Joseph Thomas Hordern was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, in 1871, the son of Joseph Thomas and Annie Hordern (née Woolley). As far as can be ascertained, he was an only child and his mother died while he was an infant. His father was a coachman in domestic service who later remarried.
After leaving school, Joseph Hordern worked as a brass turner before he joined the Mercantile Marine as a fireman on steam ships.
He was married to Mary Elizabeth Ormond in Liverpool in 1910, and in 1915, they lived at 12, Macbeth Street, Kirkdale, Liverpool, Lancashire. They had two children – Joseph Thomas, born in 1911, and died in 1913, and William F., who was born in March 1914 and died eleven months later, in February 1915.
Joseph Hordern engaged as a greaser in the Engineering Department on board the Lusitania, at Liverpool, on the 12th April 1915, at a monthly rate of pay of £7-0s.-0d. and reported for duty five days later, before the liner left Liverpool landing stage for the last ever time to cross the Atlantic Ocean to New York.
Having carried out his duties successfully on the outward journey across the Atlantic Ocean to New York, Joseph Hordern was present on the early afternoon of the 1st May 1915, when the great liner left the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York for what would be her last voyage ever out of the port.
Six days later, on the afternoon of the 7th May, he was killed when the vessel 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 port.
His body was not recovered and identified afterwards and as a consequence, he is commemorated on the Memorial to the Missing at Tower Hill, London. He was aged 44 years.
In keeping with all crew members, Cunard paid Joseph Hordern up until the 8th May, 24 hours after the sinking and eventually, the balance of wages owing to him was forwarded to his widow Mary. The Liverpool and London War Risks Insurance Association Limited also granted a yearly pension to Mary Hordern to compensate her for the loss of her husband which amounted to £23-11s.-8d. (£23.58½p.) which was payable at the rate of £1-19s.-4d. (£1.96½p.) per month.
Register of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1871 Census of England, 1881 Census of England, 1891 Census of England, 1911 Census of England, Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, UniLiv. PR 13/24, PRO BT 100/345, 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 – 12th January 2024.