Rachel Grant was born in Singapore, in what was then the Straits Settlements, a British crown colony in November 1875, the daughter of Alexander and Lucy Ann Grant (née Judd). Her father was a Plymouth Brethren missionary, and Rachel spent her childhood in Singapore. On returning to Great Britain, the family settled in Tottenham, Middlesex, England, and on completing her education she trained as a hospital nurse.
She met John Freeman, who was a clerk, also living in Tottenham, and they became engaged to be married; however, in 1905, John Freeman emigrated to Armstrong, British Columbia, to seek out new opportunities.
On the 8th May 1908, she arrived in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on board the
Empress of Britain, having boarded at Liverpool. Her destination was Armstrong, British Columbia, where her fiancé, John Freeman, by this time owned a farm, where he mainly grew fruit for export. On the 19th May, on reaching the town of White Valley (now known as Lumby), not far from Armstrong, the couple were re-united and got married.
In the spring of 1915, however, they had decided to return to Great Britain, maybe because of the military situation in France and Flanders and as a result, booked second cabin passage on the
Lusitania.
It wasn’t their first time to sail on the Lusitania, as they had returned from England on board her after a holiday in 1912.
Leaving Armstrong by rail at the end of April, they joined the liner on the morning of 1st May at Pier 54, in New York Harbour. She left New York for the last time just after mid-day and six days later, when she was within sight of the southern Irish coast, and only hours away from her Liverpool destination, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine
U-20.
According to The Enfield Observer for 14th May 1915, when the liner was struck, Rachel Freeman was separated from her husband but was happily re-united with him on the quayside at Queenstown, that evening, having both been rescued from the sea.
They both, presumably, completed their journey to England sometime after their rescue.
By 1921, the Freeman’s had returned to Canada, but John had left farming and become a business manager, although what business he was engaged in is unknown.
The Freemans lodged a claim for compensation for the loss of personal effects with the Canadian Commission which had been established to deal with such matters, and in 1926, when their case was decided, they were awarded $649.00.
The couple returned to England where John Freeman died at Waltham Cross, Essex, on the 6th January 1937, aged 59 years. Rachel, died in Enfield, London, on the 11th September 1967, aged 91 years.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, British Columbia Canada Marriage Index 1872 – 1935, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of Canada, 1921 Census of Canada, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Canadian Claims Case No. 863, Edmonton Historical Society Chronicle, Enfield Observer, Last Voyage of the Lusitania, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.