People on board

LANE, Patrick

Patrick Lane was born in Cork on the 7th of April 1864 to James Lane and Mary Carroll. He appears to have been the youngest of their identified six children. James was a Labourer and the family was living in Kerry Hall in Cork when Patrick was born. When he married in June 1890 to Margaret Mahony he gave his occupation as Soldier and his address as Aldershot. Unfortunately his military records have not been found so it is not known to which regiment he was attached.

However their first child Mary was born in 1891 in Warrington, Lancashire and Patrick was then with the Royal Garrison Artillery. They returned to Cork before August 1892 when their first son, Patrick, was born. Seven more children were born between then and 1908 and all nine were alive in 1911. The family moved many times within the poorer areas of Cork and in 1911 were living in Farranferris. Patrick gave his occupation as ‘Labourer’ on all the birth certificates, except that for Thomas in 1903 when he gave it as ‘Soldier’.

It is not known when Patrick Lane re-enlisted but by 1918 he was a Sapper with the Royal Engineers, working in the Inland Water Transport department. This section was initially set up to operate on the waterways of France and Belgium, but expanded into the cross-channel barge service and later worked in the Middle East. By this stage Patrick was fifty-four so was probably not sent overseas. Presumably returning from leave at home in Cork he travelled on RMS Leinster on the 10th of October. He did not survive the sinking, nor was his body recovered. His name is recorded on the Hollybrook Memorial in Southampton.