DETAILS of a maritime tragedy 100 years ago that claimed the lives of local residents have been unearthed by Oldham Council archivists.
On May 7, 1915 the steamship Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine, U-20, off the coast of Ireland.
Of the 1,962 passengers and crew on-board, 1,191 lost their lives and the incident caused outrage around the world and has been mired in controversy ever since.
The Lusitania had left New York shortly after noon on May 1, despite the German embassy warning passengers not to travel.
Among them were Oldhamers Mr and Mrs Cyrus Crossley who were on a visit to Mrs Crossley’s sister in Shaw, and Handel Hawkins, a cello player in the ship’s orchestra, formerly a member of the orchestra at the Palace Theatre, Oldham.
Also on the ship was Mr Arthur Dixon, an agent for Messrs Hirst Bros and Co Ltd, wholesale jewellers of Roscoe Street, Oldham, who was returning for a five week visit with his wife Bertha and son, Stanley.
Mrs Dixon was on deck when the torpedo struck at 2.10pm on May 7.
Although her husband managed to get her and Stanley into one of the lifeboats there was nobody to let the boat down into the water.
The boat got so crowded they decided to get out and Mr Dixon went to get some lifebelts. There was then another explosion and the ship began to list until it was quite near to the water.
Mrs Dixon’s husband then said: ‘When I say jump we must all jump together. It’s our only chance’.
He jumped into the water just as the ship was going down. Mr Dixon had hold of his son when they jumped – they were never seen again.
Mrs Dixon then described what happened next: “When I got to the surface I could not get my head out of the water on account of the quantity of wreckage of all sorts which was floating on the water.
“I had a dreadful struggle before I could get my head free, but at last I managed to scrape the pieces of wood and so on away with my hands and I was able to get my head out, and when I did I looked around and the ship had absolutely gone.
“All around were hundreds of people struggling and screaming in the water…I was in the water for four hours.
“I looked round for my husband and Stanley, but I could not see them. Something hard hit me on the arm, and I grabbed at it, and I found it was the top of a packing case, and I stuck to it and never left hold of it again until I was saved…”
Mrs Dixon was rescued by torpedo boat C25 and taken to Queenstown, where she was taken to the Cunard office, and then to the Queens Hotel.
The Hotel was completely full, with up to four people sharing a bed. However a Major and his wife took her to their home.
Among those who died on the Lusitania were Miss Sarah Emma Woodcock of Royton who was returning from a visit to the United States, and Mrs Bishop of Heyside.
For those wanting to know more about the Lusitania the Oldham Historical Research Group is hosting a talk ‘Oldhamers on the Luisitania’ on Wednesday, May 20 at 7pm at Oldham Local Studies and Archives, 84 Union Street, Oldham.
Oldham Local Studies and Archives 84 Union Street, Oldham, OL1 1DN. Tel: 0161 770 4654; e-mail: archives@oldham.gov.uk
To whom it may concern, my name is Cassidy Glascock and I have learned that at the time, Bertha was pregnant with her second child and gave birth to a son named Kenneth Raymond Dixon on December 6th, 1915. According to Ancestry.com, Bertha lived for another six years before passing away in 1921 while Kenneth was five years of age. He married and had a family before passing away in 1971.