Her Name Was "Lusitania"

[INFO AT TREGENNA]

"SOS, SOS, SOS. COME AT ONCE. BIG LIST 10 MILES SOUTH
OLD KINSALE. MFA."

The last three letters were the Lusitania's call sign.

When Vice Admiral Coke in Queenstown received his copy of that distress signal, it must have seemed as though his worst nightmare had come true.

[KG]

If you have not looked it up check out under ARCHIVES on main site page: Lusitania Rescue Part 1

[KG]

We originally reported, (SEE UNDER ARCHIVES - ON MAIN SITE PAGE). That there are many postings on the internet, books on the subject and indeed documentaries and movies made regarding the Lusitania’s demise. However, rather than try and touch upon the larger, more well known vessels, we attempt to report on the lesser known ships, captains and crews or areas of interest that again are not well covered, as these and they should together with all acts of bravery be recorded forever.

The rescue of passengers from RMS Lusitania involves all of these aspects. The peoples of Southern Ireland, Kinsale, Queenstown (now again: Cobh) and surrounding areas, the Courtmacsherry Lifeboat and tugs and trawlers, HMT and
RNPS ships etc. Many vessels and brave men and women took part in the rescue operation in seas reported to be infested with U-Boats. These brave people went to aid and recover with little worry of their own safety.

Our Tribute commenced with an enquiry from a relative of Percy Kirby Englefield, married to Martha Englefield of Grimsby, Percy’s name is mentioned on the CWGC site and his name is Commemorated on the Chatham Memorial, His vessel
HMT/RNPS Bradford was lost herself on the 26th October 1916, off the old head of Kinsale. She was stationed in the area in 1915 and was attached to HMS Colleen.

The Colleen was a shore based static ship, at Queenstown. She was a nominal depot ship originally called HMS Royalist.

In this tribute we seek all information on the subject of this rescue operation and ask for all assistance to record all ships and crews involved in the rescue. Again the original information sought was on the involvement of Bradford and her crew during and after this fateful Friday.

My own ill health, has slowed the expected expansion of this topic / subject and I must say that a simple google search will find much on the Lusi and her demise, not a lot on those that rescued, so we will continue, notes here and report parts 2 / 3 etc on main page.

I am spurred on more now, when I listen to young people and the belief that LUSITANIA, after watching Titanic Movies, hit an iceburg etc. LUSI was lost during an enemy attack off the Old Head of Kinsale. The Old Head and Kinsale, are both in Southern Ireland and the Lusi was approx 13 miles from the Irish shore.

We intend to develop this side of the Lusitania story, adding as we can and seek to do, the tale from those involved in the rescue and they whom dealt with the aftermath, the locals and officialdom etc that werer present in the olden days, but witnessed all, the heroes, the local peoples, those that dealt with disaster. ( MORE TO COME )

[KG]

ALL ASSISTANCE REQUESTED AND REQUIRED. RE: LUSI.

Please contact us at TREGENNA


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[KG]

RMS Lusitania Rescue.

This greatest sea tragedy of the war, because of the terrible loss of lives of non-combatants and citizens of neutral nations, took place ten miles off the Old Head of Kinsale about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. A dispatch to the Exchange Telegraph from Liverpool quotes the Cunard Company as stating that " the Lusitania was sunk without warning."

Official announcement was also made by the Cunard Line that " Twenty boats were on the spot at the time." Sixteen more boats, officials of the line said, had been dispatched to the scene for rescue work.

As soon as the Lusitania's wireless call for assistance was received at Queenstown at 2:15 o'clock, Admiral Coke, in command of the naval station, dispatched to the scene all assistance available. The above would indicate many vessels took part in the rescue and the full report, see Lusitania Rescue Part 1 under Archive Page lists the following: (We include Colleen and Bradford as part of our initial enquiry).

Wanderer (Tug)

Stormcock (Tug)

Julia (Tug)

HMT/RNPS Bradford

HMS Colleen

It is recorded that first on the scene was the small Manx trawler Wanderer, with a crew of seven who, incredibly, rescued about 200 people. Other rescue vessels landed survivors and dead between 8pm and 11pm that night in Cobh, where many were later buried in three mass graves. "We saw the ghastly procession of rescue ships as they landed the living and the dead under flaring gas torches along the Queenstown waterfront," reported Wesley Frost, American consul there. "Sometimes two or three ships waited their turn to discharge bruised women, crippled and half-clothed men and a few wild eyed little children.

