Aunt Nellie: Lusitania Survivor

The ship docked in Boston and the ladies were taken to the home of their brother William who lived in Milton, Massachusetts. (2) Elizabeth seemed excited with the opportunities that America had to offer, but Florence remained leery.  They moved to Pawtucket, Rhode Island where Elizabeth stayed with Ernest on Colombia Avenue, while Florence maintained her own place on Whitford Avenue.  Florence was not happy living in the United States and after eight months wanted to return home, ostentibly to be near her sister Edith Beard of Glossop.  Elizabeth was very happy where she was, but felt she should accompany Florence back to England.  The two booked second class passage on the Lusitania which was due to sail on May 1, 1915.

The beauty of the second class accomodations was eloquently described by survivor Phoebe Amory in her 1917 book, Death of the Lusitania.  She says in part, “But I was permitted to get a view of the interior and such a sight it was!  It would have gladdened the heart of anyone to gaze upon such a scene as was then before me.  Such a beautiful dining room I had never seen, either aboard ship, or in the magnificent hotels that I have visited on both sides of the ocean.  The pillars, extending from floor to ceiling were as snowy white as the linen that covered the long tables.  The walls and the ceilings were frescoed in delicate tints, and in the centre there was a round, open balcony, which permitted one to stand above and gaze down upon a spectacle that I believe could not be duplicated elsewhere.”

The ladies were assigned cabin E-135 with Henrietta Pirrie who was going to Scotland by way of England to be married. Elizabeth remembered that the woman had been a maid to the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and that during the voyage that Henrietta showed her intended’s picture. The two women became acquainted with their fellow passengers which was usual with any ship’s voyage. and they spent time on deck with Hannah Ackroyd and her little boy Freddie. (3) Second class this voyage was very crowded and Thomas Richards wrote to a friend that some of the second class passengers had to sleep in first class cabins as there was not enough room in second class.

The ladies had a delightful voyage and on May 7th at 2:00 P.M. they were in the dining room eating lunch. Florence had already finished, but Elizabeth was still enjoying her meal. Her sister turned to her and said, “Hurry up- let’s start packing.” Then with that, the ship was struck. She heard a “terrific explosion” which she felt seemed to “shatter the vessel”. (4) Elizabeth was not unaware of the threat of submarines and her first thoughts were, “My God, they’ve got us.” Their dining room steward took command of them and said, “Follow me.” She noted that his face was “as white as death.” The two had the presence of mind to grab their purses when they left their table so that they would have their money with them. The two followed the steward up the stairs, but found that as they climbed they had difficulty walking due to the listing of the ship. Once on deck, the two made their way to the first class area. The debris from the explosion turned out to be dangerous and as Elizabeth tried to walk, she fell and began to slide down the sloping deck. Florence made a grab for her foster sister’s hair as she slid near the ship’s rail. Elizabeth steadied herself and noticed that the water was not far from where she stood.

They approached lifeboat #11, but Florence thought it looked crowded and said to Elizabeth, “Let’s not go in that one. Let’s get in the second one.” She made the right decision. No sooner had she said this, boat #11 began to lower and suddenly dropped it’s stern into the water spilling everyone into the sea. Fellow second class passenger Ernest Cowper was trying to take little Helen Smith whom he found alone on deck to safety. He also watched as boat Eleven spilled it’s occupants. Cowper noted that the boat still hung by the bow ropes and slid along in the water. He handed Helen into boat #13 where Elizabeth took the girl on her knee. Cowper also climbed into the boat and watched as John Davies and William Harkness helped lower the boat. Elizabeth also remembered that the Riley twins were thrown in the boat, but their parents couldn’t get in as the boat was already lowering.

