Mr. John McEvoy, Refrigeration Greaser

John McEvoy was a refrigeration greaser from Jonesborough, County Armagh, Ireland.  He survived the Lusitania disaster.

McEvoy was asleep in his cabin when the torpedo impact and explosion awoke him.  A fellow sailor reported as Griffith who was lost (William or Samuel Griffiths ?) rushed into the cabin and gave McEvoy a lifebelt.  McEvoy got dressed and went up on deck, where he went to the starboard side.

The lifeboats were swung out but the list of the ship made lowering them difficult.  McEvoy ran to the portside, but the ship sank from under him and he was dragged down with her.  McEvoy thought he was going to drown, but he saw a light through the water.  The next thing McEvoy recalled was that he found himself floating to the surface.  He found a plank of wood which he and a young American girl held on to for two and a half hours until they were rescued.

McEvoy was congratulated on being rescued from the Lusitania sinking, to which he said that he could only thank Almighty God for being one of the survivors.

References:
Boyle, Fabian.  “Sinn Fein and Nationalists Clashed Over Conscription.” Newry Memoirs. Web.  15 February 2012.  <http://www.newrymemoirs.com/stories_pages/conscription1914_1.html>.