lancashire, also in 1907.
On the 28th November 1911, he married Mabel Elliott, the eldest daughter in the family, and they had one child – a son named William, who was born in late 1912.
In the spring of 1915, the family decided to travel to Great Britain, perhaps to visit relatives, and consequently they booked passage on the May sailing of the Cunard Steam Ship Company liner, R.M.S. Lusitania. Having arrived in New York during the last few days of April, they went to Pier 54 on the morning of the 1st May to board the vessel in time for her scheduled 10 o’clock sailing. On arrival at the Cunard berth, they were shown to their second class cabin, and had plenty of time to settle in to their surroundings as the liner’s departure was delayed due to the transfer of passengers, cargo, and some crew members from the Anchor Lines vessel, Cameronia, which had
been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for use as a troop ship. Thus, it was almost 12.20p.m. when the Lusitania finally left her berth and proceeded out of New York harbour on her 202nd trans-Atlantic voyage. She would never make port and complete this voyage.
Following an uneventful and relatively pleasant journey, the Lusitania arrived off the southern coast of Ireland on the morning of 7th May. As she progressed along the coast, within sight of land, she was intercepted by the German submarine, U-20, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Walter Schwieger who fired a torpedo which struck the great liner on her starboard side, causing catastrophic damage. The damage was so severe that the Lusitania sank within eighteen minutes, with the loss of 1,198 lives.
Among those lost were the entire Stokes family, and none of their bodies were every recovered and identified. They have no known grave.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, British Columbia Canada Marriage Index 1872 – 1935, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of Canada, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Cunard Records, Daily Mirror, Times Colonist, UniLiv. D92/2/359, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.