Duncan Campbell Bain was born in Partick, Lanarkshire, Scotland, in 1887, the son of William and Margaret “Maggie” Bain (née Rattray). The family home in 1915, was at 8, Byres Road, Partick, Lanarkshire.
Cunard records show that he engaged on the 30th April 1915 at New York, on board the Lusitania as a waiter in the Steward's Department, for her final voyage home, at a monthly rate of £4.5s.0d, (£4.25). It proved to be an unlucky choice for him as he was killed just one week later, when the liner was sunk. He was aged 27 years.
As his body was not found and identified afterwards, he is commemorated on the Mercantile Marine War Memorial at Tower Hill, London.
Although the records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission state that he was a fireman, a crew list published by Cunard in March 1916 gives his rank as that of waiter. This authority is more likely to be correct.
1891 Census of Scotland, 1901 Census of Scotland, Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Daily Record, PRO BT 334, UniLiv D92/6/1, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 7th December 2022.