Lifeboat Photograph

[Jim Kalafus]

Here is a portion of a snapshot I just bought, showing what is probably an authentic Lusitania collapsible photographed in Queenstown at some point in 1925- the date on back is partially obscured, reading----- 31 1925. In the full photograph one can see that the lifeboat had been attached to the harbor wall with beams and boards, and that at that point it was still kept well painted and maintained.

 

[Jim Kalafus]

A bit of further information about this lifeboat. A clipping from Parry Jones' scrapbook, by the title of "Lusitania Relics" (ca 1930) mentions a "raft" from the Lusitania which had been sold by the Red Cross, presumably at auction, to "A resident" who installed it on the Broadstairs Jetty- which I am assuming is this collapsible. A second 1930s clipping on the subject of relics mentions that a Lusitania lifeboat, then much decayed, was visible at extreme low tide on the river bottom at Milford Haven, although the author is silent on details such as how the lifeboat got there, how he or she knew it was from the Lusitania etc.

 

[Randy Bryan Bigham]

Thanks Jim for posting the image and the info. Very interesting. Is the lifeboat still preserved somewhere? If not, do you know what happened to it?

 

[Jim Kalafus]

I don't know what became of this boat, but in light of what happened to so many other landmarks 1929-'45, my guess is that whatever funds maintained the thing dried up during the early years of the Depression and it deteriorated to the point where it had to be removed. At this point I have nothing with which to back that up other than the knowledge that the same thing happened to an unfortunantly large number of historically interesting places and things during the Depression and war years.

 

[Brian R Peterson]

Hi all!

Interesting thread, I was unaware that an actual Lusitania boat survived, as I know thieves snapped up all the identification plates from the Titanic's boats first chance they had, and then there were a number or hoaxes involving fishing boats made up to look like White Star lifeboats and claimed to be Titanic originals. I am surprised something similar did not happen with the Lusitania.

Thanks,

Brian

 

[Eric Sauder]

Hi, Brian:

Actually, a few lifeboats survived quite a number of years after the sinking. You'll find a photo of another one in my book.

Eric Sauder