Lydia May was born in Armley, Leeds Yorkshire, England, on the 7th December 1883, the daughter of Nathaniel ‘Nathan’ Forth and Mary Elizabeth May (née Kay). Her father was working in the engineering department of a railway company. The family home was at Mistress Lane, Armley.
On the 24th December 1906, she married Arthur Grandidge, described as a forgeman, at the parish church of St. John the Evangelist, Wortley-De-Leeds. The couple established their home at 28. Fitz Arthur Street, Tong Road, Armley. Their first born child, a son named Arthur Willie was born in early 1910, but died in infancy. Their second child, a daughter named Eva Mary, was born to them in November 1911. By the time their daughter was born, Arthur Grandidge was employed as a conductor on the electric trams running in Leeds.
On the 18th June 1912, the family of three boarded the Caronia in Liverpool, and disembarked in New York City on the 26th June. Their destination was Yonkers, New York, where both Arthur and Lydia had siblings living and working. In 1915, they lived at 8, Highfield Avenue, Yonkers, New York.
In the spring of 1915; however, Lydia Grandidge decided to return home to England for a holiday, and booking second cabin passage for herself and her daughter on the May sailing of the
Lusitania, travelled from her home to catch the liner’s scheduled morning sailing on 1st May 1915, from her berth at Pier 54 in New York port.
This sailing was then delayed until the early afternoon as the Lusitania
had to take on board passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Liner Cameronia,
which the British Admiralty had requisitioned for use as a troop ship at the end of April
and six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine
U-20 off the southern coast of Ireland and only hours away from her Liverpool home port and destination.
Both Lydia Grandidge and her daughter were killed as a result of this action and although the body of her daughter was later recovered from the sea, that of Lydia Grandidge never was. She was aged 31 years.
On 20th May 1915, a letter arrived in the Cunard office in Queenstown from Arthur Grandidge giving a detailed description of his wife and daughter. That of his wife stated: -
Heavily built, hair “light sandy”. Scar on inner side of wrist. Jewellery four rings on fingers, one wedding ring with three small stones, inscribed “Lydia May”
Mr Grandidge also asked for any information concerning his wife or daughter to be passed on to him at the Yonkers address or to Mr. J. Sunderland at ‘Lyndhurst’, Seamer Street, Armley, Leeds, Yorkshire.
Some weeks after the sinking, Arthur Grandidge’s address was shown to be 161, Stanley Avenue, Yonkers.
Arthur Grandidge remained in the United States of America, married a widow, who had a number of children, and was widowed again. He died in Yonkers, New York, on the 28th November 1934.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, West Yorkshire England Church of England Marriages and Banns 1813 – 1935, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv D92/2/35, 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.