Walter Potter was born in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England, in 1881, the son of Albert and Selina Potter (née Dunsmore). His father was a knitter in a hosiery factory, and he was the second eldest of nine children. The family originally resided at 7. Queen Street, Ilkeston, before later moving to 21, and then, 37, Albert Street.
On completing his education, he worked as a ‘gas maker’ – making gas by burning coal, and then, in April 1910, he immigrated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where he found work at the local post office.
In the spring of 1915, however, perhaps because of the war in Europe, and maybe mindful of his patriotic duty, he decided to travel back to Great Britain and accordingly booked a second cabin passage for himself on the May sailing of the Lusitania, from New York to Liverpool.
Having travelled to New York some time in April, presumably by rail, he arrived at the liner’s berth at Pier 54 in New York port in time to board ship for her scheduled 10.00 a.m. departure. This was then delayed, however, until just after mid-day, as the liner had to load cargo and embark passengers and crew from the S.S. Cameronia, which the British Admiralty had requisitioned for use as a troop ship at the end of April.
Six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk off The Old Head of Kinsale, in southern Ireland, by the German submarine U-20 - only about fourteen hours sailing time away from her home port and safety.
Nearly 380 second cabin passengers lost their lives as a result of this action and unfortunately Walter Pot
the sea and identified afterwards, he has no known grave. He was aged 33 years at the time of his death.
Some reports state that he was an engineer, and perhaps he worked in some such capacity with the post office in Calgary, but it is unlikely he was a fully qualified one.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Derbyshire England Church of England Births & Baptisms 1813 – 1916, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Cunard Records, Calgary Herald, Sheffield Daily Telegraph, PRO BT 100/345, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.