(Source: giraffenkuss)
Sunday 9th May//Monday 10th May, 1915
Sequel to ‘1912’. USUK. Arthur extends a diplomatic invitation to Alfred travel to Britain on the RMS Lusitania during WWI; but Alfred, still haunted by the sinking of the Titanic, has qualms about the ship, the warzone she’ll be passing through and Arthur’s motives. Is it really safer than 1912 when Imperial Germany has sworn to sink all shipping suspected of carrying weapons?
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The car was waiting for him when he came out of church; the service had been held in remembrance of the Lusitania’s sinking, with prayers offered for the victims both lost and found. Alfred had found a little bit of solace in it, to be surrounded by those who had been affected by the disaster - rather than cold-mouthed politicians who seemed to be brushing it off as simply unfortunate.
“There’s someone to see you, Mr Jones,” Blakely said, nodding to him as he opened the door.
“Where? At the Embassy?” Alfred paused, one foot in the car.
Blakely nodded; Alfred seized his wrist.
“Is it about Arthur?!” he asked, his stomach twisting.
“I couldn’t say for certain, sir.”
Alfred thought Blakely was being somewhat evasive, however; and he simply nodded and got in, shutting the door behind him. He spent the ride back to the American Embassy in tense silence, fidgeting with his folded Order of Service, which had a grainy photograph of the Lusitania printed on the front.
He scrambled from the car as it was still moving, pulling into the drive, and he ignored Blakely’s shout as he righted himself and crunched across the gravel to the old house. He let himself in and was frantically checking every room in the hall when Blakely appeared behind him, panting.
“I had to abandon the damn car in the drive,” Blakely gasped, grabbing Alfred by the back of his collar. “He’s in the drawing room.” He shook Alfred a bit when he tried to twist free. “And calm down, for heaven’s sake.”
“But it’s about Arthur!” Alfred pulled away, stumbling down the hall to the drawing room. “I know it is!”
He all but fell into the drawing room, Blakely at his heels. The visitor, a portly man with grey hair and a handsome birch cane, stood up on his rumpled arrival, giving a small bow.
“Mr Jones,” he said graciously; his accent was crisp and English. “I have been waiting, sir.”
“I-is it about Arthur?!” Alfred ran to him, taking his hand. “Please, anything!”
The man looked taken aback; Blakely intervened, pulling Alfred away and forcing him into one of the plush armchairs, motioning for the visitor to do the same.
“Mr Campbell, my apologies.” Blakely glared at Alfred. “He’s a little bit excitable.”
“That is understandable, given his ordeal,” Campbell replied, propping his cane against his chair. He looked at Alfred. “It is to my understanding that you were put into a lifeboat shortly before the Lusitania foundered.”
“Yes, sir - though it overturned before it hit the water.” Alfred leaned forward in his seat. “B-but Arthur stayed on the ship!” He looked pleadingly at Campbell. “Please tell me you’ve found him!”
Campbell paused for a moment; he looked a bit uncomfortable.
“The, ah, the thing is, Mr Jones… we haven’t been entirely forthcoming with you.” This he said at length, steepling his fingers together, once, twice.
Alfred frowned.
“…How do you mean?”
“About Major-General Kirkland, that is - or Commodore, as the case may be,” Campbell said. “The truth is that he was found on the night of the seventh, just after the last of the rescue vessels came in.”
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1915 @ FFNet
It’s time for some nightmarish Henry Reuterdahl illustrations! These are the Titanic sinking, not the Lusitania, but these are enough to give you nightmares, christ… o.O
An article from the Los Angeles Record dated May 2, 1911.
Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt I (October 20, 1877 – May 7, 1915) was an extremely wealthy sportsman and a member of the famous Vanderbilt family of philanthropists. He enjoyed fox hunting and coaching.
On May 1, 1915, Alfred Vanderbilt boarded the RMS Lusitania bound for Liverpool as a first class passenger. It was a business trip, and he traveled with only his valet, leaving his family at home in New York. On May 7 off the coast of County Cork, Ireland, the German U-boat, U-20 torpedoed the ship, triggering a secondary explosion that sank the giant ocean liner within 18 minutes. Vanderbilt and his valet, Ronald Denyer, helped others into lifeboats, and then Vanderbilt gave his lifejacket to save a female passenger. Vanderbilt had promised the young mother of a small baby that he would locate an extra lifevest for her. Failing to do so, he offered her his own life vest, which he proceeded to even tie on to her himself since she was holding her infant child in her arms at the time. Many consider his actions to be very brave and gallant since he could not swim, he knew that there were no other lifevests or lifeboats available, and yet he still gave away his only chance to survive to the young mother and child.
Because of his fame, several people on the Lusitania who survived the tragedy were observing him while events unfolded at the time and so they took note of his brave actions. He and Denyer were among the 1198 passengers who did not survive the incident. His body was never recovered.
Another memorial to Vanderbilt is in a small park on Broadway in Newport, Rhode Island where members of the Vanderbilt family spent their summers.
A memorial was erected on the A24 London to Worthing Road in Holmwood, just south of Dorking. The inscription reads, “In Memory of Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt a gallant gentleman and a fine sportsman who perished in the Lusitania May 7th 1915. This stone is erected on his favourite road by a few of his British coaching friends and admirers”.
According to A. A. Hoehling and Mary Hoehling (in their study, The Last Voyage of the Lusitania) Vanderbilt’s fate was ironic as three years earlier he had made a last minute decision not to return to the U.S. on RMS Titanic.
