Mr. STEWART SOUTHAM MASON, Saloon Class Passenger
[No Picture Provided]
Stewart Mason, 30, was born on 5 February 1885 to Mr. and Mrs. Herbert
Wilberforce Mason of Manor House, Sproughton, Ipswich, England.
He was the nephew of the English bishop of the same name at the
time. Stewart attended
Christ College at the University of Oxford and graduated in the class
of
1906.
Stewart visited the United States in 1907 after crossing on the Oceanic,
then again in 1911 after crossing on the Lusitania.
Presumably
on one of these visits Stewart met Leslie
Lindsey,
as in April of 1915, Stewart came to the United States again, this time
on
the St. Louis with Leslie's brother Kenneth, to claim Leslie as
his
bride.
On Wednesday, 21 April 1915, Stewart and Leslie were wed in Boston's
Emmanuel
Church. They were to sail on the Lusitania for their
honeymoon
and then make their home in Riverdale, Woodbridge, Suffolk, England.
Accompanying
the newlyweds was Oliver Bernard, an
artist
from Convent Garden, London, England, who was working in Boston for
Leslie's
father, arms manufacturer William Lindsey, for the latter's production
of what Oliver called "a deplorable play set round medieval
Picardy[.]"
Onboard the Lusitania, Leslie and Stewart often kept to
themselves and did not bother Oliver much. As Oliver was also not
too fond
of romantic love, he was quite relieved. Leslie and Stewart were
present at the ship's concert on Thursday night.
When the torpedo struck on Friday afternoon, Stewart and Leslie were
separated. Leslie was frantic in searching for Stewart and
pleaded with Oliver for help. Oliver told Leslie to stay in the
verandah café while he went searching for Stewart and lifebelts.
Oliver's search for Stewart was unsuccessful, and when he
returned to the café he discovered
that Leslie was gone. It is not known whether Leslie and Stewart
were
ever reunited as they both perished.
Per the list of interments in Queenstown, Ireland, Stewart Mason was
body #59, Common Grave B. His bride was buried back in the
United States, where an ocean now separates the two lovers.
Stewart's name is sometimes misspelled "Stuart Mason."
Related: Stewart and
Leslie Mason Gallery
Contributors:
Carole Lindsay
Judith Tavares
References:
Ballard, Dr. Robert D. and Spencer Dunmore. Exploring the Lusitania.
Warner Books, 1995.
Boston Globe. Globe Pequot Press.
Ellis Island Records. Online. <http://www.ellisislandrecords.org>
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.
Preston, Diana. Lusitania: An Epic Tragedy.
Berkeley Books, 2002.
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