Mr. WALLACE BANTA PHILLIPS, Saloon
Class Passenger
image:
New York World, May
1915.
Wallace Phillips was born in Manhattan, New York, United States to
Henry W. and Ella Phillips. He graduated from the United States Naval
Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1911. Shortly afterwards, Phillips
went abroad to become managing director and chairman of the Pyrene
Company, Ltd. As of
1915 his home address was 29 Lefferts Place, Brooklyn, New York.
On the Lusitania, Wallace Banta Phillips occupied cabin B-12.
He was an admirer of actress Rita Jolivet
and was often seen with the "theatrical set" onboard.
On the day of the disaster, Phillips was standing in the foyer near the
entrance to the B Deck promenade when a woman and two or three
children,
possibly Dorothy Allen and the
Crompton
children, rushed in yelling "torpedo!"
At the moment of impact, Phillips thought that the "shock to the vessel
was considerable." As he watched the unfolding action, an "immense
column of water, carrying with it al kinds of debris, shot up from the
side of
the vessel, and through the promenade deck, so far as I noticed,
despite
the fact it was a solid wave, it swept right by the open doorways and
windows and did not enter the interior of the ship."
He was one of the last people to see William
Hodges as Hodges was leaving his portside A Deck cabin with
lifebelts.
Phillips then crossed over to the starboard side and boarded lifeboat
#15. Lifeboat #15 had a terrible time trying to get away from the
ship, and the lifeboat finally got away due to a collapsible sliding
off the ship and nudging them forward. The Marconi aerial fell
onto the boat,
but the wire snapped and the boat escaped. When the ship went
down, boat
#15 was whirled around the vortex a few times and managed to get free.
During the First World War, Wallace Phillips served in civilian
capacity and assisted in the selection of loactions for airplane bases.
In 1940, he was the leader founder of the American Ambulance - Great
Britain, which bought and operated 350 ambulances during the Second
World War.
After the United States declared war in 1941, Wallace Phillips joined
"Wild Bill" William J. Donovan in setting up the Office of Coordinator
of
Information. Phillips served as Director of Special Information
Services
for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), forerunner of the the
Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) until 1943 when he was discharged.
Returning
to active duty in the United States Navy, on 10 July 1943 Commodore
Wallace
Banta Phillips was part of a large force of United States, Canadian,
and
British troops that landed in Sicily. The whirlwind Allied
campaign captured
the island by 17 August.
After the war, Wallace Phillips became president of the Pyrene Company.
Contributors:
Mike Findlay
Paul Latimer
Roger Peterson
Mike Poirier
Judith Tavares
References:
Hickey, Des and Gus Smith. Seven Days to Disaster. G. P.
Putnam's Sons, 1981.
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