Lamp Trimmer Robert Anthony was born at Holyhead in 1863 and was a former pupil of Park School. He first went to sea at the age of 12 working as a Cabin Boy alongside his father. In 1883 he married Mary (Maria Josephine) Rigali at Dublin.
The main photograph is at the time of their wedding with Mary’s father standing behind. Mary was born in Dublin, the daughter of Giuseppe Carlo Ludovico Rigali an Italian confectioner from Milan. Robert and Mary went on to have six surviving children.
When RMS Leinster was torpedoed Robert Anthony, as an experienced sailor, went to help lower one of the Lifeboats. Unfortunately he did not survive the sinking. His body was later recovered and buried at Maeshyfryd Cemetery, Holyhead.