Today marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania on May 7, 1915, as the ship sailed from New York to Liverpool. 1198 passengers and crew died in the German u-boat attack, including 128 Americans. Even though the U.S. didn’t enter the war for two more years, the sinking of the ship galvanized public opinion against the German side of the war.
The ship carried two wireless operators, American Robert Leith and Scotsman David C. McCormick, both in the employ of the Marconi Company. Leith, a former railroad telegrapher, entered the company’s service in 1906, and McCormick in 1913. Both men survived, despite remaining at their stations until the last useful moment.
McCormick was on duty at the time the ship was torpedoed. Leith was then at lunch, and immediately returned to the wireless station, at which time McCormick was already sending the SOS.
The ship’s modern wireless station would have been similar to the one previously depicted here in a previous post for the ship’s sister ship the Franconia.
Leith died of cancer in 1933. I was unable to find any subsequent history for McCormick.
References
- Wireless World, June 1915
- Robert Leith at RMSLusitania.info
- David McCormick at at RMSLusitania.info
- Lusitania Centenary at BBC
Click Here For Today’s Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Cartoon 
McCormick died in April of 1966 in Wales. He was married and had a son. His crew book still exists.