Malcolm John Macfarlane was born in Sandy, Bedfordshire, England, in 1874, the son of Archibald and Euphemia Macfarlane (née Smith). His parents were Scottish, and while still a child; his family returned to Scotland and settled in Cardross, Dunbartonshire. Both of his parents worked as gardeners in domestic service, and Malcolm was the second oldest of four children in the family.
On completing his education, Malcolm became a grocer’s assistant, working for a time in Glasgow. He later moved to Liverpool, becoming a grocer’s commercial traveller, before joining the Mercantile Marine as a waiter on ocean-going liners.
He was married to Jessie Ann Ferguson in Liverpool in 1901, and in 1915, they lived at 35, Joliffe Street, Princes Park, Liverpool, Lancashire. They had no children.
He engaged as a first class waiter in the Stewards’ Department on board the Lusitania at Liverpool in April 1915, at a monthly wage of £4-5s.-0d. (£4.25p.). He reported for duty at 7 a.m. on the 17th April before the liner left Princes Landing stage in Liverpool, for the last ever time. He was killed three weeks later when the liner sank off the southern coast of Ireland.
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 was aged 41 years.
In August of the same year, he was officially discharged from the last voyage of the Lusitania and his widow was paid the balance of wages owed to him, in respect of his service on board the Lusitania from the 17th April 1915, until the 8th May, 24 hours after the vessel had gone down! In addition, The Liverpool and London War Risks Insurance Association Limited granted a yearly pension to Jessie Macfarlane to compensate her for the loss of her husband which amounted to £27-14s.-2d. (£27.71p.) which was payable at the rate of £2-6s.-3d. (£2.31p.) per month.
Cunard records show his name as McFarlane, but the records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission show it to be Macfarlane, and research has confirmed this. The Cunard crew roll was probably compiled orally at the time the crew engaged.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1881 Scottish Census, 1891 Scottish Census, 1901 Census of England, 1911 Census of England, Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Grave Commission, UniLiv. PR 13/24, PRO BT 334, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 11th March 2024.