John Needham was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, on the 13th August 1897, the son of Patrick and Bridget Needham (née Cumiskey). His father was a fireman on steam ships in the British Mercantile Marine. The family home in 1915, was at 24, Clare Street, Liverpool, and whereas John was one of five children in the family, he was the only one of them alive by 1911!
He engaged as a trimmer in the Engineering Department on board the Lusitania on the morning of the 17th April 1915 at Liverpool Pier Head, just before she left the River Mersey for the last time, on the first stage of her return voyage to New York. As a trimmer, his monthly wage was £6-0s.-0d. It was the first time that he had ever been to sea; however, it is likely that his father, who was also signed up for the voyage as a leading fireman, secured this position for him.
Having completed the liner’s crossing to New York without mishap, Trimmer Needham was trimming coal on board the ship on the early afternoon of the 1st May, as the Lusitania left New York on the start of her return voyage to Liverpool. Then, six days out of that port, on the afternoon of the 7th May, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine, U-20, within sight of the coast of southern Ireland. At that time, she was only about fourteen hours steaming time away from the safety of her home port. Needham lost his life as a result of this action. He was only 17 years of age, although he gave his age on engagement as 22. His father was fortunate enough to survive.
His body was not recovered and identified afterwards and as a result he is commemorated on the Mercantile Marine Memorial at Tower Hill, London. He is also commemorated on the City of Liverpool Roll of Honour in the basement of the Town Hall in Liverpool.
As it was necessary to bury all the recovered bodies as soon as was practicable, for hygienic reasons in the heat of early May, they were all photographed in the temporary mortuaries in Queenstown before being buried. Anxious relatives of those missing were then invited to identify their loved ones through these photographs. This was difficult in certain cases because of injuries they had received as a consequence of the sinking or because they had been in the water for a long time.
After the sinking, all the available photographs were posted in St. George's Hall in Liverpool and John Needham’s mother must have gone to view them, as she later wrote to Cunard positively identifying corpse No. 106 as that of her son. To fortify her opinion, she sent Cunard a brief description of him, which stated :-
Age 18, hair black, complexion sallow. Large brown mole on middle of left hand. Nearly 6 ft. tall. Probably wearing his father’s Naval Reserve singlet and navy blue trousers.
Despite Bridget Needham’s certainty, body No 106 subsequently proved not to be that of her son and was, in fact, that of second cabin passenger Archibald Parsons.
In August 1915, Bridget Needham was paid the balance of wages owed to her son, in respect of his service on the Lusitania’s last voyage, which was reckoned to be from the 17th April 1915, until the 8th May, 24 hours after the vessel had gone down!
His father died on the 29th September 1934, aged 68 years, but Germany was not finished with the family, for on the 3rd May 1941, his mother was killed in a German Luftwaffe air raid on Liverpool when her home at 67. Ford Street, Liverpool, suffered a direct hit from a bomb. She was aged 73 years.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Liverpool England Catholic Baptisms 1741 – 1919, 1901 Census of England, 1911 Census of England, Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, UK World War II Civilian War Dead 1939 – 1946, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv.D92/1/6-2, PRO BT 334, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Denise Deighton, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 22nd January 2025.