Mr. CYRIL JOHN GEORGE
WALLACE, Second Cabin Passenger
[No Picture Provided]
Cyril Wallace, 20, of Holyoke, United States, was on the Lusitania so that he could join the
British Army in Northumberland. On the day of the disaster,
Wallace was on deck with Robert Gray 'indulging in a sing
song.' He had just finished singing 'Eileen Aiannah' when he heard the
explosion. To Gray, it was not violent and Mr. Gray proclaimed, ' That
is a torpedo. ' Wallace ran down to his cabin C-28, and got a lifebelt.
As he was putting it on, he ran into Mrs. Fyfe who had no lifebelt, so
he gave her his. He jumped overboard and found his way to a lifeboat
and after the ship sank.
According to Hickey and Smith, Wallace pulled out a
mouth organ that he had purchased in Cleveland, Ohio, United States to
cheer up his boat fellows. He was asked to stop so that cries for
help could be heard; however, this claim has not been substantiated by
his testimony, or that of his boatmate, Belle
Naish.
They were picked up later by a
fishing smack. To Cyril's surprise, there he found Mrs. Fyfe,
unconcious.
Cyril Wallace was killed in action on 9 September 1918.
Contributors:
Mike Poirier
Judith Tavares
References:
Hickey, Des and Gus Smith. Seven Days to
Disaster.
G. P. Putnam's and Sons, 1981.
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