George Gordon Mosley was born in Finchley, London, Middlesex, England, in 1885, the son of Isaac and Sarah Mosley (née Oakes). He was one of three children having an older brother and a younger sister. His father was a merchant with the East India Company. By 1901, the family home was at Nether Street, Finchley.
From around 1908, he resided in Calcutta, India, and on the 19th March 1910, he registered as a new member of the Justitia Lodge of Freemasons in Calcutta.
He worked in England for tea brokers George C. Colwell and Company of 126, Front Street, New York City in the United States of America, and in March 1915, he left Liverpool on board the Lusitania on company business at head office in New York, arriving there on 26th March. For his return to Liverpool, with ticket number 46113, he had already booked saloon passage on the May sailing of the same liner.
Staying at the Astor Hotel in New York at the end of April, and possibly during his stay, he boarded the vessel at the Cunard berth at Pier 54, on the morning of 1st May 1915 in time for her scheduled 10.00 a.m. sailing and was allocated room E52. This was in the personal care of First Class Waiter John Charlton who came from Waterloo, a district on the outskirts of Liverpool.
In keeping with all the other passengers on board the liner, he had to wait until the early afternoon before the liner finally left port. This delay was caused because the Lusitania had to take on board passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Liner Cameronia which the British Admiralty had requisitioned for use as a troop ship at the end of the previous month. Then, six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20.
George Mosley was fortunate enough to be counted amongst the survivors, although he did receive an injury to one of his legs. Having been rescued from the sea, he was landed at Queenstown, from where he was eventually able to get back home. At the time of her loss, the Lusitania was within sight of the coast of southern Ireland and only about fourteen hours steaming time away from her Liverpool destination.
Before his return to London, George Mosley was able to send a telegram announcing his survival - and his injury - to his sister, Mrs. Thomas Wayman of Rycroft, Lightcliffe, Halifax, Yorkshire. Her husband was a wool merchant.
Bedroom Steward Charlton, who had looked after George Mosley in room E52, also survived the sinking and eventually returned to his Waterloo home.
In 1910, he had been commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 2nd (Presidency) Battalion, Calcutta Volunteer Rifles, and by 1916, he had been promoted to Captain.
On the 1st March 1916, he married Beatrice Elizabeth Inez Macgowan in Chelsea, London. The following month the newly-weds sailed on the St. Paul from Liverpool to New York City, on the first leg of their journey to Calcutta.
On his return to Calcutta, he was promoted to the rank of Major of the 37th Lancers (Baluch Horse), 37th Calcutta (Presidency) Battalion, and was the acting Lieutenant-Colonel, and second-in-command of his regiment, however, he did not survive the loss of the Lusitania for very long, as he died on 7th August 1918, in Calcutta, from enteric, aged 33 years, and was buried in Calcutta (Lower Circular Road) Cemetery.
At the time of his death, he was also the head of the tea department of Messrs. Balmer, Lawrie and Company, a company which still trades today.
His wife gave birth to their only son, George Gordon, a few weeks after his death, and in 1919, his wife and son returned to England.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, London England Church of England Births and Baptisms 1813 – 1917, London England Church of England Marriages and Banns 1754 – 1932, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, U.S. Border Crossings from Canada to U.S. 1895 – 1960, Cunard Records, United Grand Lodge of England Freemason Membership Registers 1751 – 1921, 1912 Indian Army Quarterly Lists, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, New York Times, Halifax Courier, PRO 22/71, Englishman’s Overland mail, Yorkshire Observer, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.