Dorothy Smith was born in New York City, New York, in the United States of America, in August 1914, the only child of Albert Robert and Gladys Elizabeth Smith, (née Robert).
The family had originally come from Great Britain but because of her birth place, Dorothy was classed as a citizen of the United States. Her father worked in New York as agent and picture seller for a London dealer in fine arts.
In the spring of 1915, however, her mother became seriously ill and as she was advised to return to her native South Wales to seek medical help there, Dorothy's father purchased second cabin tickets for the three of them on the Lusitania, which was due to leave New York for Liverpool on the morning of 1st May 1915. They joined the liner at the Cunard Berth in New York harbour in time for the sailing, which was delayed until the early afternoon, not knowing that they would never see that city, or Wales, again.
Six days later, Dorothy Smith and her parents were all killed after the liner was torpedoed off the southern Irish coast and just hours away from her Liverpool destination, by the German submarine U-20. She was just nine months old!
Neither her, nor her parents' bodies were washed ashore or picked out of the sea afterwards and as a result, none has a known grave.
On 27th May 1915, Cunard’s Chicago office received a letter concerning the family which they copied and sent to Queenstown on 7th June 1915. It stated: -
If bodies identified communicate with Mr. Edward Roberts 176 Cathays (sic) Terrace, Cardiff Glam. (who is father of Mrs. Smith) relative of the passengers Mr. Westmacott of Montague, Mich who made enquiry
Cunard Records, Western Mail, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv. PR13/6, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.