William Scrimgeour was born in Dundee, Angus, Scotland, on the 29th December 1885, the son of John and Elizabeth Scrimgeour (née Kirkland). His father was a machine turner and William was one of twelve known children in the family. By 1915, the family home was at 3. Arbroath Road, Dundee.
On completing his education, he became an office boy, before becoming an apprentice marine engineer with Gourlay Brothers and Company Limited, a marine engineering and shipbuilding company in Dundee.
In January 1907, he was appointed third engineer on a local cargo vessel, the Naworth Castle, and on his first voyage the vessel was struck amidships in the English Channel by the Vaterland and sank almost immediately with the loss of three crew members. There was a heavy fog at the time of the collision, and having taken the survivors of the Naworth Castle on board, the Vaterland was able to proceed to Antwerp in Belgium.
Following this, he served as a marine engineer for a number of steamship companies, on a number of vessels, including the Cunard Steam Ship Company Limited. For a time, he served on board the RMS Lusitania!
In 1913, to further his career, he left Cunard and joined the United Fruit Company in New York, which had a number of vessels plying their trade between New York and central American countries.
In the spring of 1915, he decided to return home for a holiday – his first in eighteen months, and as a result, he booked as a second cabin passenger on the Lusitania, which he joined at the Cunard berth in New York before she left there for the final time on 1st May 1915.
When the vessel was torpedoed and sunk, six days later William Scrimgeour was lucky enough to be counted amongst those who were saved. Having been rescued from the sea and landed at Queenstown, he eventually made it back to his native Dundee.
On his return there, his health deteriorated as a result of his ordeal and as a consequence, he applied to The Lusitania Relief Fund for financial help. This fund was set up after the sinking, by The Lord Mayor of Liverpool and other local dignitaries, to alleviate financial loss and distress amongst those second cabin and third class passengers who had survived. The award committee sent William Scrimgeour a ‘once and for all’ payment of £5-0s-0d.
On the 17th November 1916, he married Ann Allan in Dundee, and around this time he joined the Dundee, Perth, and London Shipping Company. He remained with this company for the remainder of his working life, rising to become their assistant
engineering superintendent.
He died at his home, 78. Forfar Road, Dundee, on the 11th January 1951, aged 65 years. He had retired the previous year, and he was survived by his wife, three sons, and a daughter.
1891 Census of Scotland, 1901 Census of Scotland, 1911 Census of England & Wales, 1939 Register, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Dundee Advertiser, Dundee Courier, Dundee People’s Journal. Liverpool Record Office, 100/345, UniLiv. D92/2/152, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.