Early Life :

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

The Royal Navy had blockaded Germany at the start of World War I. Having completed her voyage to New York on 24 April, the Lusitania left the Cunard berth at Pier 54 just after midday on 1 May 1915 on the return voyage to Liverpool. When RMS Lusitania left New York for Britain, German submarine warfare was intensifying in the Atlantic. Germany had declared the seas around the United Kingdom a war zone, and the German embassy in the United States had placed a newspaper advertisement warning people of the dangers of sailing on Lusitania.

Six days later, on the afternoon of 7 May the German U-boat U-20, captained by Kapitaenleutnant Walther Schwieger torpedoed Lusitania, 11 mi (18 km) off the southern coast of Ireland and inside the declared war zone. A second, unexplained, internal explosion sent her to the seabed in 18 minutes, with the deaths of 1,198 passengers, including almost a hundred children, and crew.

Because the Germans sank, without warning, what was officially a non-military ship, many accused them of breaching the internationally recognised Cruiser Rules. It was no longer possible for submarines to give warning due to the British introduction of Q-ships in 1915 with concealed deck guns. (Lusitania had been fitted with 6-inch gun mounts in 1913, although she was unarmed at the time of her sinking.) [Wikipedia]

Detail :

Percy is mentioned on the Gare Maritime website, which attempts to recall the human side of the Lusitania disaster. One such paragraph reads:

"As the voyage progressed, Lewis may have become familiar with the stories of the crew members with whom he came in contact. Staff Captain Jock Anderson had his nephew George Edward Latham aboard as an electrician. Second purser Percy Draper’s wife was expecting a child, which was due upon his return to England. Albert Bestic, the junior third officer, was to have joined the Leyland Line for his first ship assignment as an officer, but was transferred to the Lusitania. Second officer Percy Hefford, a graduate of the famous Rugby School, had recently gotten married three months earlier. Extra chief officer John Stevens had recently received word, while chief officer of the Cephalonia, that his wife had died. He had to complete another voyage on the ship and then he was allowed to return home- on the Lusitania. Stevens was lost on May 7th, as were Latham, Anderson and Hefford."

He is also remembered on the website of the Rugby Family History Group:
"THE LATE PERCY HEFFORD.-Mr and Mrs W F Wood have had erected in the cemetery a handsome memorial stone with a double grave kerb in memory of their son, Percy Hefford, second officer of the ill-fated Lusitania. Sunday was the first anniversary of the sinking of the vessel, and flowers were placed upon the grave space by relatives and friends. They included a tribute from the widow, now living in Philadelphia."

Masonic :

Percy was an 26 year old initiate of the Lodge of Rectitude No. 502, Rugby in 1909 when he was listed as resident at 10 Market Place and as a worker in the Mercantile Marine. The contribution record shows "Resigned 14th August 1911." He may have already moved to Liverpool, where he is listed as a Master Mariner upon joining Ancient Union Lodge No. 203. He remains a member of this lodge until his death on the Lusitania, the contribution record showing that he "Died May 1915."

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley
• Researcher : Geoff Cuthill