Commemorated: | |||
Awards & Titles: | |||
Early Life :
Robert was born in 1878 to William and Jemima (nee Wood) Duffin, registered in the 4th quarter of the year at West Derby, Liverpool, the couple having married five years previous at Birkenhead. The family are to be found in the 1881 census at 26 Chirkdale Street, Kirkdale, with other relatives of Jemima staying with them. In 1886 Robert’s younger sister Jemima Della was baptised on 12 January at the Parish Church of St Peter, address simply states Seaforth, father’s occupation as a ships steward. 1901 finds the family residence as 1 Rossett Avenue, Toxteth Park, although Robert is away.Robert married Edith Isabella Nelson at the Parish Church of St Clement, Toxteth on 23 September 1908, and residence for the couple being 52 Beaumont Street. Robert, a 29 year old bachelor, son of William Duffin, deceased, and Edith a 27 year old spinster, daughter of Samuel Nelson, salesman. The marriage was witnessed by a William Duffin and Lily Elizabeth Nelson. The 1911 census shows Robert and Edith living at the home of her father at 52 Beaumont Street.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: |
| Action : Natural Causes |
Natural causes is attributed those deaths due to causes that were not directly associated with the war. Included in this are wartime deaths resulting from, for example, theSpanish Influenza pandemic and its associated pneumonia problems and other attributions such as age and exhaustion. It also groups those who through Post Traumatic Stress committed suicide as a result of their experiences.
Detail :
Robert is recorded on the 1915 Provincial Return sheet as having died on (Friday) March 5th 1915, while on War Service, aboard “H.M.S. Laconia”. The “Laconia” was launched in 1911, and had her maiden voyage in January 1912 from Liverpool to Boston and New York, for the Cunard Company. On the outbreak of the Great War she was converted to an armed merchant cruiser to serve in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean. She was operated under Admiralty control until July 1916, when she was returned to Cunard. The Laconia was turned into an armed merchant cruiser in 1914. She was based at Simonstown in the South Atlantic which she patrolled until April 1915, the month after Robert’s death.
Laconia was then used as a headquarters ship for the operations to capture Tanga and the colony of German East Africa (Tanzania). Four months later she returned to the patrolling of the South Atlantic. The Laconia was handed back to Cunard in July 1916, and commenced her first voyage on the 9th of September. She was sunk the following year by U-50 on the 25th of 1917 when 160 miles from Fastnet, Ireland. Two torpedoes were required to sink her, the second exploding in the engine room; twelve lives were lost of which six were engine room ratings.
R. Duffin is recorded by the C.W.G.C. as being an Engineer Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, serving aboard H.M.S. Laconia, who died 5 March 1915. He is buried in the Naval Section of Simons Town (Dido Valley) Cemetery, Western Cape, South Africa, in Grave A. 31. His is one of seventy-seven burials from WW1 in this cemetery.
The probate calendar has; Duffin, Robert of 52 Beaumont Street, Liverpool, Engineer Lieutenant died 5th March 1915 Royal Naval Hospital, Simonstown, Administration Liverpool 31st March to Edith Isabella widow. Effects £237.7s.. Two family notices also appeared in the local newspaper, the Liverpool Echo on Monday 8 March 1915, saying he was 36 an engineer with the Cunard Line the beloved husband of Edith, and eldest son of the late William and Mrs Duffin 6 Wellington Avenue.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Everton No. 823 E.C. | West Lancashire |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
21st November 1906 | 19th December 1906 | 16th January 1907 |
Robert Duffin was initiated into EVERTON LODGE No.823, on November 21st 1906, while residing at Rossett Avenue, a marine engineer age 27. He is passed to the second degree on 19 December 1906 and raised 16 January 1907. His GLC was issued on 14 March 1907.
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