The tug, Stormcock, has returned to Queenstown, bringing about 150 survivors of the Lusitania, principally passengers. Among them were many women, several of the crew and one steward.

HMT/RNPS Bradford was lost herself on the 26th October 1916, off the old head of Kinsale. She was stationed in the area in 1915 and was attached to HMS Colleen. The Colleen was a shore based static ship, at Queenstown. She was a nominal depot ship
originally called HMS Royalist.

The Cunard line received a message saying that a motorboat, towing two boats containing fifty passengers, and two tugs with passengers, was passing Kinsale. A majority of the rescue boats are proceeding to Queenstown.

The tugs Warrior, Stormcock, and Julia, together with five trawlers and the local lifeboat in tow of a tug, were hurried out to sea. It was thought it would take most of them about two hours to reach the spot where the Lusitania was reported to be sinking.

Scant bulletins told of rescue boats arriving at Kinsale and Queenstown

The newspaper report from the time was used as a base for both a tribute and to explain a little of the tragedy at the time. Several rescue vessels are mentioned and we continue to search for information on the many more. KG

[KG]

Courtmacsherry lifeboat Keria Gwilt

1916 On the 7-May the famous liner Lusitania is sunk off the Old Head of Kinsale with the loss of 1,198 souls - torpedoed by German submarine U-20. She sank in just 17 minutes. The Courtmacsherry lifeboat Keria Gwilt was the first rowed boat to the scene.

[KG]

On receiving Lusitania’s distress call Vice Admiral Sir Charles Henry Coke, CIC Queenstown ordered to sea the cruiser HMS Juno countermanding in an instant their Lordships orders from the Admiralty. He also ordered Bluebell, a steamer, tugs Warrior, Stormcock and Julia, five local trawlers and the local lifeboat under tow of a tug to make all haste to the last known position of Lusitania. Meanwhile at the scene, and quite by chance arrived an Isle of Man fishing boat, the Wanderer, though overloading herself in the process she was able to pick up over two hundred survivors and took under tow two of Lusitania’s lifeboats. On her arrival, two miles of the Old Head of Kinsale she was met by Admiralty tug Flying Fish who’s Captain; Thomas Brierley immediately hove to and took onboard the survivors. Those other rescue ships that arrived at the scene later picked up both dead and alive and as dusk approached, without any chance of finding anybody else alive returned to port. For weeks after bodies were washed ashore in the immediate vicinity.

[KG]

The great Cunard liner Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine off the South Coast of Ireland yesterday afternoon and sunk. She was on a voyage from New York to Liverpool, and was within a few hours steaming of her home port. Our most update of rescue vessels:

HMS Colleen, Land Base

HMT/RNPS Bradford

Brock

Cruiser HMS Juno

Isle of Man fishing boat, the Wanderer

Courtmacsherry lifeboat Keria Gwilt

Stormcock (Tug)

Julia (Tug)

Bluebell, a steamer

five local trawlers

and the local lifeboat under tow of a tug, It has been confirmed that HMT/RNPS Bradford towed the local lifeboat to the scene. The Bradfords prescence confirmed in local paper's at the time.
The Bradfrord was an His Majesty's Trawler or Royal Navy Pretection Ship rather than a tug.

Heron

A mention of the Greek Collier Katerino has been found, this was also mentioned to be an admiralty ship in disguise ?

The Dublin motor boat” Elizabeth”

Indian Empire

"Golden Effort and three torpedo boats 050, 052, 055 sped to sea"

[LUSI]

”Last night at eight o’clock the naval patrol ship ‘Heron’, commanded by Captain H. Ives, Royal Naval Reserve, anchored in this harbour and was flying an urgent signal and had the ensign at half-mast,” Wansborough testified.

