James Brown was born in 1868, the son of James and Mary Brown. The family home was at 3, Portland Street, Liverpool. Lancashire, England.
Nothing is known of his upbringing except that he was one of five children and that by 1911, his father and three of his siblings had died.
He was a professional seaman, serving in the British mercantile Marine, and served as a fireman in the Engineering Department on the Lusitania's final voyage. He was killed when the liner sank on the 7th May 1915, aged 47 years.
His body was not recovered and identified afterwards and consequently, he is commemorated on the Mercantile Marine War Memorial at Tower Hill, London.
1911 Census of England and Wales, Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, PRO BT 334, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 22nd December 2022.