Source: Wikipedia
Unidentified bodies from the RMS Lusitania disaster are buried in a mass grave (1915)
(Source: blamblamfever)
Saturday 8th May, 1915
Many days later, haha. ALSO, OH LOOK, FFNET ALERTS DON’T SEEM TO BE WORKING. Why must you plague my fanfics about sinking ocean liners with glitches, FFNet? Whyyyyy?
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Sequel to ‘1912’. USUK. Arthur extends a diplomatic invitation to Alfred travel to Britain on the RMS Lusitania during WWI; but Alfred, still haunted by the sinking of the Titanic, has qualms about the ship, the warzone she’ll be passing through and Arthur’s motives. Is it really safer than 1912 when Imperial Germany has sworn to sink all shipping suspected of carrying weapons?
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Frost nodded; his face was grim.
“It’s been grave news otherwise, I’m afraid,” he said. “We’ve been pulling bodies out all night. I regret to say that a great number have been identified as Americans.”
Alfred nodded; he wasn’t surprised, given the chaos.
“How many so far?”
“About five hundred bodies so far; with sixty-one Americans.” Frost shook his head despairingly. “I expect there will be plenty more. I’ve had preliminary survivor lists and there are a lot more passengers to find. We haven’t found Vanderbilt yet.”
“Who?” Alfred asked dazedly.
“Alfred Vanderbilt,” Frost repeated. “Millionaire socialite and sportsman. Nice man, for all his money.”
“O-oh. Yes, of course.” Alfred shook his head, feeling stupid. “Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt - of New York.”
“That’s him. We’re offering a thousand pound reward for his body.”
“You think he’s dead?”
Frost looked at him.
“At this point, we’re looking for bodies,” he said. “Nobody could survive in that water for more than a few hours - besides which, the word is that Vanderbilt couldn’t swim.”
Alfred looked up at the clear sky, watching a few seagulls dive at each other. He let out a breath.
“Shall I help?” he asked softly.
“If you’re up to it.” There wasn’t much condescension in Frost’s voice; he looked at Alfred very sincerely. “I will, of course, understand if you’d rather not.”
“No, it’s… it’s the least I can do.” Alfred hitched up his slipping glasses; they didn’t sit correctly, not like the ones he’d lost.
Frost nodded.
“Very well.” He beckoned. “I hope you’ve got a strong stomach.”
“I’ve been in many wars, sir,” Alfred said pointedly.
“Yes,” Frost sighed, “but this isn’t our war, is it?”
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1915 @ FFNet
(Source: wahnwitzig)
Two contemporary images of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania (1915)
Friday 7th May, 1915: II
(Yes, yes, I’m still sodding about with the sinking two days later. -_-)
Sequel to ‘1912’. USUK. Arthur extends a diplomatic invitation to Alfred travel to Britain on the RMS Lusitania during WWI; but Alfred, still haunted by the sinking of the Titanic, has qualms about the ship, the warzone she’ll be passing through and Arthur’s motives. Is it really safer than 1912 when Imperial Germany has sworn to sink all shipping suspected of carrying weapons?
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“Alfred, this isn’t Titanic.” Arthur looked at him tiredly. “This time… I really do need to stay.” He leaned in quickly, briefly, and pressed a fierce kiss to Alfred’s forehead. “Now please… just trust me.”
Alfred simply looked at him. He said nothing - for he had nothing to say - and Arthur seemed to understand; he gave a grave nod and let go of Alfred’s shoulders, taking his hand again. He pulled; and Alfred went with him, holding his breath as they waded through the rising water sluicing through the companionway.
They emerged on the boat deck, swarming with hundreds of panicked passengers fighting to get to the lifeboats further down. Lusitania’s bow was completely submerged, as was half of her starboard side, right up past the entrance to the companionway. There was a lot of smoke, her funnels blazing and creaking under the massive strain; and the water around the stricken liner was already littered with dozens of swimmers, not to mention all manner of debris. Two lifeboats bobbed nearby, about half-filled, and another was overturned with several people clinging to it; there was a lot of splintered wood in the same painted white, the remains of boats that had been crushed in the confusion of launching.
“Hurry, Alfred.” Arthur pulled him up the deck, scrambling out of the rising water against the heightening angle as Lusitania, just like Titanic, began to show her stern. “She hasn’t got long left.”
Arthur cut through the crowd pushing and shoving at Lifeboat 16, the loading of which was less than orderly. Another officer and a young seaman, no more than eighteen, were attempting to control the mob; but their orders for women and children were ignored as people tried to surge past into the swinging lifeboat.
“Commodore!” The officer seemed relieved to see Arthur. “It’s bedlam up here, sir.”
“I can see that.” Arthur looked at the officer. “Right, you and I are going to launch this boat.” He called to the young seaman in his crooked Cunard cap. “I assume you can row, boy?”
“Yes, sir!” The young man saluted him.
“Right, get in.” Arthur looked at Alfred. “You too. You’re both in charge of rowing.”
The seaman nodded, stepping into the lifeboat, which was already half full with scrambling passengers.
“Alfred.” Arthur pushed at Alfred’s back. “Get in.”
Alfred looked at him, agonised.
“I can’t go without you!” he said breathlessly. “Arthur, I can’t!”
“I’ll be alright,” Arthur promised; he took Alfred’s hands between his own. “You know that. Please, just get in the lifeboat.”
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1915 @ FFnet
