3 spies on board Fact or Fiction

[Shaun R. Rothwell]

3 spies on board. Sounds a good plot for a book. Were they Irish or German.
What is a fact is that Detective Inspector Pierpoint of the Liverpool City Police was board together with 2 Detectives from the Metropolitan Police.
Merseyside Police's can offer no info re the presence of DI Pierpoint either on the ship or in New York. (they have not got the records)

 

[Martin Owen Cahill]

Fact indeed Shaun.
They were German nationals engaged in photographic espionage to determine if the Lusitania did carry any guns as for her use.
They were discovered by the ship's masters at arms during the customary search for stowaways or those who genuienly missed the visitors ashore call.
Detective Pierpont who was assigned to the ship to counter acts of spying was unable to get any answers out of them so it was decided to take the across to England and let the autorities there sort it out.
They were taken below and locked in a spare cabin on E or F deck third class most likely.
After the ship was torpedoed Pierpont tried to get to them but was beaten back by rapid flooding.
They were just three more dead to the ultimate death toll.

Martin

 

[Shaun R. Rothwell]

I can go with all of that BUT I cannot believe that Liverpool City Police (LCP) would provide Cunard with an on-board Police Officer. As it would be a permanent presence and the Lusitania was not the only ship plying between Liverpool & New York. The resources of LCP were finite; as this Force, which numbered about 1800 Officers, would provide nearly 1000 Officers to British Armed Services during WW1.
It is sad the records of LCP have, over the years, been mislaid. If the records were available I don't know if they would shed any light on this particular incident, as at the time I believe it would have been "shrouded" in secrecy.

 

[Peter Engberg-Klarström]

As for the three alleged spies; one of them was apparently a waiter, and the other two were assumedly also listed in due course, either as passengers (?) or crew. They are not to be counted as 'stowaways' at any rate. There is no indication there was more than one policeman on board, if you don't count inspector Cannon and the masters-at-arms, obviously.

Peter

 

[Shaun R. Rothwell]

Who is Inspector Cannon ?
I've not heard of him before.

 

[Shaun R. Rothwell]

Does anyone know if the Ship's Log still exists. That may shed some light on this subject.

As stated from the start the only info I regard as definitive is that William John Pierpoint, Det. Insp., Liverpool City was a 2nd Class passenger on the ship.

 

[Geoff Whitfield]

Shaun,

Robert Henry Cannon was born in Onchan, Isle of Man, the son of John and Jane Cannon. He married Annie Whelan and lived in Kensington, a suburb of Liverpool. His body was recovered and returned to Liverpool, where it was buried at Ford Cemetery on 17th May.

I don't think that Pierpoint was assigned permanently to the Lusitania, as Shaun points out - the Lusitania was not the only Cunarder making the Trans Atlantic run, and the Police Authorities would be hard pressed to place an Inspector on each.However, as both of these men were in their fifties, perhaps the authorities considered them more expendable?

Pierpoint, however travelled as a first class passenger, not second.

Geoff

 

[Shaun R. Rothwell]

Geoff,

Robert H. Canon was he a Police Officer ?

I was told that William Pierpoint was travelling 1st Class but I read a passenger list recently that has him as a 2nd Class passenger.

Shaun ....

 

[Geoff Whitfield]

Shaun, Pierpoint is down as a first class passenger on the official Cunard "Record of Passengers & Crew" dated 1st March 1916 - Like you, I've seen him listed as a second class passenger in a couple of the contemporary newspapers but I think they are in error.

Cannon's duties seem rather uncertain - I rather think that he was employed by Cunard and not the police force as he is mentioned on the memorial to Merchant Seamen killed in World War One.

Geoff