Ethel Moore Lamping was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the Unites States of America, on the 5th June 1881, the daughter of Frank William and Frances Coulter Lamping (née Moore). Her father was involved in the tobacco industry as an agen for cigar manufacturers.
On the 25th June 1914, she married Welshman Stanley Llandaff Burnett Lines who was manager of the Canadian Branch of The Chamberlain and Hookham Electric Meter Company of Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, in Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Following their wedding, they embarked upon a month’s honeymoon in England, but after the outbreak of war on 4th August, they hurried back to Toronto. In April 1915, however, Stanley Lines was called back to England on business and despite the war, Ethel Lines decided to accompany him. She also intended at the same time, to do some work for the British Red Cross and carry out some work on behalf of friends in Toronto who had sons serving with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in England.
As a result, on 1st May 1915, she and her husband joined the Lusitania at New York as second cabin passengers before the liner left on her final voyage ever, across the Atlantic, at just after mid-day. The liner’s scheduled 10.00 a.m. sailing had had to be postponed whilst she loaded passengers, some cargo and some crew from the Anchor
Lines vessel Cameronia, which the British Admiralty had requisitioned for use as a troop ship.
Six days out of New York, the Lusitania was attacked by the German submarine U-20, within sight of the coast of southern Ireland. Ethel Lines and her husband were in the second class dining room when the torpedo struck the Cunarder and southern Irish newspaper The Cork Examiner later published what happened to them, having interviewed Stanley Lines at Queenstown once he had been landed there: -
As we sat at the table there was a great boom, and we all sprang clear and got outside the dining-room door, and none of us thought of aught else but to get on the decks. We found that the ship had been torpedoed, and as far as I remember, as we reached the deck, there was a second crash. It was then the other missile took effect. A list to starboard set in as we were climbing the stairs and it so rapidly increased that by the time we reached the deck, we were falling against the taffrail. I managed to get my wife on to the first-class deck and there, three boats were being got out. I got her into the third which was lowered safely, and having kissed her good-bye, I turned to look for a life-belt for myself.
An article in The Yorkshire Post for 11th May 1915, describes what happened next: -
Mrs. Lines declined to get into a lifeboat without her husband who refused to go with her because there were women and children waiting. Mr. Lines and an officer picked her up and threw her into No. 13 lifeboat, where she was held down.
The occupants of lifeboat No. 13 were eventually rescued from the sea by the Royal Naval tug H.M.S. Stormcock and landed at Queenstown where Ethel Lines met up with her husband again in the Queen’s Hotel, having himself been rescued from a floating raft and a collapsible boat. The Queen’s Hotel, which accommodated many surviving passengers, remains today the largest hotel within the town but is now called The Commodore Hotel.
Eventually the couple reached England, by train and steamer, and on the 10th May, Ethel Lines gave an interview which was published in The Daily Telegraph in which she praised the heroism of American millionaire Alfred Vanderbilt and his valet Ronald Denyer, both of whom perished in the disaster.
People will not talk of Mr. Vanderbilt in future as the millionaire sportsman and man of pleasure. He will be remembered as the 'children's hero,' and men and women will salute his name. When death was nearing him he showed a gallantry which no words of mine can adequately describe. He stood outside the palm saloon on the starboard side, with Ronald Denyer, his aide. He looked round on the scene of horror and despair with pitying eyes. 'Find all the kiddies you can, boy,' he said to his valet. The man rushed off immediately, collecting the children, and as he brought them to Mr. Vanderbilt, the millionaire dashed to the boats, with two little ones in his arms every time.
When he could no longer find any more children he went to the assistance of the women, and placed as many as he could in safety. In all his work he was gallantly assisted by Ronald Denyer, and the two continued their efforts until the very end. I hope the young men of Britain will do the same for their
country now as Mr. Vanderbilt did for somebody's little ones.
Whether or not she witnessed the heroism or merely heard about it later, is not certain.
While recovering in England from her ordeal, Ethel Lines received a letter from a Mrs. Prichard, whose son, Richard Preston Prichard, was presumed lost in the sinking. Mrs. Prichard wrote to every survivor she could obtain an address for in an effort to obtain any information of her unfortunate son. Ethel Lines’ reply to the letter stated: -
My Dear Mrs. Prichard,
Your letter received and it is with deep regret that I can tell you nothing of your son. I was fortunate to be thrown into a boat which did not upset. My husband was only in the water a short time then pick up in a raft so neither of us can answer your questions.
With sincerest sympathy for you in your great sorrow.
Believe me,
Yours sincerely,
Ethel M. Lines.
On the 19th June 1915, Stanley and Ethel Lines boarded the American Lines steamer Philadelphia at Liverpool, for a return across the Atlantic and then on to Toronto. On their return, they lodged a claim for the loss of their personal effects in the sinking with the Canadian Commission. They were eventually awarded their full claim for $850.
Stanley and Ethel Lines went on to have two children – Margery Graham, born in October 1917, and Ernest Owen, born in January 1921. The lived for some years at 21. Regal Road, Toronto, and later at 90 Garfield Avenue in the city.
Ethel Lines accompanied her husband on visits back to England a number of times after surviving the sinking of the Lusitania; therefore her experiences didn’t deter her from trans-Atlantic voyages.
Ethel Lines died on the 22nd November 1961, aged 80 years. She was laid to rest in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, beside her husband who had died on the 10th April 1931, aged 45 years.
Pennsylvania U.S. Marriages 1852 – 1968, 1921 Census of Canada, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Cunard Records, Daily Telegraph, Philadelphia Public Ledger, Yorkshire Post, IWM GB62, Canadian Claims Case No. 763, PRO BT 100/345, Graham Maddocks, Gary Box, Leigh Box, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.