John Freeman was born in Tottenham, Middlesex, England, in January 1878, the son of Frederick and Fanny Freeman (née Knight). His father was a commission agent and financial broker. He was educated at a private school in Hastings, Sussex, and became a clerk. He met and became engaged to a local girl – Rachel Grant, who was a hospital nurse.
On the 15th June 1905, he arrived in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on board the
Virginian, having boarded at Liverpool. His destination was Armstrong, British Columbia, where he bought, or laid a claim on, a farm. He principally grew fruit for export.
He married Rachael Grant in White Valley (now known as Lumby), British Columbia, on the 19th May 1908, and the couple then established their home in Armstrong. They had no children.
In the spring of 1915, however, they decided to return to Great Britain, maybe because of the war in Europe, and as a result, booked second cabin passage on the
Lusitania. It wasn’t their first time to sail on the Lusitania, as they had returned from England on board her after a holiday in 1912.
Leaving Armstrong at the end of April, travelling first by road, and then by rail, they joined the liner on the morning of 1st May at her New York harbour berth at Pier 54, in time for her delayed sailing which actually began just after mid-day.
They both survived the liner’s sinking six days later, when she was twelve miles off the coast of southern Ireland and only 250 miles from her Liverpool destination.
According to The Enfield Observer for 14th May 1915, after the ship had been torpedoed, John Freeman and a steward rescued 33 people from the water with the aid of a collapsible lifeboat. Having been first separated from his wife Rachael, the two were eventually reunited on the quayside at Queenstown, after both had been rescued from the sea.
Presumably, some time afterwards, they completed their journey to Enfield!
By 1921, the Freeman’s had returned to Canada, but John had left farming and become a business manager, although what business he was engaged in is unknown.
The Freemans lodged a claim for compensation for the loss of personal effects with the Canadian Commission which had been established to deal with such matters, and in 1926, when their case was decided, they were awarded $649.00.
The Freemans returned to England, where John Freeman died at Waltham Cross, Essex, on the 6th January 1937, aged 59 years. His wife, Rachel, died in Enfield in 1967, aged 91 years.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, British Columbia Canada Marriage Index 1872 – 1935, 1881 Census of England & Wales, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of Canada, 1921 Census of Canada, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Canadian Claims Case No. 863, Edmonton Historical Society Chronicle, Enfield Observer, Last Voyage of the Lusitania, Graham Maddocks, Graham Dalling, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.