Norman Thompson was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, on the 9th November 1896, the son of Joseph and Sarah Ann Thompson (née Kirby). His father was a boiler maker, and Norman was an only child.
The family home was originally at 26. Coupland Terrace, but they later moved to 1, Colville Terrace, Beeston Hill, Leeds.
In March 1910, his father travelled to the United States of America and settled in Boston, Massachusetts, where he found work as a boiler maker with the New York and Newhaven Railway Company. As soon as he had settled in Boston, he sent for Norman and his mother to join him, which they duly did in July, and they established their home at 83. Charles Street, Boston. They later moved to 150. Neponset Street, Canton, Massachusetts. Both Norman and his father, were employed at the railroad facility at nearby Readville, where they maintained and repaired railway stock.
In the spring of 1915, the family decided to return to Leeds for a holiday and as a result, they left Canton at the end of April, and travelled by rail to New York, where they boarded the Lusitania- with ticket number 129911 - on the morning of 1st May, in time for her scheduled 10.00 a.m. sailing that day.
This was then delayed until the early afternoon as she had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Liner Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war service as a troop ship. The Lusitania finally left port just after mid-day and just six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20. At that point, she was off The Old Head of
Kinsale in southern Ireland and only 250 miles hours away from her Liverpool home port destination.
Norman Thompson and his mother were both killed, although his father Joseph survived. Neither Norman’s body nor that of his mother was ever recovered and identified later. Norman Thompson was aged 18 years, although the official passenger records recorded his age as being 13 years!.
On the day after the sinking, Cunard at Queenstown sent a cable to a Mr. E.A. Thompson at the Beeston Hill address, which stated: -
Joseph Thompson, Sarah Ann Thompson Norman Thompson saved.
This erroneous information was all too quickly proved to have been wrong but must have caused great distress to the family nevertheless.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, West Yorkshire England Church of England Births and Baptisms 1813 – 1910, 1901 Census of England & Wales, UK Outward Passenger Lists 1890 – 1960, Massachusetts Passenger Lists 1820 – 1963, Cunard Records, Liverpool Records Office, Boston Globe, PRO BT 100/345, UNiLiv.D92/1/6, UniLiv D92/2/379(b), Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.