Ignaty Lichacz was probably born in Kostyki, near Vilnius, Lithuania, then part of Imperial Russia, in 1891. Nothing much is known about him, except he was a married man, his wife’s name being Sofia, and that he worked as a labourer.
In the summer of 1913, he left his home and travelled west until he arrived in Rotterdam, Holland, where he boarded the Volturno on the 10th July. On arriving in New York City, he stated that he was going to his uncle who resided in Claremont, New Hampshire.
Presumably he found work in Claremont, or in nearby Windsor, Vermont, but in the spring of 1915, maybe because of the military situation in northern Europe between the Russian and German armies, he decided to return home and as a result, booked third cabin passage on the May sailing of the Lusitania to England, on the first part of his journey home.
Having left Windsor at the end of April, he arrived at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York harbour on the morning of 1st May, in time for her morning sailing. This was actually delayed until just after mid-day because she had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the S.S. Cameronia, an Anchor Lines ship, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for service as a troop ship, at the end of April.
Six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20, twelve miles off the coast of southern Ireland, and only hours away from her home port.
Ignaty Lichacz was one of 69 Russian nationals on board at the time, and he was one of the 40 of them who were killed. He was aged 23 years and as his body was never recovered and identified afterwards, he has no known grave.
The official list of passenger victims published by Cunard in March 1916 lists Ignaty Lichacz as Ignatii Lichaczow, but this is believed to be erroneous and that his correct name was, indeed, Lichacz, although the spelling of his forename could be one of a number of possibilities.
New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, PRO BT 100/345, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.