William Sleath Fletcher was born in Matlock, Derbyshire, England, in 1865, the son of John and Lucy Fletcher (née Sleath). His father was a gardener, and the family moved on several occasions during William’s childhood, living in Clayton-Le-Moors, in Lancashire, amongst other places.
He married Margaret William Pitblade Whitelock in Birkenhead in 1905, and in 1915, they lived with their four children four children – Edith, William Sleath, Lucy, and Alfred J., at 16. Kingsway, Wallasey, Cheshire.
William Fletcher first became employed by The Cunard Steam Ship Company in the early 1890’s and on the 13th April 1915, at Liverpool, he engaged as a first class bedroom steward in the Stewards' Department on board the Lusitania, for what would be her final voyage out of the River Mersey. He reported for duty before she sailed, on the early morning of the 17th April. His monthly rate of pay in that rank was £4-5s.-0d., (£4.25p.).
It was not the first time that he had sailed on the liner in this capacity and having reached New York without mishap, he was on board when she left for her return crossing of the Atlantic Ocean on the early afternoon of the 1st May 1915. His personal responsibility was for the 18 saloon passengers who were berthed in rooms D2 to D32.
These were Miss Josephine Brandell, Miss Doris Charles, The Reverend Cowley Clarke, Mr. Harold M. Daly, Mr. Ronald Dearbergh, Mr. Charles Dingwall, Mr. Justus
Miles Forman, Mr. Richard R. Freeman, Mr. and Mrs. Ogden H. Hammond, Mr. John H. Harper, Mr. C. Harwood Knight, Sir Hugh Lane, Mrs. Florence Padley, Mr. Frederick Perry, Mr. and Mrs. Frank B. Tesson and Mr. Georges Tiberghien.
Seven days out of New York on the afternoon of the 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20, within sight of the coast of southern Ireland. At that time, she was only about 250 miles away from the safety of her home port.
Although ten of his saloon passengers perished because of this action, First Class Bedroom Steward Fletcher managed to survive and having returned safely home, he recounted his experiences to a reporter of The Wallasey News in an article printed in the edition of Saturday, the 15th May 1915.
He described how he was leaning over the deck railings enjoying a brief respite in the sunshine, when he saw a slowly lengthening stream of froth. He then stated: -
In a second the terrible engine of destruction struck the vessel which trembled from beam to beam. There was a second explosion and the vessel settled down. It was the last blow which sealed the fate of the stately vessel, sending her quickly to her doom.
Steward Fletcher struck out into the sea when the water swamped the decks and after swimming for some time he reached the wreckage of a lifeboat, from which he was eventually rescued and landed at Queenstown.
He reported that he did not personally see any panic and remarked: -
I should think there was more panic when the survivors and their relatives met at the station, than there was during the time of the tragedy.
He was eventually officially discharged from the Lusitania’s final voyage at Cunard’s office in Water Street, Liverpool, and paid the balance of wages owed to him, which amounted to £4-9s.-6d., (£4.47½p.). This represented his service from the 17th April 1915 until the 8th May, 24 hours after the liner had gone down. The balance of wages owing, was paid to all crew members until the 8th May, whether they survived or not.
Perhaps Bedroom Steward Fletcher’s last link with the Lusitania passed when he attended the funeral of its captain, Commander William Turner, on the 26th June 1933 in Rake Lane Cemetery, not far from where Fletcher lived.
At the time of the sinking, William Fletcher’s eldest son, W/1151 Private William Sleath Fletcher was undergoing training at Aldershot, Hampshire, England, with The 13th (Service) Battalion of The Cheshire Regiment. He eventually saw action on the Western Front, having transferred to the Machine Gun Corps, but like his father, survived the war. He later followed his father’s calling as a steward on trans-Atlantic liners.
William Fletcher later left the Mercantile Marine and became a catering manager for the Regent Construction Company in Bermuda. The family continued to live in their home in Wallasey until the 1930’s, when the family moved to Barham, near Canterbury, Kent.
William Sleath Fletcher died on the 15th June 1939, aged 74 years. He was residing at
Woodside, Barham, Kent, at that time and was buried in the local cemetery. When his will was proven on the 1st March 1940, administration was granted to his wife, Margaret. His effects amounted to £504-11s.-1d. (£504.45½p).
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Derbyshire England Church of England Births and Baptisms 1813 – 1916, 1871 Census of England, 1881 Census of England, 1891 Census of England, 1901 Census of England, 1921 Census of England, 1939 Register, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, PRO 22/71, PRO BT 100/345, Wallasey News, Wallasey & Wirral Chronicle, Probate Records, PRO BT 349, PRO BT 351/1/45745, .Graham Maddocks, Peter Threlfall, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 21st November 2023.