Lusitania – The Melting Pot

Merthyr Historian Sale

The Merthyr Tydfil & District Historical Society is pleased to announce a very special offer price for back issues of Merthyr Historians.

All books are as new and are offered at £2.00 each or 3 for £5.00.

Postage is £3.50 per book, or books can be picked up from depositaries in Merthyr (on arrangement).

If you would like to buy any of these volumes, please contact merthyr.history@gmail.com

The volumes on offer are:-

VOLUME 15 (2003) ISBN 0 9544201 1 X Ed. T.F. Holley
1. Dr. Joseph Gross by Glanmor Williams
2. Attraction and Dispersal by John Wilkins
3. Mrs. Mary Ann Edmunds by Mary Patricia Jones
4. Bacon v Homfray by Eric Alexander
5. Cheshunt College, Hertfordshire by Barrie Jones
6. Striking Features: Robert Thompson Crawshay’s Large-Scale Portraits by Jane Fletcher
7. Margaret Stewart Taylor. A Notable Woman of Merthyr Tydfil by Carolyn Jacob
8. Iron Working in the Cynon Valley by Douglas Williams
9. Owain Glyn Dwr – After Six Hundred Years by Glanmor Williams
10. Merthyr Amateur Theatricals, 1860’s by H. W. Southey
11. Shon Llywelyn of Cwm Capel by Lyndon Harris
12. Hoover Transport, 1948-98 by Gwyn Harris M.M.
13. David Jones (1760-1842), Merthyr Clockmaker, Revisited by W. Linnard, D. Roy Sears & Chris Roberts
14. The English Bible by J. W. Bowen
15. He Came, He Saw, He Conquered Merthyr Commerce – Thomas Nibloe’s Story by T. F. Holley
16. Colour Supplement – Merthyr Buildings

VOLUME 17 (2004) ISBN 0 9544201 3 6 Ed. T.F. Holley
1. & Pastimes in the 18th & 19th Century, Merthyr Tydfil by Geoffrey Evans
2. Celtic Connections: Early Quoiting in Merthyr Tydfil by Innes MacLeod
3. The Will of the Revd. William Price Lewis, 1839 by T. F. Holley
4. The Dic Penderyn Society and the Popular Memory of Richard Lewis by Viv Pugh
5. The Welsh Religious Revival, 1904-5 by Robert Pope
6. Reporting Revival by Neville Granville
7. A French View of Merthyr Tydfil and the Evan Roberts Revival by William Linnard
8. Songs of Praises: Hymns and Tunes of the Welsh Revival, 1904-5 by Noel Gibbard
9. Revival, Cwm Rhondda, 1905 by William Linnard
10. Diwygiad 1904-5. A Select Reading List by Brynley Roberts
11. Rosina Davies, 1863-1949. A Welsh Evangelist by Eira M Smith
12. Evan Roberts, the Welsh Revivalist by J. Ann Lewis
13. Evan Roberts at Heolgerrig, Merthyr, January 1905 – Transcribed
14. Sir Thomas Marchant Williams & the Revival – Transcribed
15. Potpourri, a Medley by The Editor
16. What Wales Needs – Religiously, 1907 by Evan Roberts
17. Joseph Williams, Printer. TYST A’R DYDD. 1903 by T. F. Holley
18. Dr. Thomas Rees (1825-1908), of Cefncoedycymer by John Mallon
19. Everest & Charles Bruce (1866-1939): The Welsh Connection by Huw Rees
20. The Lusitania Catastrophe and the Welsh Male Voice Choir by Carl Llewellyn
21. Merthyr Amateur Theatricals, 1860’s. Part Two by H. W. Southey
22. Books, Old and New. Short Reviews by The Editor
23. Night Mrs. Evans by Ken J. Mumford
24. Some Early History of Park Baptist Church, The Walk, Merthyr – Transcribed
25. Letter re: Wool Factory, Merthyr Tydfil

VOLUME 22 (2011) ISBN 0 9544201 8 7 Ed. T.F. Holley
1. A Visit to Merthyr Tydfil in 1697 by Brynley F. Roberts
2. A Pedestrian Tour Through Scotland in 1801: New Lanark before Robert Owen by Innes Macleod
3. Note for Merthyr Historian by K. H. Edwards
4. Charles Richardson White, Merthyr Vale by T. F. Holley
5. Isaac John Williams, Curator by Scott Reid
6. The Merthyr Historian. Some Statistics by J. D. Holley
7. Thomas Evan Nicholas, 1879-1971 by Ivor Thomas Rees
8. Eira Margaret Smith: A Personal Tribute by Huw Williams
9. Saint Tydfil’s Hospital 1957. A House Physicians Recollections by Brian Loosmore
10. John Devonald, 1863-1936. Aberfan Musician and Remembrancer of Musicians by T. F. Holley
11. The Remarkable Berry Brothers by Joe England
12. Albert de Ritzen: Merthyr Tydfil’s Stipendiary Magistrate 1872-1876 by Huw Williams
13. A Scrap of Autobiography by Charles Wilkins, Annotated by His Great Grandson by John V. Wilkins, OBE
14. Industrial History of Colliers Row Site and Environs by Royston Holder (the late)
15. The Life of Maria Carini by Lisa Marie Powell
16. Lecture by J. C. Fowler, Esq., Stipendiary Magistrate, 1872 ‘Civilisation in South Wales – Transcribed
17. Gwyn Griffiths -‘The Author of our Anthem. Poems by Evan James’ – Book Review by Brian Davies
18. Enid Guest – ‘Daughter of an Ironmaster’ by Mary Owen – Book Review by Ceinwen Statter
19. Caepanttywyll – A Lost Community by Christopher Parry
20. James Colquhoun Campbell (in four parts) – T. F. Holley
(A) The Social Condition of Merthyr Tydfil, 1849
(B) The Venerable Archdeacon Campbell, 1859, Biography
(C) St. David’s Church, Merthyr Tydfil, Visited, 1860
(D) J. C. Campbell and the Census Record, Research by Mrs. C. Jacob
21. Interesting Book Plate

