Edgar Joynson was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, on the 24th March 1896, the son of Samuel and Clara Martindale Joynson (née Rothwell). He was one of seven children, and his father was an architect’s draughtsman.
He joined the Mercantile Marine and served as a stewards' boy in the Stewards' Department on board the Lusitania when she departed from Liverpool on the 17th April 1915, on what would prove to be her final round-trip voyage. When the great liner was sunk by a torpedo launched by the German submarine U-20, while off the Old Head of Kinsale in southern Ireland, Edgar Joynson was fortunate enough to survive and be rescued.
Having been landed safely at Queenstown, Edgar eventually made his way back to his home in Liverpool.
Edgar continued to serve in the Mercantile Marine for a number of years, and on the 17th May 1924, he married Nellie Clansey in Liverpool. As far as is known, they had one child.
After leaving the Mercantile Marine, Edgar Joynson worked as a lock gateman on a canal.
Edgar Joynson died in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, on the 14th February 1974, a month short of his 78th birthday.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1901 Census of England, 1911 Census of England, 1939 Register, Cunard Records, Liverpool Echo, PRO BT 350, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 1st February 2024.