John Frederick Valentine Jones (? – 1939), 54?, was Chief Steward aboard the Lusitania. Second Steward Robert Chisholm told him of the approaching torpedo and Jones was on deck with Charles Hill and saw the torpedo strike the ship. Jones assisted with the loading of the starboard lifeboats. He survived the sinking and gave testimony at the Mersey Inquiry.
The last voyage
The last voyage of the Lusitania was Chief Steward Jones’ fourth voyage on the liner.
Before the ship left Liverpool for the last time, Jones remembered the Board of Trade inspecting the lifebelts on the ship, recounting that “they did that very fully.” The Board of Trade found that Lusitania had adequate numbers and quality of lifebelts. Jones was also in New York with the ship for her last trip to New York.
With survivors criticizing the lack of lifebelts aboard the ship, Jones subsequently testified that he knew of no reason why lifebelts would be lacking on the ship. He knew of a reserve of lifebelts on the top deck from previous voyages, but he did not see them on the last voyage.
On the last voyage he did not see any lifebelts on deck prior to the ship being struck, and he did not see any lifebelts available, after the ship was struck, from the decks that he saw.
Jones saw the lifeboat drill and the boats all swung out on Thursday, 6 May.
On the morning of 7 May Staff Captain Anderson met Jones on the main companion way on C deck. Anderson said that he wished the bulkhead doors to be closed and also the ports, and he said he would go down and see it done himself. Afterwards, Anderson expressed himself as being perfectly satisfied that every thing was tight on E deck forward.
As far as Jones knew, the watertight doors and portholes were closed at the time the ship was struck, although passenger testimony states that the portholes were not closed during the sinking.
The sinking of the Lusitania
On 7 May 1915, the day of the disaster, Jones was crossing the main companionway to starboard on B deck when Second Steward Robert Chisholm alerted Jones that a torpedo was approaching the ship on the starboard side. Jones walked outside and saw the torpedo, about 60 to 70 yards away, just as Charles Hill passed by. Jones muttered to Hill, “Good God, Mr. Hill, here comes a torpedo.”
Jones did not see the submarine or a periscope.
The torpedo struck 12 yards ahead from where he was standing, they were just forward of amidships. He called out to the passengers to get their lifebelts as far as he could see directly and went about the ship down to C deck and up to A deck, through public rooms such as the smoking room and lounge, to alert them. At the time, water had not yet flooded up to C deck.
Jones also went to the crew and told them to get their lifebelts. He told the stewards and stewardesses he saw to help the passengers as much as they could with their lifebelts.
Jones testified that the lifebelts were all in the staterooms, and that there were enough lifebelts for all which could be found outside of the staterooms as well.
When Jones reached A deck (the boat deck), Jones saw lifeboat 17 on the starboard side, hanging perpendicular down by the head, having already thrown out the people inside. The line had evidently run through the block. Jones had not seen the lifeboat upset and did not see other lifeboats upset.
Seeing the lifeboat, he and other crew members hoisted it up immediately to prepare it for loading again.
Jones went forward to assist the filling and lowering of lifeboat 15, so he did not see what became of lifeboat 17 afterwards. He thought that the rope of boat 17 ran through his legs whilst I was at 15, and he thought lifeboat 17 upset again. Lifeboat 15 was filled with passengers and left Lusitania safely.
As the ship sank further, Jones jumped into the water and was eventually picked up and rescued.
After Lusitania
Jones was a witness who gave evidence at the Mersey Inquiry.
Jones died 9 June 1939 in Liverpool, England at age 78.
Links of interest
Jones’ testimony at the Mersey Inquiry
Contributors
Paul Latimer
Michael Poirier
References
Minutes of Evidence as Given at the Mersey Inquiry
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