James Johnson Battersby

James Johnson Battersby (1875–1949) was a British hat manufacturer. He was one of seven brothers, a number of whom worked in the family firm of Battersby Hats which at one time was one of the largest hat manufacturers in Britain. In 1915, he was the last survivor to be rescued after the RMS Lusitania was hit by a German torpedo and sunk. His son was the British fascist James Larratt Battersby.

A modern view of Battersby's Hat Works, Stockport, now The Hat Works museum.
Battersby Hat Works, Offerton c.1910.
1915 engraving of the sinking of the Lusitania.

Early life

James Johnson Battersby was born in 1875, the son of hat manufacturer William John Battersby (1839–1915) and his wife Mary. According to the 1881 census, James was one of seven brothers. He had a sister Mary. The family home was at Offerton Lane, Strathclyde, Stockport.[1]

Career

Battersby joined the family hat making business like most of his siblings. The 1901 British census shows five Battersby brothers, Charles, James, Walter, Earnest and Edgar, along with their father William, all working in the business.[2] His sister Edith did not work and the family were able to employ two servants. At one time the firm was one of the largest hat manufacturers in Britain with an international trade. For an Australian court case of 1935, Battersby sent evidence that his company had the capacity to produce 12,000 hats per week.[3]

Personal life

In 1905, Battersby married Annie Larratt Nidd (1876–1970). They had two children, a daughter Edith Mary Battersby (1910–?) and a son James Larratt Battersby (1907–1955), however, the 1911 census shows Battersby living on his own 14 Clifton Road, Stockport, apart from two servants, possibly because his family were not there on census night.[4] James junior was a British fascist and pacifist who came to believe that Adolf Hitler was Christ returned, and wrote Aryan testament: The holy book and testament of Adolf Hitler (1951).[5] He committed suicide in 1955 by jumping into the Mersey Ferry's paddles, causing his death by decapitation.[6]

In 1915, Battersby was travelling as a first class passenger on the RMS Lusitania when the ship was sunk[7] by a torpedo fired from a German U-boat. He was the last survivor to be rescued from the ship.[8]

Death

Battersby died on 14 April 1949. At the time of his death, his address was Dinglewood, Bramhall Park, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire (now Greater Manchester).[9]

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References
  1. 1881 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription. FindMyPast. Retrieved 14 November 2015. (subscription required)
  2. 1901 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription. FindMyPast. Retrieved 9 December 2015. (subscription required)
  3. "Purchase of a Hat leads to claim for damages". Sydney Morning Herald. 10 December 1935. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  4. 1911 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription. FindMyPast. Retrieved 9 December 2015. (subscription required)
  5. The holy book and testament of Adolf Hitler. WorldCat. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  6. Simpson, A.W. Brian (1992). In the highest degree odious: Detention without trial in wartime Britain. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 250–251. ISBN 0198257759.
  7. James Johnson Battersby. Merseyside Maritime Museum. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  8. "Lusitania Survivor", Evening Telegraph and Post, Dundee, 24 September 1949, p. 1.
  9. "Wills, November 1949" (PDF). The London Gazette. 2 September 1949. Retrieved 14 November 2015.

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