The Lusitania Resource
Mrs. HARRY BEAUCHAMP LASSETTER (ELISABETH ANNE ANTILL), Saloon Class Passenger

[No Picture Provided]

Elisabeth Anne Antill, 43, was born 30 July 1871 to John Macquarie Antill (born 31 May 1822) and Jesse Hassal Campbell (born 28 March 1834).  On 19 August 1891 Elizabeth married Colonel, and later Major General, H. B. Lassetter (born 19 March 1860).  Before the First World War began, her husband was a Colonel in command of the Second Australian Light Horse Brigade.  Together, the Lassetters had a son, Frederick Macquarie Lassetter (born 30 July 1892) and lived in Australia.

Elisabeth was traveling on the Lusitania with her son Frederick, a lieutenant in the King's Own Light Infantry.  They were returning home after a long visit with relatives in Los Angeles, California, United States while Frederick was on leave convalesing from wounds he suffered in Flanders.  The Lassetters were friends with Harold Boulton and Commander J. Foster Stackhouse

Elisabeth was very protective of her jewels and after reading the warning the German Embassy issued on the morning the Lusitania left New York, she was determined to save them and carried them with her everywhere all through the voyage.  When the Lusitania was struck, Elisabeth was at lunch and thought it was a "dull, far off knock."  At that moment, and then for the first time during the whole voyage, she forgot about her jewels and left the dining room.  Margaret, Lady Mackworth, hearing of Elisabeth's story remarked in her autobiography This Was My World, "I suppose they[, the jewels,] are on that luncheon table still."

Frederick found her and after finding lifebelts, they went up on deck.  There they saw Stackhouse give his lifebelt to a little girl and assist with loading the lifeboats.  He was explaining to those he helped that he could not join them because "There are others who must go first."

Harold Boulton met up with the Lassetters on deck.  Boulton and the young Lieutenant helped Elisabeth into a portside lifeboat.  The following is Elisabeth Lassetter's testimony at the inquiry:

1940
(Q):  Did you hear any order given after you were in the boat?
(A):  Quite distinctly I heard the order. We were in the first boat on the portside next to the Captain's bridge; I do not know what the number of the boat was.  [Note:  according to the deck plan, this would have been lifeboat #2]

1941
(Q):  What order did you hear given?
(A):  I heard him first give the order (he was on the bridge at the time); "All women and children into boats," and it was because of that order that we got into the boat, and directly I got into the boat I heard the order:  "All women and children out of the boats."

1942
(Q):  What happened then?
(A):  My son got me out of the boat.

1943
(Q):  And all the others as well?
(A):  All the others got out of the boat.

1944
(Q):  What happened to you then?
(A):  I then asked my son what he thought was the best thing to do, and I also spoke to Commander Stackhouse who was standing by us, and he did not answer.  My son saw she was sinking very quickly and I think we were the last to leave the ship, and he and Mr. Bolton and I clasped hands, jumped into the water.

Boulton instructed a nervous Elisabeth to remove her skirt.  Harold, Elisabeth, and Frederick, in that order, held hands and jumped about ninety feet into the ocean.  Frederick and Elisabeth bobbed up next to each other in the swirling water and held onto some flotsam.  They next saw Harold Boulton not far away, floating on "a square box about 4 feet 6 inches."  This box may have been a box used to store lifebelts on deck, but it was later sensationalitically reported to be "the saloon grand piano of the Lusitania[.]"  Lassetter and Boulton managed to get Elisabeth onto the box even though she was knocked over by the waves a number of times.  The men put Elisabeth in the center and linked arms to hold her up.

Elisabeth thought she had seen Charles Learoyd lying on a piece of wreckage, but as he didn't respond, she concluded he was dead.

The three rode the waves on their box for three hours before being picked up by the "Greek" Katrina, actually the SS Westborough in disguise.

Major General Lassetter went to Ireland to collect Frederick and Elisabeth upon hearing news of the Lusitania's demise.
Contributors:
Michael Poirier
Judith Tavares
Hildo Thiel

References:
Hickey, Des and Gus Smith.  Seven Days to Disaster.  G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1981.

 Hoehling, A. A. and Mary Hoehling.  The Last Voyage of the Lusitania.  Madison Books, 1956.

The New York Times, Tuesday, 11 May 1915, page 2

Preston, Diana.  Lusitania:  An Epic Tragedy.  Berkley Books, 2002.

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