Harry Lindley as born in Great Britain in 1891, the son of Frederick and Emma Lindley (née Brown). His father’s occupation was described as being a “white metal stamper”, and the family home was at 44, Creswick Street, Sheffield, Yorkshire. Harry was the youngest of five children, and when he was aged just 3 years, his mother died. Harry’s father re-married and fathered a further four children.
He was a machine operator by trade and sometime after 1911, he went to the United States of America, and settled in Toledo, Ohio, where he found employment with the Overland Company. He was also a talented footballer, playing outside right for the Royal Standard team in the city. He lodged with a Mrs. Irwin, at 675. Platt Street, Toledo.
In the spring of 1915, however, he decided to return to Sheffield and enlist in the army, and as a consequence, booked third cabin passage for himself on the Lusitania and joined her before she left New York harbour just after mid-day on 1st May 1915. Her scheduled time of departure had been 10.00 a.m., but this had to be postponed because she had to embark passengers, cargo and some of the crew of the Anchor Lines ship the S.S. Cameronia, which was requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war work as a troop ship at the end of April.
Six days later, the Lusitania was torpedoed by the German submarine U-20 whilst twelve miles off the coast of Ireland and only hours away from her home port. She then sank within 20 minutes. Harry Lindley was killed as a result of this action. He was aged 24 years.
Some time after the sinking, a brief description of him was sent to the Cunard office at Queenstown by a Walter Machin of 58, Creswick Street, who must have been a neighbour or relative, in the hope that it might match any of the many recovered corpses lying in the town. It stated: -
Fair hair, Fresh complexion, Broad.
Despite the letter, no corpse matched this brief description and as a consequence, Harry Lindley has no known grave. A report in The New York Times of 31st May 1915 does state that his remains were returned to New York, but this must have been erroneous.
In the summer of 1915, an application was made to The Lusitania Relief Fund, (which was administered by The Lord Mayor of Liverpool), by Harry Lindley’s mother, on behalf of herself and her husband, for financial assistance in respect of their son’s loss. This was granted on 11th June when a cheque for £2-0s-0d was sent to her. A further sum of £0-5s-0d., (£0.25p.), was granted on a weekly basis thereafter, to be administered through a charitable organisation known as The Guild of Help. It is not known for how long she was in receipt of these payments.
The Lusitania Relief Fund had been set up immediately after the liner had gone down, by The Lord Mayor of Liverpool and other local businessmen to help second and third class passenger survivors and the relatives of those who had perished, who had come upon hard times as a result of the sinking. It was thought that saloon class passengers were wealthy enough not to need help and each claim was met on its merits.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, Cunard Records, Liverpool Record Office, New York Times, Sheffield Daily Telegraph, Toledo News Bee, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv D92/2/46, 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.