Martijn Van Straaten was born in The Hague, The Netherlands, on the 23rd December 1865, the son of Willem and Sara Van Straaten (née Lansberg). He was one of three known children in the family, who were of the Jewish faith. His family were well-known art dealers.
In the 1880’s, Martijn Van Straaten moved to London, England, where he established his company, Martin Van Straaten and Company. He dealt in imported Chinese tiles, delft tiles, Asian tapestries, and other antiques.
On the 18th August 1891, he married Betsij Adèle Lazare in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and by 1915, they lived at 63, Avenue Road, St. John‘s Wood, Middlesex, with their two children a girl named Cissy and a boy. In 1908, he had become a naturalized British subject.
In the spring of 1915, he had been in New York, N.Y., in the United States of America, on business. Whilst there, he stayed at The Waldorf Astoria Hotel and for his return, (probably booked before he left England), he was scheduled to join the Lusitania on May Day for her voyage back to Liverpool.
Consequently, he boarded the liner (with ticket number 46060), at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York harbour on the morning of 1st May 1915 and was shown to room B40, which was the personal responsibility of First Class Bedroom Steward James Grant who came from West Derby, a suburb of Liverpool.
The liner actually left America for the last time just after mid-day, having been delayed from her scheduled 10.00 a.m. departure by having to load passengers, cargo, and some of the crew from the Anchor Lines Cameronia, which the British Admiralty had requisitioned for service as a troop ship. Then, days out of New York and only hours away from her home port, within sight of the southern Irish coast, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20. Martin Van Straaten was killed as a result of this action, although his body was recovered from the sea afterwards. He was aged 49 years.
Having been landed at Queenstown and taken to one of the temporary mortuaries set up there, it was given the reference number 203 - indicating that it was one of the last to be found - and described as: -
Martin van Straaton, (sic) Saloon. Aged 43 years, 5’ 9” high, cropped light moustache.
Property. I gold watch with sovereign case attached, 1 gold chain, 1 pair spectacles, 3 gold rings 1 initialled “W.S.” 1 magnifying glass, 1 match box, 4 half sovereigns, 6/6 in silver, 1 bunch of keys, 1 pencil, 3 studs, t penknife, 1 tie pin, 1£2 Treasury Note, 1 10/- Treasury Note, 1 £20 Bank of England Note, 1 £10 Bank of England, 1 £5 Bank of England Note, 2 20$ Bills, 1 10$ Bill, 1%$ Bill, 1 2 $ Bill, 1 1$ Bill.
It is probable that the initials W.S on one of the gold rings was actually V.S.
.
Once it had been positively identified, however, it was embalmed and then, on 17th May, it was sent to London for burial in Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery, London. On 4th June 1915, the property recovered from it, which probably aided its identification, was sent to Charles Arthur Cohen, who was a solicitor and an executor to Martin Van Straaten’s will, at 25, Finsbury Square, London E.C.. One week later, on 11th June, probate of his estate was granted jointly to Charles Cohen, a Jewish Rabbi named Walter Levin and his widow, Betsy. His effects amounted to £34,479-13s-11d., (£34,479.80p.), a considerable amount in 1915!
Bedroom Steward Grant, who had looked after Martin Van Straaten in room B40, survived the sinking and eventually made it back to his West Derby home.
It is known that 32 packages of diamonds in a sack were recovered from the sea after the liner had gone down and later given in to the authorities, who eventually returned them to the original owners. It is possible that these diamonds were the property of Martin Van Straaten
Netherlands Civil Marriage Index 1795 – 1950, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, UK Naturalization Certificates and Declarations 1870 – 1916, Hampstead & Highgate Express, Probate Records, PRO 22/71, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv.D92/1/8-11, UniLiv D92/2/445, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, David Wright, John A. Troostwyk, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.