Following publication in the Mail we received some interesting feedback, see below.

It had only been twelve months since Mr. and Mrs. Booth-Jones had left Marple to live in London. Mr. Booth-Jones was a very well respected antiques dealer with shops in St Anne's Square, Manchester, Chester and Bond Street, London, when he made the decision to move from their home at Prospect House, Strines. He needed to concentrate on the booming West End business and it was with feelings of sadness that the family left Marple.

The success continued, a business trip to America was combined with a family holiday and along with their eight year old daughter, Ailsa, and five year old son, Percival, they travelled across the Atlantic on one of the great steam liners of the time. The return trip was to be something special, sailing on the pride of the Cunard fleet, the "Lusitania".

On May 7th 1915 Commander Schweiger of the German navy was patrolling in the submarine U-20 off the southern coast of Ireland. Three months earlier on February 4th the Germans, unwilling to challenge Allied superiority on the surface, had established a submarine blockade around the UK and had declared any vessel in it a legitimate target.

At about 1.40p.m. Schweiger saw through his periscope a vessel approaching. Closer inspection identified it as Cunard's "Lusitania" on the final leg of its passage from New York to Liverpool. Seeing it as a "legitimate target" and after only initial hesitation he released two torpedoes, the first of which scored a direct hit. Within a mere 20 minutes the great liner sank along with almost 1200 of its passengers and crew, including the former Marplites.

The repercussions of this act of gross inhumanity were enormous. Amongst the innocent victims were 128 American citizens, this caused a great outcry in the United States. The German response was to claim that they had given clear warning that the area in which the ship was sunk was a war zone. They also claimed that they had irrefutable proof that the ship was carrying war material from the Americans to the British. Winston Churchill, who was then British First Sea Lord, admitted to the presence of a small quantity although it was widely thought that this quantity was in fact quite substantial.

In August, following the sinking of another passenger liner "Arabic" with further loss of American lives, the Germans ceased their policy of sinking passenger ships without warning in a bid to counteract anti German feeling in the US. American neutrality was to continue to be put under pressure and in April 1917 they entered the war on the side of the Allies.

Of the 1200 victims of the sinking of the "Lusitania" the Booth-Jones family were not the only local casualties. The Ships Bugler, Vernon Livermore, was a Hyde boy and only days before the tragedy he sent a letter to his mother in which he enclosed a poem that he claimed was very appropriate to the job in which he was employed.

The Merchant Service Man When you've feted Tommy Atkins at the finish of the war, And he's had the credit given which is due; When you've sung about Britannia and you've cheered for Johnny Tar, Who has kept her ever mistress of the blue; When the nurses and the doctors and the coppers all have been, Duly praised and they'll deserve it I admit, Would you kindly then remember Mr. Mercantile Marine, Who has also helped and done his little bit. He is dodging German cruisers in the open southern seas, With his hatches full of contraband of war; He is navigating channels where the mines are thick as peas, And with half the lights extinguished on the shore; From your colonies he's bringing many sturdy British sons, And from every place that's red upon the map; He is carrying your horses, ammunition, aye, and guns, And he's really quite a useful sort of chap; While your Johnny Tar is busy holding Billie's fleet at bay, In the metaphoric sunshine be it said; Mr. Merchantman is toiling making metaphoric hay, And he's working so that England may be fed; In his twenty thousand tons, in his cockleshells and tanks, Or in aught a trifle larger than a tub; Fully laden to the Plimsoll, he is worthy of your thanks, Who supplies your Mother Country with her Grub. Douglas R.P. Coats

An interesting story that emerged from the sinking tells of how one of the stokers from the ship was pulled from the sea alive. His name was Frank Turner and obviously he was never destined to drown as he had also survived the sinking of "The Titanic" and "The Empress of Ireland".

Following the appearance of this article in our regular feature "Local Heritage and History with the Marple Website" in the October 2000 issue of the Romiley and Marple Mail we were contacted by Mrs. Edwards of Marple, who got in touch about an item she though may interest us. After the sinking of the Lusitania the German government gave permission for the striking of a commemorative medallion and Mrs. Edwards is fortunate enough to own one of these.

The medallion is approximately 70mm (2¾") in diameter and is macabre in its design. On one side it shows an illustration of the ship in the last throws of sinking, with the inscription KEINE BANN WARE (No banned goods), DER GROSSDANPFER LUSITANIA (The great liner Lusitania), DURCH EIN DEUTSHES TAVCHBOOT VERSENKT (Sunk by a German Submarine), 5 May 1915. The goods referred to are presumably the arms shipment reputed to have been on board.

On the reverse a large group of people can be seen queuing to buy tickets from the Cunard ticket office for the ships final journey, however, the ticket box is manned by a skeleton. This side is inscribed with the words GESCHAFT UBER ALLES (Business over everything).

We would like to thank Mrs. Edwards for allowing us to see her medallion and if anyone else has any interesting relics or photographs connected with Marple's history, or would like to contribute to the web site in any other way, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Please get in touch using our contact us page if you have anything interesting to share.