Young Survivor of Lusitania
5/24/1915
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The RMS Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-Boat (submarine) on Friday, May 7, 1915, eleven miles off of the coast of Ireland. Among the dead were at least 120 Americans. The sinking of the Lusitania helped to turn public opinion against Germany in America. The United States formally entered WWI two years later.
The original caption for this photograph reads; Young survivor of the Lusitania who lost father, mother, sister, and brother in disaster. Little Helen Smythe was rescued from the sea by Ernest Cowper, a journalist from Toronto, Canada, when the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine. She was unaware of the fate of her father, mother, sister and brother who were aboard the ill-fated ship. May 24, 1915.
The original caption for this photograph reads; Young survivor of the Lusitania who lost father, mother, sister, and brother in disaster. Little Helen Smythe was rescued from the sea by Ernest Cowper, a journalist from Toronto, Canada, when the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine. She was unaware of the fate of her father, mother, sister and brother who were aboard the ill-fated ship. May 24, 1915.
This primary source comes from the Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs.
National Archives Identifier: 45555930
Full Citation: Photograph 165-WW-537F-25; U-Boat Victims - Lusitania ; 5/24/1915; U-Boat Victims - Lusitania; American Unofficial Collection of World War I Photographs, 1917 - 1918; Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, Record Group 165; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/young-survivor-lusitania, December 3, 2023]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
