The Legacy of the Laurentic

Sub-Lieutenant R.N.R. Lawrence Wellington Bell was born in Rangiora, Canterbury, New Zealand on June 19th 1894 to Charles William and Agnes Bell (née Paterson) of 108 High Street, Rangiora, Canterbury. His father was Mayor of Rangiora and earned his living as a tailor and outfitter. Lawrence was apprenticed to the Union Steam Ship Company (USSCo),…

Leading Seaman Percy John Batho had served for 15 years in the Royal Navy before joining the crew of the Laurentic just a few days before the ship went down. He was the fifth of ten children born to John and Emma Batho (née Quick) of St Saviour’s Hill, Jersey. His parents were both born…

After 22 years of service in the Royal Navy Leading Stoker, Petty Officer Frank Tardivel lost his life when the Laurentic sank. He was born in Jersey on the June 16th 1876, son of French born François and Ann Marie Tardivel (née Guelleaume). The couple had married on January 9th 1876 at St Peter’s, Jersey….

Samuel Mayo Hooper was born on August 3rd 1897 to James and Frances Jane Hooper of Creston South, Mortier Bay, Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland. He was the youngest of their 10 children. Samuel joined The Royal Navy, trained on the HMS Briton (formerly the Calypso) in St John’s and left for Europe in September 1915 at…

Chief Armourer Rufus Samuel Mardon Austin served for more than twenty years in the Royal Navy before the war. He was born in Teignmouth, Devon on 17th May 1868, the son of Samuel and Sarah Austin (née Sharland). His father was born in about 1830 in Teignmouth; his mother in 1835, in Cadbury. The couple…

“The loss of the Laurentic off the Irish coast has brought grief to many homes in Liverpool. Included in the list of victims is Engineer Lieutenant J.W. Gibbins, who leaves a widow and child to mourn his loss. He was an old scholar of St.Mary’s, Bootle, and later studied at Keefe’s College, Bold-street. The Bootle…

Private Frederick Arthur Moat Went was born on the 15th of September 1896 at Mile End, Sheerness to Frederick and Ada Went (née Moat). His parents had two children, Frederick and his elder sister Ethel. His mother Ada died in 1904 when Fred was 8 years of age. In 1911 when the census was taken…

Private Alfred William Baker was born July 20th 1896 in Hackney, London, the first son of Rosendale and Alfred Baker. He grew up in Hackney with his five siblings and four half siblings. Alfred William was Rosendale and Alfred Baker’s first child. At the time of the census in April 1901 the family were living…

Thomas Beesley (John Thomas Beesley on most official records) was born on the 24th of January 1875, baptised St Mary’s, Kirkdale, Lancashire, April 12th 1875. He was the second child of John and Jane Beesley, (née Holden) who were both natives  of Kirkby, just outside Liverpool. Thomas grew up in the Everton area of the…

Assistant Cook on the Laurentic, George Joseph Smart, was born in 1883 in Liverpool. He was the youngest of three children born to Catherine and William Smart, a ship painter. He was working as a printer when he joined the Royal Navy on the 1st of August 1899 – he had signed on for C.S….