“I went off to her at once in a row boat. I found on board the five dead bodies that have been viewed by the jury – three men and two women. The Captain told me that he was on duty down east of Queenstown when he heard of the accident. He made all speed to the scene, and at about 5.30 o’clock picked up the bodies then on board. I could not say whether they were alive or dead at the time.

“As near as the Captain could say it was 12 miles south-south-west of the Old Head (of Kinsale). In addition to the five dead on board I found the following survivors, rescued from the wreck of an upturned boat to which most of them were clinging - …Francis Toner, 23 Crichton Street, off Wareham Street, Liverpool…”

Toner’s story of the upturned boat and rescue by the Heron is thus confirmed. There can be no doubt that Frank Toner was a stoker on the Lusitania and did survive in that manner.

[INFO AT TREGENNA]

We also seek information on the individuals that assisted in the rescue and the individual acts of bravery EG: J. Roper was awarded the R.N.L.I. medal for bravery, he repeatedly dived into the water to rescue not only passengers but Captain Taylor himself. we will report on this and al other individual acts of bravery as we both research further and recieve information etc.

Any help appreciated regarding information on the vessels and persons that gave aid to the Lusitania. Keith.

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[INFO AT TREGENNA]

For the following and much more please see the following via links on our homepage:

Websites of Interest

27 Great War Irish Scrapbook

corcaigh3.googlepages.com/home

(May 1918) - AMERICANS AND LUSITANIA - COBH CEREMONY - Yesterday morning a very pretty, impressive, and touching ceremony took place at the Old Church graveyard, near Cobh, when from the American aviation camp, some 200 American officers and men came to lay wreaths and flowers over the graves of the victims of the Lusitania disaster of May 7th, 1915.

Arrived in Cobh by water, the company formed up to march to the cemetery, and the leading ranks all bore either beautiful wreaths or masses of flowers. At the ceremony the American Consul and his wife were present as were the Chairman of the Cobh Commissioners and the Town Clerk, and the agent Cunard Line. There was also in attendance for the occasion an American journalist. This day is called in the States 'Memorial Day,' when all cemeteries and churchyards are visited and graves strewn with flowers.

At midday in Cobh all the ships in the harbour fired minute guns - a mark of respect to the memory of the dead.

Please look up under:

Websites of Interest

Great War Irish Scrapbook

Via our homepage links.

corcaigh3.googlepages.com/home

[You Tube Lusitania]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShOHb67h4Qc

[Old Head of Kinsale]

In Cobh is a memorial to the victims (and rescuers) of the Lusitania, whose bodies are buried in mass graves at Clonmel, just north of Cobh.

The SS Lusitania now lies at rest at a depth of 90 meters and about 12 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale.

While the living cried out for help, the dead drifted by. The steamship Heron and two trawlers gathered up the dead and returned to Queenstown with over 100 bodies. In the following days, temporary morgues were established to handle the increasing number of recovered bodies giving Queenstown the title, 'town of death'.

In total, 1,198 lives were lost on the Lusitania. Of the drowned, 127 were Americans, 79 were children including 39 infants under the age of two years. Just 200 corpses were recovered from the sea while the remainder were never found.

[KG]

The great Cunard liner Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine off the South Coast of Ireland yesterday afternoon and sunk. She was on a voyage from New York to Liverpool, and was within a few hours steaming of her home port.

A mention of the Greek Collier Katerino has been found.

Report: 1.30

Stormcock landed about 160 passengers and crew

The Dublin motor boat” Elizabeth” picked up two lifeboats containing 63 and 16 survivors respectively. They were taken in a Cork lifeboat to Queenstown. The tug “Stormcock” brought in 100 survivors.

2AM

The trawlers Stormcock and Indian Empire have on board about 200; the tug Flying Fish about 100; the three torpedo- boats 45 and 4 dead.

[KG]

Margaret Gwyre

Many women and children were put into some of the available lifeboats, but some were overcrowded and sank as soon as they were lowered into the water. Many people just jumped into the ocean, afraid the ship would pull them under as it sank. As the whole bow (the front half) of the ship went down, it did suck one lady, (Margaret Gwyre) down one of the funnels. Before she could drown, a boiler exploded and blew her back up the funnel! She was covered with ashes and soot, but she survived and later was rescued!

How amazing is that ? ? ?