James Marshall was born in Formby, Liverpool, Lancashire, England, in the spring of 1885, the third son of five, of Thomas and Catherine ‘Kate’ Marshall (née Dickinson) of 8. Rimmer Avenue, Freshfield, Near Liverpool. His father was a labourer. James’ eldest sibling was a girl named Alice making a total of six children in the family.
Although the illegitimate daughter of Elizabeth Dickinson, his mother adopted the name of ‘Leatherbarrow’ after Elizabeth Dickinson married Edward Leatherbarrow in 1859, three years after her birth.
James Marshall was educated at St, Peter’s School, Formby, and was a member of nearby Freshfield Football Club, The Freshfield Band, in which he played the cornet, and Holy Trinity Men‘s Bible Class. He was first employed as a waiter at The Formby Golf Club and whilst working there, one of the members recommended him to The Cunard Steam Ship Company. Consequently, he commenced his career with the line in 1907 - serving mostly on the R.M.S. Lusitania.
As well as being a waiter, he also occasionally found work as a gardener. On the 25th July 1912, he married Alyce Daisy Cross, who lived at Cable Street, Formby, and they set up home at 16, Lulworth Avenue, Waterloo, Liverpool. They had no children.
On the 12th April 1915, he engaged, once more, as a first class waiter in the Stewards' Department on board the Lusitania, at Liverpool, at a monthly wage of £4-5s.-0d. (£4.25p.) and he reported for duty five days later, in time for the liner’s last ever departure from the River Mersey.
Having completed the liner’s voyage to New York, he was on board - still serving as a first class waiter - when the liner left New York for the last time just after mid-day on 1st May 1915. In the afternoon of the 7th May 1915, the Lusitania was torpedoed twelve miles off the coast of southern Ireland by the German submarine U-20 and sank just eighteen minutes later. At that stage of her voyage, she was only 250 miles from the safety of her home port.
One of the victims of this action was James Marshall, who was aged 30 years at the time. When news that he was missing was received in Formby, one of his brothers, Mr. John Marshall, travelled to Queenstown to look for him or his body, but despite viewing nearly 100 corpses, he was not able to make a positive identification and left leaving Cunard with a description of his brother. James Marshall’s body was never found and identified and consequently he is commemorated on the Mercantile Marine War Memorial to the missing of the Great War at Tower Hill, London.
He is also commemorated on the municipal war memorial in the centre of Formby, and on the family grave in the Church of St. Peter, Apostle and Martyr, not far away.
The sandstone headstone on the grave bears the inscription: -
ALSO OF JAMES, .....
WHO WAS LOST ON THE R. M. S. LUSITANIA.
MAY 7TH 1915. AGED 30 YEARS.
“ASLEEP IN THE DEEP”
In August 1915, his widow Alice received the balance of pay owed to him in respect of his service on the Lusitania’s last voyage. This was reckoned from the 17th April 1915 until the 8th May, 24 hours after the great liner had foundered. In addition, The Liverpool and London War Risks Insurance Association Limited granted a yearly pension to Alyce Marshall to compensate her for the loss of her husband which amounted to £31-19s.-8d. (£31.97½p.), which was payable at the rate of £2-13s.-4d. (£2.61½p.) per month.
In the local newspaper, The Formby Times, for Saturday, the 15th May 1915, a report on his death stated that: -
He was of a jovial disposition and was much liked both by Formby people and his mates on board ship.
One of these mates, who also came from Formby, was First Class Waiter Gordon Ashcroft who also lost his life as a result of the sinking.
Waiter Marshall’s father had died in July 1900, aged 50 years, and his mother was to die in September 1936, aged 80 years.
His wife, Alyce, never remarried, and in June 1918 enlisted in the Women’s Royal Air Force and was demobilised on Christmas Eve 1919. Thereafter, she worked in a cotton mill until her retirement and died in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England, in 1974.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Lancashire England Church of England Births and Baptisms 1813 – 1911, Lancashire England Church of England Marriages and Banns 1754 – 1936, 1891 Census of England, 1901 Census of England, 1911 Census of England, Liverpool England Crew Lists 1861 – 1919, Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Grave Commission, UK Campaign Medals Awarded to World War I Merchant Seamen 1914 – 1925, UK Women’s Royal Air Force Service Records 1918 – 1920, Formby Times, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv D92/2/407, UniLiv. PR 13/24, PRO BT 334, PRO BT 351/1/88490, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated - 28th October 2024.