John Ledson was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, on the 8th April 1876, the son of Samuel and Jane Ledson (née Thornton). His father was a confectioner, and John was one of seven children.
John followed in his father’s footsteps after leaving school by becoming a baker and joined the Mercantile Marine to work on passenger ships.
He engaged as an Extra Extra Baker in the Stewards' Department on board the Lusitania at Liverpool in early April 1915 and reported for duty on the morning of the 17th April, before the liner left her berth at Liverpool Pierhead for the last time, bound for New York.
Having completed the first leg of her voyage to New York, he was on board on the early afternoon of the 1st May when she left there to begin what became her last trans-Atlantic crossing. Six days later, however, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20, off the coast of southern Ireland and only about fourteen hours steaming time away from the safety of her home base. John Ledson was lost as a result of this action. He was aged 39 years.
His body was not recovered and identified afterwards and as a consequence, he is commemorated on the Mercantile Marine War Memorial at Tower Hill, London.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Liverpool England Church of England Baptisms 1813 – 1919, 1881 Census of England, 1891 Census of England and Wales, 1901 Census of England and Wales, Liverpool England Crew Lists 1861 – 1919, Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, PRO BT 334, PRO BT 351/1/80825, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 2nd March 2024.