Lusitania Survivors still alive

Would anyone happen to know if perhaps this spoon, which I won on eBay, might belong to Barbara McDermott? Given the fact it was found in an attic and the seller is in Maryland, I do not know if this may offer any clues as to whether this spoon, that was among many that came from the ship as souvenirs between 1907 and 1915, might belong to Miss McDermott by chance.

I am currently checking with THS on this remote possibility via Eric Sauder and Ed Kamuda.

I literally read Miss McDermott's story yesterday, as I had the item already on my eBay "Watch List" for the past five days.

Your information on this would be much obliged.

Many thanks!


Bruce
 
Hello Bruce
There is very little possibility of the spoon having originally belonged to Barbara. The spoon was kept by her 'Granny' Pybus in Darlington, England. Since Barbara left England in 1919, without the spoon, some Pybus relatives may have sold it or it may have been lost or perhaps is held by some very distant relative.
The best person to answer your question is Shelley Dziedzic, a moderator on this board. She has gone through great lengths to track down Barbara's spoon. You can contact Shelley through the board or through her website

Journeys in Time

web.archive.org
I am sure you have read her tribute page to Barbara?
Mike
 
Hi Bruce. Well, so many people have tried to help in the spoon quest for Barbara, which speaks volumes about the goodness of human nature. She is so appreciative of the goodwill and many efforts. It's a shame that when the household was broken up in Darlington, the whereabouts of the spoon was lost. For the duration of her grandmother Margaret's life, it was kept in what is called a Welsh dresser in the UK. I would imagine it may have been handed down to a relative. Barbara remembers, during her stay through WWI, whenever the Lusitania came up, her Grandmother reached into the dresser to show it. It is my understanding that table cutlery from the Lusitania did not have the name of the ship on it. It would have been a dessert spoon. A donor has kindly sent her what would probably be a spoon Cunard would have used in 1915 which may well have been similar or identical. She was as grateful for the gesture as if it were the genuine spoon. I am not certain about Lusitania, but sometimes souvenir spoons meant as gift items would carry the ship's name and the Cunard flag. I have a silverplated tea strainer with RMS Carinthia and the house flag in enamel in a ship's wheel on the handle. Is it possible you could post a photo of the spoon? A gentleman in England sent Barbara the famous Lusy medal when he heard that she wanted one. Although the Darlington house is gone now, some good folks in the UK are still trying to track distant relatives. Barbara went back to Darlington in the early 70's to visit her last closest relative, now deceased.
 
Hello Shelley
I was thinking... Since Barbara always claimed it spelled out 'Lusitania' on the spoon, is it possible that Emily Anderson may have bought her a special spoon while on board to eat with as a souvenir? Or perhaps a kindly steward supplied the souvenir spoon for children during meal times?
 
Those would be some possibilities, unless, and this is sometimes the situation with older survivors, she "misremembered" the part about the name on it.I don't think she does though. Of course she would not have known at age three about the writing on the spoon when it happened, but would have known later on at age 7 seeing it at home. It's a curious mystery. The SOS is out to collectors if they can shed any light on it! This may be one for The Great British Brain Trust.
 
Although I have always considered myself to be a student of the Titanic, and know virtually nothing about the Lusitania, I thought I'd share a recent stroke of luck with you - one of my mother's closest friends has only just informed me that her mother is Audrey Lawson Johnston. I thought I'd heard the name before but couldn't pinpoint where from, then it dawned on me. I have not met the woman herself, but apparently she is pleased to hear of my fascination with the liners of this period, considering my age (I'm 19, I think the older generations have lost faith in the younger and who can blame them.) Hopefully this will spark off a new interest - any suggestions regarding the most appropriate books for me to begin with?
 
Thank you, it makes for very interesting reading. If I get the opportunity to meet her I will let you all know - I consider myself very lucky to have this connection.
 
Hi Jo-
I hope you were able to contact Mrs. Lawson-Johnston. Here is an interview with her nanny.
archiver rootsweb com/th/read/LINES-FAMILY/1999-01/0916046796

Also- check out Anthony Cunningham's
The Titanic Diaries. It has an interview with her and also the account that her father wrote after the disaster. There is also a charming picture of her mother that has never been published before.
Mike
 
Hi Everyone, You've all been very helpful and I do hope Barbara McDermott is faring well. I've run across another Lusitania item on eBay regarding autographed photos of the ship by Rosalie Altamore. I understand that Audrey Pearl and Barbara McDermott are among the two last known survivors. Has anyone any information on Rosalie Altamore? Here is the link on eBay: Many thanks everyone! Bruce
 
Hi Shelley,

have been trying to find any of Barbara's remaining Pybus family still alive,but as of yet no luck, Barbara's "granny Pybus" was born Margaret Mossom in 1852 in Canada so is there anyone across the pond who can help on that side?
Barbara's mother Emily had 1 brother William and a sister Margaret(who was a dress maker)there were at least 2 other children who died young(John & Frances) have not been able to locate anything on the sister Maragret, however i did find out about William and its very sad, he joined the army at the outset of the first world war and rose to the rank of Corporal in the Royal Engineers, he did survive the end of the war, however as part of the short term occupying forcess in Germany,he died on the 14th September 1919, aged 34, it must have been a terrible blow to "ganny & grandpa Pybus" losing 2 children and then 2 months later to see Barbara sail to America never to see or hear from her again, am still trying to find Margaret Pybus so the spoon may still be in the family somewhere

Cliff
 

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