Violet Alice Gower was born in Holloway, London, on the 6th June 1875, the daughter of William Edward and Laura Jane Gower (née Spaul). She had a twin sister named Lily Eva, and her family home was at 7. Junction Villas, Kentish Town, and later 2. Ambrose Villas, Tottenham. Her father was a manager at an iron works.
It is not known when she left England with her younger sister, Cora, but in 1901 they were in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is likely that she met her husband – Harris Reginald Henderson in Montreal, as he was a native of that city. It is not known when or where they married, but the couple moved to Manhattan, New York City, in the United States of America, where Harris obtained a job as a brakeman with a railroad company.
On the 27th October 1904, the couple had a son, they named Harris Reginald, after his father, but he was affectionately known as “Huntley”. By 1914, the family had returned to Montreal, where Violet’s husband died on the 19th October of that year. In January 1915, he sister, Cora, and her husband, Charles Yeatman, visited her in Montreal.
The Yeatman’s were booked to return to England as second cabin passengers on the May sailing of the
Lusitania, and Violet, who had decided to return to England with her son following the death of her husband, decided to accompany them.
Consequently, the party of four travelled from Montreal to New York City in time to board the liner for her scheduled 10.00 a.m. departure, from Pier 54, - the Cunard berth on the 1st May. This was postponed until just after mid-day, however, as she had to take on board cargo, passengers and crew from fellow Anchor Lines vessel the S.S.
Cameronia which the British Admiralty had requisitioned for war service as a troop ship at the end of April.
Six days out of New York, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania
was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20 whilst steaming past The Old Head of Kinsale in southern Ireland, only about twelve to fourteen hours away from the safety of her Liverpool home port and destination.
Both Violet Henderson and her son, Huntley, survived this assault; however, her brother-in-law and sister had perished. Having been rescued from the sea, Violet and Huntley were landed at Queenstown.
Both the bodies of Charles and Cora were recovered and taken to one of the temporary mortuaries set up in Queenstown. Cora Yeatman’s remains were given the reference number 131, until identified by her brother-in-law Fraser Yeatman, who had come from Staffordshire to perform this unhappy task. No doubt Violet Henderson had also been present, so it is likely that she confirmed Fraser Yeatman’s identification, and she took possession of her sister’s personal effects before returning with her son to London.
Violet never remarried, and went to live with her son in Bedford, Bedfordshire. She returned to Canada in 1928, accompanied by her now married son, however, she later decided to return to her home at 25. Gladstone Street, Bedford.
By 1939, she was living with her son and his family at 30. Castle Road, Bedford, and she was still living there when she died on the 4th February 1961, aged 85 years.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, London England Church of England Births and Baptisms 1813 – 1917, 1881 Census of England & Wales, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of Canada, 1905 New York State Census, 1939 Register, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, UK Incoming Passenger Lists 1878 – 1960, Cunard Records, Bedfordshire England Electoral Registers 1832 – 1986, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.