Reginald Lockhart, 49, was a British national from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, traveling saloon aboard Lusitania on ticket 10863. He stayed in cabin B-72. On board Lusitania, he and Leonard McMurray assisted Mary and Laura Ryerson in lifeboat 14. Lockhart entered the lifeboat, McMurray did not. The lifeboat was lowered but soon filled with water and capsized. Lockhart, McMurray, and Laura Ryerson were saved. Mary Ryerson was not.
Lusitania
On the day of the disaster, 7 May 1915, Reginald was in the saloon lounge taking coffee with Leonard McMurray and Mary and Laura Ryerson when the Lusitania was torpedoed. The men escorted the ladies to the port side to wait for the boats.
Reginald Lockhart and Leonard McMurray heard someone yell out, “women and children in the boats”. The group headed amidships and stopped in front of lifeboat 14. They handed Laura Ryerson and her mother into the boat. Mary Ryerson called out to them, “Aren’t you coming?”
Lockhart jumped in but McMurray stepped back, as the lifeboat was overcrowded. Lifeboat 14 was lowered suddenly and began to fill with water. McMurray jumped into the water and swam to the lifeboat. Reginald Lockhart saw McMurray swimming with aLusitania life ring and reached for him. At that moment lifeboat 14 capsized.
Mary was lost. Laura swam for a raft where she found Leonard McMurray and Reginald Lockhart.
The raft was sinking because so many people were on it, so some of the people swam to a nearby lifeboat to distribute the weight. Reginald, Leonard, and Laura survived.
Contributors
Paul Latimer
Leonard McMurray
Michael Poirier
Judith Tavares
References
Poirier, Michael. “The Tale of Boat Fourteen.”
Ryerson, George Sterling Ansel. “The Great War.” Old and Sold. Web. 13 July 2011. <http://www.oldandsold.com/articles11/looking-backward-21.shtml>.
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