Thomas McDermott was born at 27, Woodward Street, Manchester, Lancashire, England, on the 12th January 1875, the son of William and Annie McDermott (née Beaty). He had an older sister named Elizabeth who was born in 1871 or 1872. Their mother died when Thomas was only two years of age in November 1877 and their father, who was born in Ireland, and whose trade was that of a cooper, had to bring them up alone.
There is evidence to suggest that he spent some time in Canada and served with a regiment of the Canadian Field Artillery, but it is not known when exactly this was.
He returned to England and settled in Liverpool, Lancashire, and on the 7th July 1898, Thomas McDermott married Rebecca Lawson at St. Nicholas’ - The Parish Church of Liverpool. He was aged 23 years, and she was 20, and they both lived in Gomer Street, Liverpool and may have met there as neighbours. They had nine children, however, only Mary Elizabeth, born in January 1899, and Thomas, born in December 1911, survived childhood. At that time of his marriage, Thomas was a confectioner, but by the outbreak of the Great War in August 1914, he was serving as a fireman in the British Mercantile Marine.
On the 5th December 1914, he enlisted in the British Army as 21545 Private Thomas McDermott and assigned to the 19th Company, 2/5 Battalion, King’s Liverpool Regiment, however, he was discharged on the 2nd April 1915 as he was ‘deemed unfit to bear arms -mental’!
In May 1915, the family home was at 14, Court, 2 Hope Terrace, Hygeia Street, West Derby Road, West Derby, Liverpool, Lancashire.
Following his discharge from the army, on the 12th April 1915, he engaged as a fireman in the Engineering Department on board the Lusitania at Liverpool and reported for duty at 8 a.m. on the 17th April, the day the liner left the River Mersey for the last time. His monthly rate of pay, as a fireman was £6-10s.-0d. (£6.50p.), £1-0s.-0d. of which was advanced to him at the time. His previous ship had been the White Star Liner Cedric.
Having completed her last ever western crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, the Lusitania arrived at New York on the 24th April 1915 and left there on the early afternoon of the 1st May, for her return voyage to Liverpool. She only got as far as the southern coast of Ireland, however, for on the afternoon of the 7th May, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine, U-20, off The Old Head of Kinsale, only about twelve to fourteen hours steaming time away from the safety of her home port.
Thomas McDermott was killed as a result of this action, however, and as no trace of his body was ever found and identified afterwards, he has no known place of burial.
Consequently, he is commemorated on the Mercantile Marine Memorial at Tower Hill, London. He was aged 40 years. He is also commemorated on the City of Liverpool Roll of Honour in the basement of the Town Hall in Liverpool.
In keeping with all crew members serving on the Lusitania, Cunard paid Thomas McDermott up to and until 24 hours after the sinking and in August 1915, the balance of wages owing to him was allotted to his widow Rebecca. In addition, The Liverpool and London War Risks Insurance Association Limited granted a yearly pension to his widow to compensate her for the loss of her husband. This amounted to £35-9s.-0d. (£35.45p.) which was payable at the rate of £2-19s.-1d. (£2.95½p.) per month.
Cunard records erroneously show his name as E. McDermott, but the records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission show it to be Thomas McDermott, and research has confirmed this.
When Fireman McDermott engaged for the Cunarder’s final voyage, he signed his name McDermot, with a single ‘t’.
His wife Rebecca died in April 1956, aged 78 years, his daughter Elizabeth died in February 1916, aged 17 years, and his son Thomas died in October 2001, exactly two months short of his 90th birthday.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1881 Census of England, 1891 Census of England, 1911 Census of England, Cunard Records, UK British Army World War I Pension Records 1914 – 1920, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv. PR 13/24, PRO BT 334, Deaths at Sea1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Sheila Gibbons, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 4th December 2024.