Annie Marsh, 26, was a British national traveling aboard Lusitania with her husband Thomas, and son Thomas, Jr. on their way to Westgate, England. Also traveling with them were her employer George Hook and his children Elsie and Frank. Annie and the Hook Family survived the Lusitania sinking. Thomas and Thomas, Jr. did not.
The Marshes and the Hooks were from England and had been living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where Annie was the housekeeper to the Hook Family. After the death of Mrs. Hook, they were all returning home to England. The Hooks were planning to travel in second cabin, but when George found out that the Marshes were traveling third class, George changed his family’s tickets so that the Hooks and Marshes could travel together.
The night of 6 May, Thomas had a nightmare that the Lusitania was destroyed. Her experience of the sinking, in her words:
We came from Toronto to New York and took a berth on the Lusitania, which was sailing on the morning of May 1st; I, my husband, and my eighteen month’s old baby. Mr. Marsh was told that torpedo boats and destroyers would escort the ship some part of the way.
I was sitting, sewing, after I had dressed my baby, when I heard the explosion. Rushing to the steps I saw my husband, who took me to the second class deck. I remained with my husband as long as I could, and tied the baby around me. The first explosion caused the ship to list heavily, which made it difficult to get to the deck. In doing so, many people were thrown down and injured.
I took to the water as the vessel was sinking fast. Within a few minutes the baby got loose, and I lost him. After being in the water for over a half-hour, and only being kept afloat by holding on to two large pieces of wood, I heard a man callout “Come on, lady!” One of the stewards was in the boat, and he assisted me in to it. Later, we were taken to Queenstown.
Annie Marsh was in the lifeboat that several other survivors recalled that in the bottom of which were a dead infant and several adults who died of exposure after being pulled aboard.
Annie later remarried, and Annie Marsh Wood died in Faversham, Kent, in early 1977.
Links of interest
The Marsh Family at Lest We Forget – Encyclopedia Titanica
Contributors
Cliff Barry, UK
Jim Kalafus, USA
Peter Kelly, Ireland
Mike Poirier, USA
Judith Tavares
References
Hickey, Des and Gus Smith. Seven Days to Disaster. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1981.
Jim Kalafus, Michael Poirier, Cliff Barry and Peter Kelly (2013) “Lest We Forget : The Lusitania.” Gare Maritime. (ref: #10962, accessed 27th April 2015 03:24:39 PM) URL : http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/lest-we-forget-the-lusitania.html
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