Emily Shaw was born in Gorton, Lancashire, England, in1881, the daughter of George Henry and Jane Shaw (née Garlick). Her father was a steam engine maker and fitter, and Emily was an only child. In 1915, the family home was at 23, North Road, West Kirby, Cheshire, England. Emily Shaw became a dressmaker after completing her formal education.
She was unmarried, and in May 1914, she immigrated to St. James, Manitoba, Canada. In the spring of 1915, however, she decided to return home, perhaps because of the war, and consequently booked second cabin passage on the May sailing of the Lusitania from New York to Liverpool.
Having left St. James some time in April she arrived at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York City, on the morning of 1st May 1915, in time for the liner’s scheduled 10 o’clock departure. Once on board, however, she had to wait until just before 12.27 p.m. before the liner actually sailed. This was because she had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Lines vessel the S.S. Cameronia which the British Admiralty had requisitioned for war service as a troop ship.
Six days out of New York on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20 within sight of The Old Head of Kinsale in southern Ireland. At that stage of her return voyage, she was only about 250 miles away
from the safety of her home port.
Emily Shaw was killed as a result of this action, however and as her body was never recovered from the sea afterwards and subsequently identified, she has no known grave. She was aged 33 years.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Cunard Records, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv D92/2/201, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
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