Alice Grimshaw was born in in Ramsbottom, Lancashire, England, in 1865, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Grimshaw (née Wilkinson). Her father was a twister in a local cotton mill, and the family home was at Lower Nuttall Lane, Ramsbottom.
On the 16th September 1903, she married The Reverend David Loynd, who was a Baptist minister, at the Chesham Baptist Church in Bury.
In 1915, her husband had just completed a two year period of office in charge of the Baptist Church at Richmond, Indiana and wished to return home to be of service to war wounded. Both of them also wanted to see relatives in Bolton, Bury and Ramsbottom. Consequently, they booked as second cabin passengers from Ottawa, Illinois, in the United States of America on the May sailing of the Lusitania from New York to Liverpool
Having joined the Lusitania at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York harbour on the morning of 1st May 1915, in time for the vessel’s scheduled 10 o’clock sailing, they then had to wait until 12.27 before the liner actually left port. This was because she had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Liner Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war service as a troop ship, at the end of April. Then, on the afternoon of 7th May, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20. At that point, she was off The Old Head of Kinsale in southern Ireland and only 250 miles hours away from her Liverpool home port destination.
Both Alice and David Loynd were killed as a result of this action and according to The Last Voyage of the Lusitania, by Adolph and Mary Hoehling, before the ship went down, they both got into a lifeboat which was badly lowered and tipped its occupants into the sea. The Hoehlings described the scene through the experience of second cabin passenger Robert J. Timmis: -
There was a smacking crash against the water, quick screams, then silence. Timmins (sic) looked over to see a lifeboat dangling from one of its falls ... it had been lowered too hastily by one end and its occupants were spilled out before it had reached the water.
Timmins continued to stare at the half smashed boat, the crushed bodies in the water, a few survivors swimming.
Alice Loynd’s body was one of the first to be recovered from the sea, however and having been landed at Queenstown, it was taken to one of the temporary mortuaries set up there and given the reference number 75. Then on 10th May 1915, it was buried in Mass Grave C, 5th Row, Upper Tier, in The Old Church Cemetery, just north of the town.. It was on this day that most of the victims of the sinking were buried, after a long funeral procession which began at the Cunard offices at Lynch’s Quay on the waterfront. It lies there today. Alice Loynd was aged 50 years.
Cunard records at first stated that identification of her body was made by her brother-in-
law, Mr. George Loynd of 18a Chorley Old Road, Bolton, but a later document states that it was made much later, well after her burial in fact, at the end of June, by a Mr. Daniel Thompson of Richmond, Indiana, from a photograph of her corpse. Apparently, the Reverend and Mrs. Loynd had visited him whilst in America.
Cunard had all the unidentified corpses photographed before they had to be buried, for obvious reasons of hygiene, in the hope that they might be identified at a later date.
Although David Loynd’s body was not found until 20th May, and buried in his native Bolton on 26th May, The Bury Times for 26th May 1915 stated: -
If the body of Mrs. Loynd ..... is recovered it will also be buried in the same place.
Similarly, The Bolton Evening News on the same date, dealing with the finding of The Reverend Loynd’s body stated: -
His body was washed ashore at Ballingskillings,(sic.) County Kerry, but that of his wife has not yet been recovered.
Reverend Loynd’s body was actually discovered at Ballinskelligs, County Kerry, and it would appear that the local press was not aware either that the body buried on 10th May was that of Alice Loynd!
When David Loynd’s body was washed ashore, the local Police sergeant found the address of another second cabin passenger, Mr. Joseph Glancy of Belfast, Northern Ireland, on it. He telegraphed Mr. Glancy, informing him of the finding and asked him if he would contact any relatives. Glancy consequently wrote to David Loynd’s mother and sister at the Bullen Street address in Bury and a copy of his letter was published in The Bury Times on 22nd May 1915. It stated: -
As a friend of the late Mr. David Loynd and Mrs. Loynd, whom I met and had sweet fellowship with on board the ill-fated Lusitania, I offer you and all your relatives my sincere sympathy at the loss you have sustained. But while this is so, we must not forget that it is a gain to Christ. Both are at home with the Lord to-day. “There were no two happier people on board - both rejoicing in the knowledge of Christ the Saviour.
I gave Mr. Loynd my name and address and I also got his, which enabled the police-sergeant at the place where the body of Mr. Loynd was washed ashore, to wire me. I was also fortunate in having your address, although I was in the water for three quarters of an hour.
I am sending you a copy of the ‘Belfast Evening Telegraph’ giving an account of my experiences; and a copy of (the) telegram from (the) Sergeant of Police at Ballinskelligs, Co. Kerry, where the body was washed ashore. ‘The body Rev. David Loynd washed ashore here this morning; your name and address in his papers; inform his friends if you know them’. I wired back to (the) Sergeant immediately giving him your address. I also wired to you and at the same time called at Cunard Offices here and gave your address. ..... With sincere sympathy, from Joseph Glancy.
Property recovered from Alice Loynd’s body was later sent to George Loynd at the Chorley Old Road, address, on 19th June 1915. It consisted of a large silver onyx
brooch, an English 22 carat wedding ring and a letter bearing the name and address of Mary Grimshaw, c/o Mr. Thompson, 134 South 15th Street, Richmond, Indiana, who was presumably a friend
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1871 Census of England & Wales, 1881 Census of England & Wales, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1910 U.S. Federal Census, Cunard Records, Bolton Evening News, Bury Times, Last Voyage of the Lusitania, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv.D92/1/8-10, UniLiv D92/2/440, UniLiv PR13/6, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Lawrence Evans, Enid Giles, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.