John Bowen Spillman was born in Barnton, Cheshire, England, on the 2nd November 1881, the son of John and Ann Spillman (née Haddock). His father was a labourer and John had a younger sister, named Mary Eliza, who was born in 1883. His mother died in 1886, followed by his father in 1890, leaving John and his sister orphans. They were brought up through childhood by their mother’s extended family.
On completing his education, he became a chemical analyst, and later an engine oiler
for a chemical manufacturer. In the summer of 1908, he married Elizabeth Houghton, who was also from Barnton, and the couple resided at 56. Townfield Lane, Barnton.
In 1913, the couple immigrated to Wyandotte, Michigan, where an uncle of John Spillman lived, and the couple set up their home at 70. Maple Street, Wyandotte.
In early 1915, John Spillman spent nine weeks in hospital with typhoid fever, and following is recovery, he and his wife decided to return to England for a holiday and visit relatives. Consequently, they booked as second cabin passengers on the May sailing of the Lusitania.
Having left Wyandotte at the end of April, the couple joined the Lusitania at Pier 54 in New York port, on the morning of 1st May 1915, in time for her scheduled 10.00 a.m. departure. The liner’s sailing was delayed until the afternoon as she had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Liner Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war work at the end of April. The Lusitania finally left the port just after mid-day and just six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May; she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20. At that point, she was twelve miles off the coast of southern Ireland and only 250 miles away from her home port and destination.
Both John and Elizabeth Spillman were killed as a result of this action - united in death as they had been in life. John Spillman was aged 33 years, and his wife, 30 years.
John Spillman's corpse was recovered from the sea and landed at Queenstown where it was given the identification number 26. From property recovered from it, however, some intimation of its identity must have been discovered, and his father-in-law, Mr. Rathbone was summoned to Queenstown to effect a positive identification.
Once this gruesome task was carried out, the body was buried in The Old Church Cemetery, Queenstown, on 15th May 1915, in Mass Grave B, 5th Row, Upper Tier, where it lies today. In company with all those buried in the mass graves, there is nothing there to show his final resting place. No sign of Eliza Spillman, alive or dead was ever found.
The property recovered from John Spillman's body was handed to the American Vice-Consul, Mr. L.C. Thompson at the American Consulate, in Queenstown.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Cheshire Diocese of Chester Parish Baptism 1538 – 1911, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, U.S. Border Crossings from Canada to U.S. 1895 – 1960, Cunard Records, 1915 Wyandotte City Directory, Runcorn Guardian, Runcorn Weekly News, Widnes Weekly News, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv D92/2/67, 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.