William Henry Griffiths was born in Bebington, Birkenhead, Cheshire, in 1858, the son of John and Jane Griffiths (née Gibbons). His father was a labourer, who sometimes worked as a trimmer and fireman on steam ships and William was one of eight known children in the family.
William became a labourer before he joined the Mercantile Marine as a trimmer and fireman on steam ships. On the 26th August 1879, he married Ann Margaret Jones in
Bebington and by 1911, they lived at 167, Old Chester Road, Tranmere, Birkenhead. They had thirteen children, but by 1911, only six were alive.
William Griffiths engaged as a refrigerating greaser in the Engineering Department on board the Lusitania at Liverpool on the 12th April 1915 at a monthly rate of £5-10.-0d. At nearly 57 years of age, he had spent nearly all his working life at sea and on the outbreak of war, he was already contemplating retirement. However, he decided to take the place of another crew member who was called up for active service and reported for duty on the morning of the 17th April before the liner began her last ever crossing to New York.
He was killed when she was sunk three weeks later, and his body was never found and identified afterwards. Consequently, he is commemorated on the Mercantile Marine Memorial at Tower Hill, London. He was aged 56.
He is also commemorated on the County Borough of Birkenhead War Memorial in Hamilton Square, Birkenhead, Merseyside.
William Griffith's son, Corporal Alfred Eric Griffiths also suffered at the hands of the Germans. On St. George's Day 1918, whilst serving with the 15th Battalion, The Royal Welsh Fusiliers (London Welsh), on the Western Front, he was severely wounded by shrapnel which pierced his left shoulder and necessitated the amputation of his left foot. He managed to survive his wounds, however.
William’s widow, Ann, received the balance of wages owed to him for his service on board the liner in August 1915 and in common with all crew members, survived or perished, this was reckoned to be from the 17th April 1915 until the 8th May, 24 hours after the liner had gone down. In addition, The Liverpool and London War Risks Insurance Association Limited granted an annual pension to Ann Griffiths to compensate her for the loss of her husband which amounted to £16-11s.-10d. (£16.59p.), payable at the rate of £1-7s.-8d. (£1.38½p.) per month.
For many years during and after the war, Ann Griffiths continued to remember her husband through the 'In Memoriam' column of the local newspaper The Birkenhead News and Advertiser.
Register of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, Cheshire England Parish Registers 1538 – 1909, England & Wales Marriages 1538 – 1988, 1861 Census of England, 1871 Census of England, 1881 Census of England, 1891 Census of England, 1901 Census of England, 1911 Census of England, Liverpool England Crew Lists 1861 – 1919, Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Birkenhead War Memorial Records, Birkenhead News, UniLiv. PR13/24, PRO BT 334, PRO BT 351/1/55113, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated – 27th December 2023.