Eugen Heinrich Posen was born in Frankfurt-am-Main, Hesse, Germany, on the 19th September 1873, the son of Heinrich and Emilie Posen (née Löwenstein). The circumstances of when and how he came to England are unknown, but he became a naturalised British subject in 1898. On his arrival in England, he anglicized his name to ‘Eugene Henry Posen’.
He was a merchant, dealing in the manufacture and importation of high-quality leather ware, and he was also a director of the Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co. Ltd, in London. From 1911, he made annual visits to the United States of America, always sailing from Liverpool on the Lusitania and he also had an address in New York City, at 3, East 44th. Street.
On April 24th, 1915, he had arrived in New York, from Liverpool, on the Lusitania once more, and he booked a return saloon ticket, (number D1344) back to London, on the May sailing of the same ship. On 1st May 1915, he arrived at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 on the West Side, in time for the steamer’s scheduled 10.00 a.m. sailing and was then escorted to his accommodation in room D47. This room was under the personal care of First Class Bedroom Steward Edwin Huther, who came from Liverpool.
The liner’s departure for Liverpool was actually delayed until the early afternoon, to take on board passengers, cargo and some crew from the Anchor Liner Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty at the end of April, for war work as a troop ship. Then, six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed twelve miles off the coast of southern Ireland by the German submarine U-20, and sank two miles closer to the shore. At that stage of her voyage, she was only 250 miles from the safety of her home port.
Eugene Posen was associated with the Wanamaker business empire in New York and Philadelphia, and having managed to survive this action, he cabled John Wanamaker in New York to inform him of his rescue, and further told him that he had managed to get into one of the few lifeboats which was successfully launched and was only rescued after some seven hours in the sea!
Having been landed at Queenstown, he spent two fruitless days searching for his friends, Frank and Alice Tesson, who were also associated with the Wanamaker concern. Having had no success in finding any trace of them, he returned to his home in London at I 3. Albany, Piccadilly, which was then, and continues to be today, one of London’s most exclusive addresses.
Bedroom Steward Huther, who had looked after Eugene Posen in room D47 perished in the sinking, however, and never saw his Liverpool home again.
On the 18th November 1915, Eugene changed his name by deed poll to POST. Notification of his change of name appeared in The London Gazette, and from that date forward, he was always known by the name of Eugene Henry Post. It became quite common during the course of the First World War for people with Germanic surnames to change them, especially those engaged in business, as the general population shied away from conducting any business or employing anyone who the
suspected as being German, or ethnic German.
On the 27th July 1916, Eugene married Henrietta Blanche Frasque at the Parish Church of St. Georges Hanover Square, London. Henrietta was a saleswoman in the dress making industry and was born in Portarlier, in eastern France in 1881. They had no children.
Eugene made a number of trans-Atlantic voyages as Eugene Post in the 1920’s, the last being in 1927. Eugene and his wife, Henrietta, resided at 226. Oakwood Court, Kensington, London, until Eugene died at Cambridge House, which was a nursing home at 4. Dorset Square, Marylebone, on the 12th July 1933, aged 59 years. His estate amounted to £2,632-2s.-8d. (£2,632.13½p.), which he left to his beloved wife.
Register of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, Germany Select Births and Baptisms 1558 – 1898, Westminster London England Church of England Marriages and Banns 1754 – 1935, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, UK Naturalisation Certificates and Declarations 1870 – 1912, New York Passenger Lists 1820 - 1957, Cunard Records, The London Gazette, Philadelphia Public Ledger, Probate Records, PRO 22/71, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.