Stephen Crummy was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, on the 28th May 1869, the son of Michael and Ann Crummy (née Aiken). His father was a dock labourer and Stephen was the only known child after his parents’ marriage in 1864; however, he had a sister named Ann who was born in 1861.
His father died in 1871, and his mother married John Jones, a carter, in 1872. It would appear that Stephen adopted his stepfather’s surname while growing up.
By 1890, Stephen was styling his name as “Stephen Crumby”, the name he used for the remainder of his life. By now he was working as a brass finisher.
On the 22nd January 1890, he had a child, a daughter named Mary Ellen, with Harriet Rebecca Pendleton, and on the 30th March 1890, he married Miss Pendleton at St. Nicholas’ Church, Liverpool. Their second child, another daughter named Ann Elizabeth, was born on the 12th December 1891; however, she died in July 1892.
On the 23rd October 1891, he joined the Royal Navy and was employed as a stoker on a number of vessels. He had signed up for twelve years; however, he was dismissed in March 1896 after serving a period of 60 days of hard labour imprisonment for assault. In fact, he served a number of periods in various military prisons during his service and appears to have been frequently in trouble with his authorities.
He then joined the British Mercantile Marine as a fireman on steam ships operating out of Liverpool.
In 1915, he lived at Bevington House, Bevington Bush, Liverpool. This was a hostel for single men established in 1900, based on the idea of the Rowton Houses in London, and it is possible he was estranged from his wife and daughter at this time.
He engaged as a fireman in the Engineering Department on board the Lusitania, at Liverpool, on the 12th April 1915, at a monthly rate of pay of £6-10s.-0d. (£6.50p.). He then reported for duty on board at Liverpool Pier Head at 8 a.m. on the 17th April 1915, before the liner left her berth for the last time. He had served on the Lusitania before.
She then crossed the Atlantic Ocean without incident and having docked in New York, eventually left there on the early afternoon of the 1st May, for her return to Liverpool. Six days later, on the afternoon of the 7th May, she 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.
Stephen Crumby survived the sinking and having been rescued from the sea and landed at Queenstown, he eventually made it back to Liverpool.
Once there, he reported to Cunard’s offices in Water Street, where he was officially discharged from the last voyage of the Lusitania and paid the balance of wages owing to him. This a mounted to £6-0s.-9d. (£6.04p) and was in respect of his service on board from the 17th April 1915, until the 8th May, 24 hours after the vessel had gone down. He was aged 45 years at the time of his ordeal.
Very little is known about him following his survival, except that by 1921, he was residing with his wife at 44. Rose Place, Liverpool, and was unemployed and described as a “cripple”. Whether his condition was as a result of injuries sustained during the sinking of the Lusitania is not known.
Stephen Crumby died in Liverpool on the 17th May 1938, aged 68 years. His wife had died in 1929.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Liverpool England Church of England Marriages, and Banns 1754 – 1935, 1871 Census of England, 1881 Census of England, 1891 Census of England, 1901 Census of England, 1911 Census of England, 1921 Census of England, Cunard Records, UK Royal Navy Register of Seamen’s Services 1848 – 1939, PRO BT 100/345, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated –25th January 2023.