Sarah Wilson was born in Wragby, Yorkshire, England, in 1892, the daughter of Robert and Margaret Wilson (née Hoggard). She was the second eldest of four children and her father was a domestic gardener.
By 1911, she was employed as a children’s nurse by the Windham family at Waghen Hall, near Hull, Yorkshire, and later moved to a position in London.
In September 1913, she boarded the St. Paul at Southampton, Hampshire, and immigrated to the United States of America, where she found a position in Brooklyn, New York City.
In the spring of 1915, however, perhaps because of the war in Europe, she decided to return home and as a consequence, booked second cabin passage on the May sailing of the Lusitania from New York to Liverpool.
The vessel was scheduled to leave Pier 54 in New York harbour at 10.00 a.m. on 1st May 1915, but her sailing was delayed, as she had to embark crew passengers and cargo from the Anchor Liner S.S. Cameronia, which the British Admiralty requisitioned for war work as a troopship at the end of April. As a result, she didn’t leave until the early
afternoon.
Six days out of New York, on the afternoon of 7th May, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20 off the coast of southern Ireland, within hours of reaching her home port.
Sarah Wilson was one of the victims of the sinking. She was aged 23 years.
On 19th May 1915, a letter from New York was received at the Cunard office at Lynch’s Quay in Queenstown seeking information about Sarah Wilson and giving a detailed description. It stated: -
Age 23 years Weight 165 pounds Height five feet seven or eight Hair straight black Scar on palm of right hand running from thumb to wrist. In case of identification notify relatives
c/o The Rectory
Armthorpe
Doncaster Yorkshire England.
This was where her parents were residing, from at least 1913, and where her father was presumably the gardener. Despite the description, her body was not recovered and identified afterwards, and as a result, she has no known grave.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, PRO BT 100/345, 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.