Matthew Muir was born in Mauchline, Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1852. Nothing is known of his family or early life. He was married to Mary Dalzell, but it is not known when they married, or if they had any children. Their home was at 20. Spindlehowe Road, Uddingston, Lanarkshire.
He became a missionary, and had been to the United States of America several times from, at least 1901. In August 1913, he had again travelled there, his destination being Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 1915, after spending over a year and a half preaching in the United States of America and Canada, he decided to return to his wife in Uddingston. As a result, he purchased a second cabin ticket on the May sailing of the Lusitania from New York to Liverpool, which was scheduled to depart from the Cunard berth at Pier 54 at 10.00 a.m., on 1st May 1915.
Having left Philadelphia, probably at the end of April, he boarded the liner in time for her scheduled departure, but then had to wait until the early afternoon before she actually sailed. This was because she had to load cargo and take on board the passengers and some of the crew from the Anchor Liner Cameronia which the British Admiralty had requisitioned at New York, for use as a troop ship.
Six days out of New York, on the afternoon of 7th May, the Lusitania was torpedoed by U-Boat U-20, twelve miles off The Old Head of Kinsale in southern Ireland and foundered within eighteen minutes. At that stage of her voyage, she was only twelve or fourteen hours steaming time away from the safety of her home port.
Matthew Muir managed to survive this action, however and having been rescued from the sea, he was landed at Queenstown. His ordeal had either rendered him ill or had injured him in some way, however, for he was taken straight to the local hospital for treatment, although he was released within three days, on 10th May, and continued on his journey to Scotland.
Matthew Muir made a number of return visits to Canada and the United States of America after surviving his ordeal.
He died in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, on the 13th February 1926, aged 73 years.
1881 Census of Scotland, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Canada Ocean Arrivals 1919 – 1924, Cunard Records, Scotland, Ireland and Wales Military Attestation Papers 1800 – 1915, British Army Service Records, UniLiv.D92/1/8-10, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.