Edwin Martin Collis, known as Martin, was born on the 28th September 1877 in Riverside, Illinois, in the United States of America, the son of George Smith and Elizabeth Collis (née Martin). Both of his parents had been born in England and had emigrated to the United States of America some years before his birth. His father was a landscape gardener, and Edwin was one of two children, his sister, Annie, being 25 years older than him!
On leaving school, Edwin worked as a clerk in the accounts department of the local electricity company – the Commonwealth Edison Company, and he was also a volunteer firefighter in the Riverside Fire Department. On the 4th April 1907, he married Clara Barnes Thomlinson in Riverside, setting up their home at 134. Herick Road, Riverside, and the couple eventually had two children – Mary Jane, born in 1913, and Edwin Martin Jr., born in 1917. As a result of an accident when he was a child, Edwin had no sight in his right eye.
In the spring of 1915, Edwin had to cross the Atlantic Ocean to settle an estate in England. Presumably this was the estate of a relative as his mother had died in 1882, and his father in 1906. As a result, Edwin left Chicago at the end of April and travelled by rail to New York where he boarded the Lusitania at her berth at Pier 54 in New York harbour, on the morning of 1st May as a second cabin passenger. He shared cabin C9 with Guy Cockburn, William Mitchellhill, and Edward Peacock.
He survived the sinking of the Lusitania by the U-20, just six days later, when the liner was only twelve miles off the southern coast of Ireland and only hours away from her Liverpool destination. Having jumped into the sea when the liner was about to go down, he was eventually picked up and landed at Queenstown, from where he made it safely to England. He gave interviews concerning his experiences of the sinking to representatives of the press, presumably whilst he was still in Queenstown, and these appeared in several newspapers over the next week.
In The Yorkshire Observer on 10th May 1915, he described his experiences thus: -
I came over on the Lusitania to do business in London. I was standing on the upper deck a little aft of midships, when the liner was torpedoed. The water was like a mill pond. I saw the wake of the torpedo; it looked like a sky-rocket tearing through the water. Then there was a thud, and I guessed the ship had been struck.
Several people yelled "Here comes another." Before I could look round, the ship gave a lurch, and the passengers were thrown all over the place. The order was given for the lifeboats to be lowered, and these were quickly filled.
Seeing there was no chance for a boat, I jumped into the sea and swam about until I was able to grasp a plank of wood. I was in the water for two hours. The scenes were awful. Dead bodies were floating about and hundreds of people were struggling for life. Eventually, a fishing smack came along and picked me up.
Another of his accounts, syndicated in the world press, stated: -
I distinctly saw the wake of the torpedo as it bore down on the liner. I was standing on the upper deck a little aft of midships, and was looking over the water, just thinking that our ocean trip was soon to end, and that within a few hours we would be in England.
The water was like a millpond - and then suddenly, with the speed of a rocket, came the disturbance on the surface of the water which showed that an attack was being made upon us.
The trail of the torpedo was unmistakable; there was no violent upheaval of spray but there it was - a momentary warning, then disaster, and hundreds of people struggling for life.
The torpedo came into contact with the ship with a dull, heavy thud, and it was speedily apparent that the liner was doomed. I cannot say anything as to the second and third torpedoes reported to have struck the Lusitania. All I know is that there was a call to launch the boats and that no time was to be wasted in that, for the liner was surely sinking.
In The Tragedy of the Lusitania, written by Captain Frederick D. Ellis and published in America not long after the sinking, Martin Collis (although he is referred to in the book as Collins) is reported to have given a slightly different version of the story: -
A remarkable case of aphasia - temporary lapse of memory - is noted in that of E. M. Collins, a Chicago business man. According to Mr. Collins, many passengers saw the torpedo coming for the ship. Even when it struck nobody seemed worried. None of the passengers imagined that the explosion meant death for the ship and for a majority of the persons on board, for the shock was hardly perceptible.
The effect was realized, however, when the great vessel began to keel over at an alarming rate. Mr. Collins said his own escape was almost miraculous, for he didn't know anything about it until he found himself in a boat on the way to Queenstown.
In an account published in The West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser on Thursday 13th May 1915, a description of fellow second cabin survivor Frederick Milford’s survival after the sinking stated: -
He was in the water for 20 minutes before being picked up by a boat. This boat was still connected to the davits by a rope and had not his friend Mr. Edward Collins cut the rope with a penknife in the nick of time, the boat would have been pulled under when the Lusitania went down.
Two of his cabin mates – Guy Cockburn and Edward Peacock also survived the sinking, however, William Mitchellhill was never heard from again and was presumed dead. He eventually made his way to London, where he stayed at Sutties Clarendon Hotel, off Russell Square.
Edwin must have not suffered any serious trauma or injuries in the sinking, and on reaching England, he must have conducted his business very quickly, for on the 26th May he boarded the
S.S. Philadelphia at Liverpool, and disembarked in New York City on the 3rd June, following an uneventful voyage. From there he returned to his home in Riverside.
Edwin later worked as a shipping clerk for Wells & Co., until he reached the age of retirement.
On the 8th May 1946, Edwin Collis died in Riverside, aged 68 years. His remains were interred at Forest Park Cemetery, Cook County, Illinois, beside his beloved wife, Clara, who had pre-deceased him in 1939.
Cook County Illinois Birth Certificates Index 1871 – 1922, Cook County Illinois Marriages Index 1871 – 1920, 1880 U.S. Federal Census, 1900 U.S. Federal Census, 1910 U.S. Federal Census, 1920 U.S. Federal Census, 1930 U.S. Federal Census, U.S. Passport Applications 1795 – 1925, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Aberdeen Daily Journal, Cunard Records, Tragedy of the Lusitania, West Briton & Cornwall Advertiser, Yorkshire Observer, UniLiv D92/2/400, Graham Maddocks, Stuart Williamson, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.