Stanley Dixon was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England, in 1908, the son of Arthur and Bertha Dixon (née Miller), who, by 1911, resided at “Northville”. Hazler Crescent, Church Stretton, Shropshire. His father was a commercial traveller, dealing in jewellery.
In 1914, Hirst Brothers of Oldham, who produced jewellery, time pieces, and optical goods, sent his father to establish a branch of their business in Auckland, New Zealand, and consequently took Stanley and his mother with him.
Following successful business there, the family decided to return to Oldham for a five week holiday, and consequently, they boarded the
Niagara at Sydney, Australia, and landed at Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, on the 10th April 1915. From there, they travelled by rail to New York. Once there, they boarded the
Lusitania's as second cabin passengers on the morning of 1st May 1915, at the Cunard berth at Pier 54, in time for her scheduled 10.00 a.m. departure.
This was then delayed until the early afternoon as the liner had to take on board passengers, crew and cargo from Anchor Liner
Cameronia which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war service. Then, six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, she was torpedoed by the German submarine
U-20 within sight of the coast of southern Ireland and only hours away from her Liverpool destination. She sank a mere 18 minutes later.
Stanley Dixon and his father were both killed as a result of this sinking and although Stanley’s mother Bertha survived, she sustained a serious fracture of the shoulder in the course of the action.
Neither the body of Stanley Dixon nor that of his father was ever recovered and as a consequence, neither has a known grave. Stanley Dixon was aged six years at the time of his death.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1911 Census of England & Wales, Cunard Records, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Oldham Evening Chronicle, Oldham Standard, Probate Records, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.