George William Grandy was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, on the 8th November 1874, the son of George and Mary Ann Grandy. His father, who was a domestic servant, died when he was quite young, and to help support his family, George found work as a fish hawker. He was the second eldest of five known children in the family.
George Grandy became a professional seaman when he joined the Mercantile Marine as a fireman on steam ships. He served on a number of vessels operated by the Cunard Steamship Company Limited, among them the Lucania, Campania, and Lusitania.
On the 26th June 1904, a woman named Anne Catherine Connell had a son, which she named James, and who she claimed was fathered by George Grandy, although the couple never married. In 1906, Anne married a man named John Bulman, so it would appear that the relationship between George and Anne was a brief one.
On the 23rd August 1914, George Grandy married Margaret Ann Copland (née Howard) in Liverpool. He had been lodging in the Copland’s home at 79. Orient Street, Everton, Liverpool, for a number of years before Margaret’s first husband, George Miller Copland, died in 1913. A son, named Herbert, was born to the couple in the summer of 1915.
George Grandy engaged as a Leading Fireman in the Engineering Branch on board the Lusitania at Liverpool on the 12th April 1915, at a monthly rate of £7-10s.-0d. (£7.50p.). He reported for duty at 8 a.m. on the 17th April for the liner’s last ever voyage out of the River Mersey.
He survived the sinking three weeks later and was landed at Queenstown having been rescued from the sea. When he finally got back to Liverpool, he was officially discharged from the liner's final voyage, by Cunard, and paid the balance of wages owing to him in respect of it.
Unfortunately, George was not to live very long after surviving his terrible ordeal, dying of a respiratory complaint at his home, 9. Verger Street, Liverpool, on the 8th July 1916, aged 41 years. It is possible that his death was attributed to the sinking of the Lusitania as The Liverpool and London War Risks Insurance Association Limited granted an annual pension to Margaret Grandy to compensate her for the loss of her husband which amounted to £78-0s.-0d. (£78.00p.), payable at the rate of £6-10s.-0d. (£6.50p.) per month.
A list of crew members compiled by The Cunard Steamship Company in March 1916 shows him as George Grundy, which is obviously a mistake.
Register of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, Liverpool England Church of England Baptisms 1813 – 1919, England & Scotland Select Cemetery Registers 1800 – 2022, 1881 Census of England, 1891 Census of England, 1911 Census of England, 1921 Census of England, Liverpool England Crew Lists 1861 – 1919, Cunard Records, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv. PR 13/24, Graham Maddocks, Susan Kelly, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 13th December 2023.