According to Cunard Records, William Culshaw was born in Liverpool, Lancashire England in 1888, and in 1915, he lived at 100, Buckingham Street, Everton, Liverpool.
Due to the number of men of the same name who lived in Liverpool at that time, it has not been possible to identify him further.
He was a professional seaman in the British Mercantile Marine and on the 12th April 1915, at Liverpool, he engaged as a fireman in the Engineering Department on board the Lusitania, at a monthly rate of pay of £6-10s.-0d. (£6.50p.). He then reported for duty at 8 a.m. five days later, before the liner left the River Mersey for the last time. His previous ship had been the White Star Liner Adriatic.
The Lusitania then crossed the Atlantic without incident and docked in New York on the 24th April 1915. She left there at 12.27 p.m. on the early afternoon of the 1st May, for her return voyage to Liverpool. Six days out of New York, on the afternoon of the 7th May, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine, U-20, within sight of the coast of southern Ireland and only at most 250 miles away from the safety of her home port.
William Culshaw was lucky enough to survive this action, however, and having been rescued from the sea, he was landed at Queenstown, from where he was eventually able to get back to his native city.
There, he was paid the balance of wages owing to him in respect of his time on board the Lusitania, which was reckoned from the 17th April until the 8th May 1915, 24 hours after the liner had gone down. This balance amounted to £2-14s.-0d. (£2.70p.).
Cunard Records, PRO BT 100/345, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.
Revised & Updated –26th January 2023.