John Lawton was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, on the 25th July 1880, the son of William and Sarah Ann Lawton (née Lowden). His father was a labourer, and he was the eldest of seven children.
He married Margaret “Maggie” Fagan in Liverpool on the 26th December 1907, and they lived at 2, Shaw Terrace, Salisbury Street, Liverpool, Lancashire. They had three children – John, born in 1908, William, born in 1911, and Mary Evelyn, born in 1913.
He engaged as a trimmer in the Engineering Department on board the Lusitania at Liverpool on the 12th April 1915, at a monthly wage of £6-0s.-0s. and joined the vessel at 8 a.m., on the morning of the 17th April, before she left the River Mersey for the final time.
He was killed, three weeks later when the vessel was torpedoed and sunk. He was aged 34 years, although he gave his age as being 32 years when he engaged for the voyage!
His body was not recovered and identified afterwards and as a consequence, his name is embossed on the Mercantile Marine War Memorial at Tower Hill, London.
In August 1915, Maggie Lawton was given the balance of wages owed to her husband in respect of his service before the vessel sank. This was reckoned from the 17th April until the 8th May 1915, 24 hours after the Lusitania had gone down. In addition, The Liverpool and London War Risks Insurance Association Limited granted her an annual pension to compensate her for the loss of her husband. This amounted to £56-12s.-5d. (£56.62p.) which was payable at the rate of £4-14s.-5d. (£4.72p.) per month.
On the 14th May 1915, his son, William, was buried in Ford Cemetery, Liverpool, having died a few days after the loss of the Lusitania, aged 3 years. Then, on the 13th December 1915, his daughter, Ellen, was born. Sadly. She never got to know her father.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Liverpool England Church of England Baptisms 1813 – 1919, Liverpool England Catholic Marriages 1754 – 1933, 1881 Census of England, 1891 Census of England, 1901 Census of England, 1911 Census of England, Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, UniLiv D92/2/193, UniLiv. PR 13/24, PRO BT 100/345, PRO BT 334, PRO BT 351/1/80303, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 24th February 2024.