Alice K. Wilks was born in Chalford, Gloucestershire, England, in 1884, the daughter and one of five children of Samuel and Catherine Wilks (née Gillett). Her father was a blacksmith and for many years the family resided at Temperance Cottage, Weston-under-Penyard, Herefordshire, before moving to Mount Pleasant, Pontshill, near Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.
She entered domestic service while still a teenager, working in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, before immigrating to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1906. She returned to Great Britain sometime later and took up a position as a parlour maid in Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales, before returning to Canada in 1913; however, she quickly moved to the home of her brother, Allen, at 1229. 8th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the United States of America..
By 1915, she was living, and presumably working, in Chicago, Illinois, and in the spring of that year, she decided to return home - perhaps because of the war raging across Europe - and consequently booked third class passage on the May sailing of the Lusitania which was scheduled to leave New York for Liverpool at 10 o’clock on the morning of 1st May 1915.
Having left Chicago at the end of April, she arrived at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York City on that morning on the 1st May and boarded the liner in time for her sailing. She then had to wait until just after mid-day before the Lusitania left her moorings and began what was to be her last ever voyage. This was because she had to take on board passengers, crew and cargo from Anchor Liner Cameronia which the British Admiralty had requisitioned for war service as a troop ship at the end of April.
Six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20 off the southern coast of Ireland and only about fourteen hours steaming time away from the safety of her home port.
Although nearly 250 third class passengers were killed as a result of this action, Alice Wilks was fortunate enough to survive and was eventually rescued from the sea. She was then landed at Queenstown and no doubt eventually reached her intended destination. She was aged 30 years at the time of her experience.
On the 29th September 1919, she boarded the Saxonia in London and landed in New York City on the 12th October. She gave her occupation as a nurse, so it is possible she worked as a nurse during the war, and gave her intended destination as being Evanston, Illinois. After she disembarked at New York City, no trace of her could be found!
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Detroit Michigan U.S. Border Crossings from Canada to U.S. 1905 – 1963, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records UniLiv D92/2/538, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.