Robert Chisholm, 33, was a second steward aboard the last voyage of the Lusitania. He had seen the torpedo approach the ship and alerted Chief Steward Jones of it before impact. When the ship was sinking, he saw Alfred Vanderbilt on B deck “vainly attempting to rescue a hysterical woman.” At the time, Chisholm had only been running by, shouting, “Hurry Mr. Vanderbilt, or it will be too late!”
Chisholm may have been the same man in the water with Norman Ratcliff, telling Ratcliff about how Vanderbilt gave his lifebelt to save a woman and sacrifice his own life.
Years later, in the 1930s, Chisholm may have been reunited with the woman he saw Vanderbilt rescue. In the early days of the salvage operation of the Lusitania wreck, he met second-cabin passenger Alice Middleton. He mentioned the story of Vanderbilt giving away his lifebelt and showed her a picture of Vanderbilt. Alice did not know who had given her the lifebelt that saved her life until she saw the picture and was convinced it was him.
Contributors:
Nanette McDougall LaChance (granddaughter of Alice Middleton), USA
Michael Poirier, USA
Judith Tavares
References:
Hoehling, A. A. and Mary Hoehling. The Last Voyage of the Lusitania. Madison Books, 1956. pg. 149.
Minutes of Evidence as Given at the Mersey Inquiry.
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