William Meriheina : An inventive survivor
The story of William Meriheina, Lusitania survivor and inventor of the car radio.
Entries by Michael Poirier
The Lusitania : Part 1 : Contents
Stories life and death from the sinking of the Lusitania.
The Lusitania : Part 2 : Three Narratives
Each May marks the anniversary of one of the 20th century’s most notorious events; the sinking, by torpedo, of Cunard Line’s Lusitania off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1198 lives. While she lived, Lusitania was known as one of a pair of outstandingly beautiful record breakers, and after her death she became […]
The Lusitania : Part 3 : The Survivor
Lusitania survivor Barbara McDermott tells her story.
The Lusitania : Part 4 : The Families
Only a handful of the Lusitania’s families, and we are expanding the term ‘families’ to include mothers traveling with children, survived intact. Most did not survive at all. by
The Lusitania : Part 5 : The Struggle to Abandon Ship
Robert William Whaley, John Idwal Lewis and Walter Dawson
The Lusitania : Part 6 : The Port Boats
One enduring Lusitania myth is that of the chaos that reigned along her port side during her final eighteen minutes.
The Lusitania : Part 7 : Passengers of Distinction
Stories of some notable Lusitania passengers.
The Lusitania : Part 8 : A Hint of Scandal
Scandalous stories
The Lusitania : Part 9 : Earlier Voyages
Lusitania, Eluding Enemy Nears Port… The general perception of the events leading up to May 7, 1915 is of a relatively normal service life suddenly disrupted by the famous German newspaper warning, after which came the disaster. Some authors make reference to the famous incident in which the Lusitania ran up an American flag for […]
The Lusitania : Part 10: The Warning
THE WARNING: “Now, if your upper classes run away like this at the first sign of danger, you can’t have any hope for the rest of your people, you know. What would you do in a time of war?” “What should she have done?” 3000 Accept Risk Alfred G. Vanderbilt Among Those Who Ignore Written […]
The Lusitania : Part 11: In The Water; A Lethargic Drift into Death
Passengers who sank with the Lusitania who did not drown in the first few minutes soon faced a subtle but efficient killer. The water temperature was later given as low to mid 50’s, and under a beautiful, blue spring sky on a sunny afternoon, the Lusitania’s people began to succumb to hypothermia. The human body […]
The Lusitania : Part 12 : Gone Forever: The Dead and the Missing
Eyes picked out by birds… An elderly lady, between 40 and 50, hair turning grey, eyes picked out by birds, face full round and freckled. Fairly stout, about 5 foot three inches, very well dressed and wearing a lot of jewelry, and had a good set of natural teeth. On the third finger of her […]
The Lusitania : Part 13 : The Morning After: Post Traumatic Stress
A deck view in Second Class Jim Kalafus Collection The Lusitania survivors, with the exception of the most seriously injured, resumed their journeys, and their lives, within a few days of the disaster. They were carried by ferry to Liverpool, and then by train to destinations across the United Kingdom and Europe. Press interest in […]
The Lusitania : Part 14 : Casualties of War
Sitting at Barbara’s kitchen table, on a late summer visit, we eat potato chips from a bowl she has put out. “Don’t worry about the mess, I’ll clean up!” she says: Mrs. McDermott remains proud of her energy level and would not think of allowing guests to carry their own plates to the kitchen sink. […]
The Lusitania : Part 15 : Happy Ending/Immortality
We part from Barbara McDermott on a happy note. We always do. She shows us a press clipping of herself as a school child, dressed in Egyptian garb at some long ago school function; a happy moment from 1926 preserved; Barbara, forever young, smiling and dressed as Cleopatra. Emily gazes down from the wall; her […]
The Lusitania : Part 16 : Appendices
Appendix A: The Unidentified # 6. Female. 60 Years. Dark complexion. Property. – 1 plain gold wedding ring (22 carat), no initials. Grave C. 10. Male. 35 years. Apparently a seaman. Tattooed star on back of right wrist. Grave C. #15. Male. 24 years. Apparently a member of crew. Wore a serge suit, with brass buttons. […]
I Was Shipwrecked on the Andrea Doria!
Michael Poirier reviews a new book on the sinking of the Andrea Doria by Pierette Simpson.
Costa Concordia Eyewitness Accounts
Michael Poirier interviews Brandon Warrick and his sister Amanda who survived the sinking of the Costa Concordia in January 2012.
The Sinking of the Sea Diamond
The sinking of the Costa Concordia has drawn inevitable comparisons with both Titanic and other maritime disasters. In this verbatim interview by Michael Poirier, a young survivor of the April 2007 Sea Diamond sinking, Zak Hayes, recalls the experience of evacuation at sea.
Lest We Forget : The Coughlin Family
A beautiful spring day had brought together a band of people who wanted to honor the memory of a Titanic victim, Kate Buckley. Sitting under a tent, waiting for the service to start, Shelley Dziedzic began talking to a friendly-looking couple next to her. They were local to the Brockton, Ma area. When Shelley mentioned […]
Lest We Forget : Albert Arthur Bestic
“To me she was my dream ship. I saw her first when in her regal beauty she sped along the surface of the Clyde upon her trials. My boyish heart went out to her in admiration.” That was Albert Arthur Bestic’s first impression upon seeing the new Lusitania. The next time he saw her, he […]
The Price of Fame
Rose Ellen Murray, the Lusitania‘s Titanic Survivor
Lest We Forget Part 2
The second part of Lest We Forget, the human side of the Lusitania disaster.
Lest We Forget : Part 1
This May marks the 90th anniversary of one of the 20th century’s most notorious events; the sinking, by torpedo, of Cunard Line’s Lusitania off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1198 lives. While she lived, Lusitania was known as one of a pair of outstandingly beautiful record breakers, and after her death she […]