George Brooks was born in Southport, Lancashire, England, in 1885, the son of William and Margaret “Maggie” Brooks (née Maloney). The family home was at 17, Shaftesbury Road, Birkdale, Lancashire. His father was a house painter and George was thought to be one of eleven children.
After completing his education, George worked on a poultry farm before he decided to enlist in the British Mercantile Marine as a waiter on passenger vessels.
On the 10th March 1915, George Brooks married Louie Charlesworth Lloyd at St. Andrew’s Church, Southport, and with his new bride, moved to 17, King Street, Southport.
He first served on the Lusitania in 1911 and on the morning of the 17th April 1915 - the day the liner left the River Mersey for the last time ever - he engaged once more as a third class waiter in the Stewards' Department. His monthly rate of pay was £4-5s-0d., (£4.25p) and he also had a duty as an inspector in the linen department.
Having crossed the Atlantic without mishap, the great liner docked in New York on the 24th April and exactly one week later, on the early afternoon of the 1st May, she set off on what was to be her last ever voyage, for six days later, on the afternoon of the 7th May, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine, U-20, off the Old Head of Kinsale in southern Ireland - only hours away from the safety of her home port!
George Brooks was unlucky enough to be one of the many crew members and passengers who lost their lives as a result of this action. He was aged 29 years.
In The Lancashire Daily Post for Tuesday, the 11th May 1915, there was a half-paragraph concerning Waiter Brooks, which stated: -
A steward named Clarke of Kew-road, Birkdale has been saved and says that when he last saw Brooks, he had a lifebelt on.
The steward named Clarke was Second Class Waiter James Clarke. Obviously, the wearing of a lifebelt did not help to save George Brooks, unless he had given it away to someone else before the vessel foundered!
Some contemporary newspaper accounts mention that George Brooks was an inspector of the second and third class stewards, but this would seem to be a misinterpretation of his linen inspector‘s job.
His body was not recovered and identified afterwards and consequently, he is commemorated on the Mercantile Marine War Memorial to the Missing at Tower Hill, London. He is also commemorated on one of five brass plaques in the Parish Church of St. John’s Birkdale, not far from where he lived. The inscription records, however, that he was lost on H.M.S. Lusitania! Despite the fact that he lived in the district area of Southport, his name is not inscribed on the large municipal memorial situated there.
In August 1915, his widow Louie was paid the balance of wages owed to him, in respect of his service on the Lusitania’s last voyage, which was reckoned to be from the 17th April 1915, until the 8th May, 24 hours after the vessel had gone down!
The Liverpool and London War Risks Insurance Association Limited granted a yearly pension to Louie Brooks to compensate her for the loss of her husband which amounted to £23-2s-6d. (£23.12½p.), which was payable at the rate of £1-18s-7d. (£1.93p.) per month.
Cunard records show his surname to be spelled Brooke, and this is almost certainly because his signature in the Particulars of Engagement ledger, which he signed on the morning of the 17th April looks as if it ends with an ‘e’. Cunard took all details of missing and lost men from this ledger. English Census and Commonwealth War Graves Commission records, which are usually the more reliable source, spell his name Brooks, however, as do newspaper reports of the time and his church plaque.
Register of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1891 Census of England, 1901 Census of England, 1911 Census of England, Liverpool England Crew Lists 1861 – 1919, Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, UK Campaign Medals Awarded to World War I Merchant Seamen 1914 – 1925, Lancashire Daily Post, Southport’s Splendid Hearts, Southport Visitor, Yorkshire Post, PRO BT 334, PRO BT 351/1/15622, UniLiv. PR 13/24, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, George Donnison, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 20th December 2022.