Mrs.
HAROLD WILLIAM TAYLOR (LUCY "CIS" HADDOCK), Third Class Passenger
[No Picture Provided]
Lucy "Cis" Taylor, 19, of Niagara Falls, New York, was the wife of Harold "Hal" Taylor.
The two had met at work in England; however, Lucy's family immigrated
to the United States in 1913. Their romance could have ended
then,
but their relationship continued via mail and finally Harold came over
so
that they could be married. Harold and Lucy Taylor were wed on 29
April 1915 at St. Peter's Church in Niagara Falls. The couple was
on
the Lusitania for their honeymoon and a visit to Harold's
parents
in Manchester.
Harold said in a letter that they were told that the ship would make a
dash up the coast in the cover of darkness, so they went to their cabin
on
Friday afternoon to begin packing. Hal was on deck when the ship was
struck,
and wearing only a shirt and trousers ran back to the cabin and
announced
to Lucy, "Well, that's it. We've been hit."
"Hit?" Lucy exclaimed.
"Yeah. We've been torpedoed."
Lucy threw a coat over her shoulders and the two hurried out. It
was only when they reached the stairs did she realized that she had
forgotten her shoes. They had no lifebelts but Lucy was later
able to retrieve one from their cabin. She claimed that as she
passed through the dining room the tables were starting to overturn.
The couple went to the first class deck and Hal was able to get Lucy
into lifeboat #15. Lucy refused to leave her husband and clung
onto him desperately, but Hal pulled himself free and dropped her in
the lifeboat. She tried to climb back out to him, but the boat
had started to lower. Lucy could see Hal on deck without a
lifebelt and unable to swim, waiting for the end. She guestured
wildly to him, convinced that she would never
see him again.
Lucy and Hal found each other in the streets of Queenstown where he was
dressed in an sailor's uniform. They waited until the war was
over
before moving back to the United States. Their individual claims
included
missing items such as her Quaker gray costume (wedding dress) , silver
gravy
ladle, fancy cushion covers, chinchilla great coat, and doctor's
visits.
Contributors:
Paul Latimer
Michael Poirier
Hildo Thiel
References:
Hickey, Des and Gus Smith. Seven Days to Disaster.
G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1981.
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