James Joseph Black, 39, was a British subject living in Liverpool. His wife’s name was Ethel and they had three children, who Ethel said that he was “passionately fond of”. Black was traveling alone aboard Lusitania, where he stayed in cabin D-7 on ticket 46131. Black was lost in the Lusitania sinking.
Before he sailed, Black sent a telegram to his wife. His last words to her were, “don’t worry, we have an escort both going & coming over the war zone.” His dining companions included a woman and her father, of which only the woman survived.
A survivor later contacted Ethel, stating that Black went to the starboard side after lunch. Nothing more is known of what happened to him. Black’s body was not recovered or not identified.
After the sinking, Ethel was in contact with the Prichard family in search of news of Richard Preston Prichard’s last moments.
Related pages
The Prichard Letters: Letter from Ethel Black dated 10 February 1916
References:
Letter from Ethel Black dated 10 February 1916. Imperial War Museum Collection.
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