The lifeboat slowly began to row away as soon as the falls were detached.  A crew member began shouting at the people at oars, “Row!  Row!  Hurry up, before the ship goes under and the suction gets us.”  Elizabeth couldn’t stand to look at the poor people who were left behind and tried to comfort Helen.  Florence meanwhile was unable to take her eyes away from the scene unfolding before her.  The craft stopped despite the danger to pick up a few people in the water who had been in boat #17 which had been swamped during lowering.  Ernest Cowper watched as the aerial from the mast dangled down into the water and saw that the funnels seem to still hang over the small boat.  Elizabeth finally turned her head to see the last of the ship.  She watched as people jumped from the stern which was high in the air, but it was too terrible and she looked away again.  TheLusitania plunged downward and was no more.

The two women spent several hours in the boat and during a quiet moment, Helen said to Elizabeth, “If I can’t find my Mamma and Daddy, I’ll go with you ladies.”  Florence and Ernest took Helen on their laps in order to give Elizabeth time to stretch her legs.  Finally after several hours floating about, boat #13 was finally rescued by the Stormcock.  The party landed at Queenstown and the two were lead to what she recalled was the post office. She was allowed to send wires to various family members to let them know they were safe. She watched a nurse take Helen Smith away and never saw her again. The next day, while walking the streets she saw a uniformed Lusitania officer who she claimed was Captain Turner with boxes of candy for the surviving children.  Later that Saturday, they decided they were well enough to continue their journey and arrived Sunday morning in Glossop.  The local paper arrived that night to interview them and they gave a thrilling account of the events.  They told how the crew in the boat had said if they had been shipwrecked on a previous day, they may not have made it due to the heavy seas running. (5)

Elizabeth was well at first, but her nerves were frayed and she remained under a physician’s care for the first few years during the war.  She was ready to go back to America in 1920, and still having faith in Cunard, booked passage on the Carmania. She arrived back on April 7, 1920.  Elizabeth settled in Pawtucket, Rhode Island and found work as a winder.  She also fell in love and at age forty-six, she married Peter Graham at the Evangelical Church in Central Falls, Rhode Island.  She did not have any children of her own, but Elizabeth was thought of dearly by her nieces and nephews and to them she was ‘Aunt Nellie’.  She decided to get her American Citizenship at the beginning of World War II, and on August 1, 1940 at 2:10 P.M. this was achieved.  Her foster sister Florence Whitehead passed away in England, though her family is not quite sure when.  She received word in 1955 that Adolph and Mary Hoehling were writing a book on the sinking and decided that enough years had passed and that it was okay to finally talk about the disaster.  She noted that other people seemed to find it interesting. Her letters to the Hoehlings’ are currently held at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia. She would grant interviews when anniversary of the sinking rolled around and during these interviews she always wondered what happened to little Helen Smith.  She did not know that her aunt had also survived the disaster and taken her to live with another aunt and uncle.

Elizabeth was very fond of family and her niece and nephew Frank and Lois Deluski would pick her up and take her to where Thanksgiving was being held.  It was all she could talk of for weeks and she was very grateful to spend time with her family.  They also remember her as being being petite and frail but determined.  One of her goals was to live to be one hundred years old.  Her sister Mary Alice had received a congratulatory letter from President Lyndon Baines Johnson when she reached one hundred years old and ‘Aunt Nellie’ also wanted to have that distinction as well. Her health began to fail in the 1970’s and she was placed in the Mansion House of Central Falls for care.  She still took time to speak with reporters when the anniversary approached, though at this time she was very hard of hearing.  She left behind specific instructions before she died on who was to be at the funeral, which cars they would be in and finally that no tuna fish would be served as she didn’t care for it.  Finally on May 19, 1977, Elizabeth Eleanor Hampshire Graham also known as ‘Aunt Nellie’ quietly passed away at age 98.

Items 1-5 are taken from the Lusitania Collection MS45 held at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News. These were made available by Mr. Josh Graml.

I’d like to thank my friends Frank and Lois Deluski who kindly help with all aspects of their aunt’s life, providing her account and picture. To Pat Sherlock of Office Max for her patience. Finally, thanks to Lusitania researchers Jim Kalafus, Paul Latimer, and Jean Richards Timmermeister for their many contributions and friendship.