Francis Burrows was born in Garston, near Liverpool, Lancashire, England, in 1887, the son of James Henry and Matilda Burrows (née Edwards). His father was a labourer and Francis was one of seven children.
In 1910, he married Ellen Amelia Bennett and by 1915, they lived at 27, Stanley Street, Garston, with their three children. Both Francis and his wife worked in a bobbin manufacturing factory in Garston.
At some stage he decided to work as a steward on trans-Atlantic liners, but whether this was a full-time or part-time occupation is not known.
He engaged on board the Lusitania at New York on the 30th April 1915 as a waiter in the Stewards' Department, at a monthly wage of £4.5s.0d, (£4.25) for the ship's final voyage home! It was a tragic engagement for him, as he was killed just a week later, when she was sunk. He was aged 27 years at the time.
His body was not recovered and identified afterwards and as a result, he is commemorated on the Mercantile Marine Memorial at Tower Hill, London. He is also commemorated on a bronze and wooden war memorial in the Parish Church of St. Michael, in Church Road, Garston, Merseyside.
The Liverpool and London War Risks Insurance Association Limited granted a yearly pension to Ellen Burrows to compensate her for the loss of her husband which amounted to £65-8s-8d. (£65.43½p.), which was payable at the rate of £5-9s-1d. (£5.45½p.) per month.
Although this memorial gives his rank as steward, a crew list published by The Cunard Steam Ship Company in March 1916, shows him to have been a waiter and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists state that he was a fireman! The Cunard crew list has been accepted here as the most reliable and likely source.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Liverpool England Church of England Baptisms 1813 – 1919, 1891 Census of England, 1901 Census of England, 1911 Census of England, Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, UK Campaign Medals Awarded to World War I Merchant Seamen 1914 – 1925, PRO BT 351/1/18599, UniLiv D92/6/1, 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 – 28th December 2022.