Frank George Kidd was born on the 21st November 1876 in Penang, Malaysia, the son of Edgar and Erena Kidd (née Ray). He was the second youngest of eight known children in his family, and his father was a master mariner. While still a child, Frank’s family returned to England and settled in Liverpool, Lancashire.
On completion of his education, Frank became an office boy before following in his father’s footsteps and joining the Mercantile Marine as a steward on passenger liners.
In 1902, he married Agnes Elaine Smith in Liverpool, and the couple had at least five children, two of whom died young. The family resided at 12. Fairfax Road, Birkenhead, Cheshire.
Frank Kidd engaged for the last voyage of the Lusitania as a second cabin bedroom steward in the Stewards' Department at Liverpool on the 12th April 1915 at a monthly rate of pay of £4-5s.-d. (£4.25p) and reported for duty five days later, before the liner left the River Mersey for the last time.
Three weeks later, as the liner was nearing her home port, six day out of New York, he was one of the lucky survivors after she was torpedoed and sunk. Having been rescued from the sea, and landed at Queenstown, he eventually made it back to his home in Birkenhead.
Shortly afterwards, he was officially discharged from the Lusitania’s final voyage, at the Cunard offices at Liverpool and paid the balance of wages owing to him, which amounted to £4-9s.-6d. (£4.47½p). These were in respect of his sea service from the 17th April 1915 until 24 hours after the liner had gone down!
Frank Kidd returned to the Mercantile Marine, continuing to serve as a steward for many years. He died at Birkenhead General Hospital, Birkenhead, Cheshire, on the 13th December 1934, aged 58 years.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1881 Census of England, 1891 Census of England, 1911 Census of England, 1921 Census of England, Cunard Records, Liverpool Daily Post, PRO BT 348, PRO BT 349, PRO BT 350, PRO BT| 351/1/76688, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 9th February 2024.