Evelyn Thomson was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England in 1880, the daughter of Lamont Augustus and Magdalena Thomson (née Hatter). Her father worked for the tramway company.
On the 6th September 1903, she married Thomas Dhenin at St. Leonard’s Church, Bootle, Liverpool, and within a few months, the couple were expecting their first child. Their son, Thomas, was born in late 1904, but it is believed that before his birth, his father had travelled to Brooklyn, New York City, in the United States of America, in search of work.
In October 1906, Evelyn and her son had joined Thomas Dhenin in New York City, and the family established their home at 58th Street, Brooklyn. In 1909, Evelyn and her son had made a return visit to England, and in April 1913, the entire family returned to England, but this time they were accompanied by their second child, a daughter name Isabella, who was born in late 1912. Whereas Evelyn’s husband returned to Brooklyn after a short period, Evelyn and her children, Thomas and Isabella, remained in England until August 1914.
Then, in early 1915, Evelyn Dhenin’s mother became very ill and the family decided to return from New York, where they lived, to England, to be with her. As a consequence, they booked as third class passengers on what proved to be the
Lusitania’s final voyage. With ticket number 1965, the family arrived at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York on the morning of 1st May 1915, in time for her scheduled 10 o’clock sailing, but this was then postponed until the afternoon as 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.
The Lusitania finally left port just after mid-day and just six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May; she was torpedoed by the German submarine
U-20 off The Old Head of Kinsale in southern Ireland and only 250 miles hours away from her Liverpool home port and destination.
When the Cunarder was struck, the Dhenin children were playing together out of sight and their parents and each went in a different direction to look for them. They were eventually found, and Evelyn and the two children were last seen being put into one of the ship’s lifeboats before it was lowered.
Although Thomas senior survived, after jumping into the water, the other three were all killed and it is likely that their lifeboat was one of those which capsized, spilling its occupants into the sea.
Despite gruesome searches of the mortuaries in Queenstown and rigorous enquires in Wales and the Isle of Man, nothing was ever seen of Evelyn or her children again. As a consequence, they have no known grave.
Evelyn Dhenin was aged 34 years.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Liverpool England Church of England Marriages and Banns 1813 – 1921, 1881 Census of England & Wales, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, Cunard Records, PRO BT 100/345, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Olivia Isherwood, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.