Andrew Kay Robertson was born in Jarrow, County Durham, England in 1890, the son, and one of ten children, of George Spence and Helen Robertson (née Kay). His father was a ship’s caulker, and the family home for many years was at 20. Cobden Street, Jarrow, and later 55. Cobden Street.
Andrew Robinson was a ship’s engineer, and in March 1913, he had travelled to New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States of America, to join the crew of the S.S. Ceiba, a passenger/cargo ship belonging to Vaccaro Brothers Steam Ship Company Limited. The vessel had been built in 1911 by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Limited, on the banks of the River Tyne, and it is possible that Andrew Robertson had worked on her construction. The vessel carried passengers and fruit between New Orleans and South America.
In the spring of 1915, however, he decided to return to Great Britain, possibly because he thought his skills might be better used in Britain for the war effort, and consequently, he booked as second cabin passenger on the May sailing of the Lusitania, which was scheduled to leave New York for Liverpool on 1st May 1915.
Having left New Orleans some time in April, presumably by rail, he arrived in New York on that morning, in time to board the liner at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 on the west side of that city. He then had to wait until just after mid-day before the Lusitania actually left port because she had to load cargo and embark passengers and crew from the Anchor Liner the S.S. Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war service as a troop ship at the end of April.
The Lusitania was then torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20, just six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Walther Schwieger. At that stage of her voyage, she was off The Old Head of Kinsale, in southern Ireland and only about fourteen hours steaming time away from the safety of her home port!
Andrew Robinson lost his life as a result of this action and as his body was never recovered and identified afterwards, he has no known grave. He was aged 25 years at the time.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 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, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.