Irene Paynter, 30, was a British national from England traveling aboard Lusitania with her father Charles after a trip to North America. Charles and Irene went down with the ship together, but Irene survived. She believed that her father was killed when wreckage struck him in the water.
Life
Irene was one of four daughters born to Charles and Emily Paynter. Her older sister, Violet Florence, was born in 1883, Her younger sisters were Evelyn Frederica “Freda” and Kathleen. Their mother Emily died in 1912 and was buried in the churchyard at Bidston. There is a large family memorial which also includes Charles Edwin and Florence Violet (d. 1951). The Paynters had a country house in the village of Syresham. One upstairs bedroom had tiny panes, one of which had a date scratched into it with a diamond by her mother.
Irene and Charles lived in Liverpool, where Charles conducted business. In March 1915 Charles and Irene booked the Adriatic to go to New York.
Returning home to Britain, Charles and Irene booked saloon cabin (first class) on the Lusitania. Their ticket aboard Lusitania was 46133, and her cabin was separate from her father, in B-105. They sat at Charles Bowring‘s table in the dining saloon. During the day they played games in the lounge with Dwight Harris and friends.
Charles Paynter found his daughter packing in her cabin when the ship struck. Mr. Bowring tried to help Irene with her lifebelt, and Ralph Moodie eventually adjusted it for her. Charles and Irene went down together. She was under the impression that her father was struck by wreckage and that is what killed him. She believed that she was in the water for over three hours and was unconscious when she was rescued. She was badly bruised, but not otherwise injured. Charles Bowring escorted Irene home. Charles Paynter’s body washed up at Queenstown, number 37.
Irene wrote a letter about her experiences. She and none of her sisters ever married.
By the mid 1950’s, Irene was living with a companion, a Miss Smart and was renting out her Syresham country home.
Contributors:
Marjorie Hayes Darjany
Michael Poirier
Ann Paynter Roberts
Judith Tavares
References:
Ellis Island Online. <http://www.ellisisland.org/>
Liverpool Post and Mercury, 12 May 1915.
Miss Paynter, as we called her as children in the mid 1950’s, was the owner of the home my family rented in the village of Syresham England. We were aware of her experience on the Lusitania, but we heard about it from her companion, a Miss Smart. Miss Paynter was very reclusive and retiring, but was cordial and ladylike on the rare occasion when we would visit her. I remember her as a delicate wispy woman who wore a broach on the neckline of her blouse. She and the outgoing robust Miss Smart were possibly a couple, although as children, I never heard that. My family rented her ancestral country home. I remember the windows in one upstairs bedroom had tiny panes, one of which had a date scratched into it with a diamond by
her Mother . My brother broke a pane near it with a batted baseball and he was forbidden to play ball in the yard after that. We left England in1959 and my mother corresponded occasionally with Miss Smart but eventually lost touch.
Hello Marjory,
This is great information and thank you for sharing. It’s always wonderful to hear from people who know the people on the ship in person and much better than I do! Any stories that you would like to share about Miss Paynter are most welcome, as they help us better understand the real people behind the Lusitania sinking.