Orr-Lewis, Frederick

Frederick Orr-Lewis: He born 11 February 1860 at Hamilton, Ontario. His parents were William Thomas, a scale manufacturer (?)born 15 June 1828 in Wales, and Mary (nee Graham; born in Ireland around 1836) Lewis. His known brothers and sisters included William James, b. 15 October 1855, Agnes M., b. 16 November 1859 (1858?), Thomas Graham, b. September 1862, Emma, b. 1867, Adelaide MacDonald, b. 3 October 1870, Mabel, b. 5 March 1873, Clarence Howard, b. 21 August 1878. The family belonged to the Presbyterian church. He was edcuated at Queen’s College in Kingston. In 1881 he was described as a hardware clerk living in Kingston, Ontario, with his family. He joined his father’s business, Lewis Brothers, at some point, and eventually became president of the firm. He also set up and became president of Canadian Vickers Ltd., the Canadian arm of the British shipbuilding and armament giant Vickers. He owned the estate of Whitewebbs in Enfield, Middlesex, England. 18 June 1896, he married Maude Helen Mary Booth and the couple had at least one son, Duncan, b. 1898, and two daughters, Helen Merryday Orr-Lewis, b. ca. 1901, and Mary Graham Orr-Lewis, b. ca. 1903. In 1911, his wife and two daughters lived in Bishop’s Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. A Stella Bishop, 28, a Canadian lady, was visitor in the household at the time, and there were ten servants in the household. Their son Duncan lived at Northaw, Hertfordshire, England, in 1911, and was described as a schoolboy and a native of Montreal. Frederick Orr-Lewis stood 5’9”, had fresh complexion, grey hair and blue eyes. He survived the sinking of the Lusitania, along with his valet George Slingsby, but was quite badly injured, allegedly while endeavouring to rescue the two daughters of Sir Hugh and Lady Allan. Lady Allan’s maid, Miss Walker, mentioned that Mr. Orr-Lewis was with them on the deck when the Lusitania sank, holding Anna Allan’s hand when the ship sank. He was then injured in the water. He was made a baronet in the 1920 New Year Honours, due to his service to the Admiralty during the war. He died 18 November 1921 at Villa Valetta La Californie in or near Cannes, southern France. The material presented on this page has been researched by Peter Engberg-Klarström. Copyright 2017 Peter Engberg-Klarström. Feel free to use the research, but please refer to my research if used in publications or if published or posted on other pages on the Internet.