Reuben Burley was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, in September 1875, the third son of William Burley, and his wife Annie (née Tetlow). His father was a labourer in a steelworks. He had two brothers, Joseph, born in 1858, and Joshua, born in 1862, and three sisters, Mary, born in 1870, Rachel, born in 1872 and Clara, born in 1877. While still a child, his family moved to Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire.
On leaving school, Reuben became an errand boy, and then an electric light fitter, before immigrating to Canada. He left Liverpool on board the
Lake Erie, arriving in Montreal, Quebec, on the 15th May 1904. His intended destination was Peterborough, Ontario.
Reuben Burley had met Florence Bull, a local girl, in Ashton-under-Lyne and the couple were engaged to be married. On reaching Canada, and finding work and accommodation, Reuben sent for Florence. She arrived in Montreal, Quebec, on the 16th September 1904 on board the Tunisian, and married Reuben on the 19th September in Hamilton, Ontario.
The couple settled at 126. Frederick Arcade, Hamilton, and on the 12th January 1906, their first child – Doris Farrar Burley was born. On the 15th January 1912, their second child – Reginald was born.
In 1911, Florence’s parents, John Henry and Elizabeth Bull emigrated from England to be closer to Florence and her children.
In 1914, his father-in-law, John Henry Bull, died, and in the spring of 1915, his mother-in-law decided to return to England. Reuben Burley and his family decided to join her on the journey and take a holiday in Ashton.
As a consequence, they all booked second cabin passage on the Lusitania for their return home and joined the ship at New York, on 1st May 1915, before she set sail on what proved to be her last ever voyage.
It proved a tragic journey for all of the family, for they were all killed, including Mrs. Bull, when the liner was torpedoed and sunk, six days later! Reuben Burley was aged 39 years.
Only the body of Mrs. Bull was ever recovered and identified later and as a consequence, none of the Burley family has a known grave.
L.F. Stevens, who was the executor of Reuben Burley’s estate, filed a claim for compensation for the loss of the personal effects of Reuben Burley and the money he was believed to have been carrying with him at the time of his death. The Canadian Commission made an award of $2,500 to the estate of Reuben Burley, with interest of 5% per annum from the date of the sinking to the date the claim was settled, which was on the 3rd August 1926.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Reuben Burley had worked for the Great Central Railway, in Ashton-Under-Lyne, Lancashire and according to
The Stalybridge Reporter of 15th May 1915, was very well known in the West End of Ashton and in Guide Bridge and Audenshaw, which were districts of Ashton.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1881 Census of England & Wales, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, Ontario, Canada Marriages, 1801 – 1926, 1911 Census of Canada, Ontario, Canada Births, 1858 – 1913, Canadian Claims Case No. 806, Cunard Records, Stalybridge Reporter, Sheffield Daily Telegraph, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv D92/2/95, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Lawrence Evans, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.