VOLUME 23 (2012) ISBN 0 9544201 9 5 Ed. T.F. Holley
1. Vince Harris, 1904-1987 by Margaret Lloyd
2. All Change for Plymouth: A Year in the Life of a Mining Engineer by Clive Thomas
3. Who Was The Real Lydia Fell? by Christine Trevett
4. Sewage Pollution of the Taff and the Merthyr Tydfil Local Board (1868-1871) by Leslie Rosenthal
5. Redmond Coleman, the Iron Man from Iron Lane by Carolyn Jacob
6. The Assimilation and Acculturation of the Descendants of Early 20^th Century Spanish Industrial Immigrants to Merthyr by Stephen Murray
7. David Williams, High Constable, Merthyr Tydfil 1878-1880 by T. F. Holley
8. John Collins, V.C. by Malcolm Kenneth Payne
9. Marvellous Merthyr Boy – Transcribed
10. A Remarkable and Most Respected Enterprise, J. Howfield & Son, Merthyr Tydfil, 1872-2001 by Mary Owen
11. The Uncrowned Iron King (The First William Crawshay) by J. D. Evans
12. Watkin George 1759-1822, The Mechanical Genius of Cyfarthfa, The Pride of Pontypool by Wilf Owen
13. Opencast History (Illustrated) by Royston Holder
14. The Laundry Trade by T. F. Holley
15. Grand Concert at the Oddfellows Hall, Dowlais – Transcribed
16. Guidelines for Contributors – By courtesy of the Glamorgan History Society

VOLUME 24 (2012) Ed. T.F. Holley
1. Elphin, Literary Magistrate: Magisterial Commentator by Brynley Roberts
2. Picturing ‘The Member For Humanity’. J. M. Staniforth’s Cartoons of Keir Hardie, 1894-1914 by Chris Williams
3. William Morris, Yr Athraw and the ‘Blue Books’ by Huw Williams
4. Hugh Watkins by Carl Llewellyn and J. Ann Lewis
5. Gomer Thomas J.P. 1863-1935 by Wilf and Mary Owen
6. Oddfellows and Chartists by Lyndon Harris
7. John Roberts, Ieuan Gwyllt, Composer of Hymns by G. Parry Williams
8. Georgetown? How Was It? By Clive Thomas
9. Book Review: Bargoed and Gilfach – A Local History
10. A History of Ynysgau Chapel by Steven Brewer
11. ‘Mr Merthyr’ S.O. Davies 1886-1972 by Rev. Ivor Thomas Rees
12. Historical Farms of Merthyr Tydfil by John Griffiths Reviewed by Keith Lewis-Jones
13. National Service, Doctor With The Gurkhas by Brian Loosmoore
14. A Year of Anniversaries: Reflections on Local History 1972-2012 by Huw Williams
15. The Family of Dr. Thomas Rees, Revisited by John Mallon
16. Merthyr District Coffee Tavern Movement, 1880 by T. F. Holley
17. Henry Richard (1812-1888) – Apostle of Peace and Patriot by Gwyn Griffiths
18. Owen Morgan – Miners’ Reporter by Brian Davies
19. The Tredegar Riots of 1911 – Anti Liberalism ‘The Turbulent Years of 1910-1914’ by Lisa Marie Powell
20. Adulum Chapel by Carl Llewellyn
21. Cyfarthfa’s Curnow Vosper Archive by Gwyn Griffiths
22. Whithorn Gas, 1870 by Innes Macleod
23. A Journey from Merthyr to Sydney, A Talented Portrait Painter by Graham John Wilcox
24. The Merthyr Bus Rallies by Glyn Bowen

VOLUME 25 (2013) Ed. T.F. Holley
1. The Merthyr Tydfil 1835 Election Revisited, Lady Charlotte Guest’s Account by E (Ted) Rowlands
2. John Josiah Guest at Auction by Huw Williams
3. Conway and Sons Dairies Ltd. – Some Notes by G. Conway
4. John Petherick; Merthyr’s Man of Africa by John Fletcher
5. Travels in the Valleys. Book Review by Glyn Bowen
6. Plaques by John D. Holley
7. William Thomas Lewis 1837-1914 by A Family Member
8. Boom Towns by Brian Loosmore
9. The Taff Valley Tornado 1913 by Stephen Brewer
10. Plaques by John D. Holley
11. From Mule Train to Diesel Lorries. The Dowlais Iron Company Connects the Coast by Wilf Owen
12. Review CD. Some of the History of Merthyr Tudful and District via Its Place Names by John & Gwilym Griffiths by Keith Lewis-Jones
13. Caedraw Primary School, 1875-1912 by Clive Thomas
14. Charles Butt Stanton, 1873-1946 by Revd. Ivor Thomas Rees
15. The Merthyr and Dowlais Steam Laundry Limited, 1891 by T. F. Holley
16. Dynamism, Diligence, Energy and Wealth. Trade and Commerce in Merthyr Tydfil 1800-1914 by Mary Owen
17. YMCA. Merthyr Tydfil Lecture 1861 by J. C. Fowler – Transcribed
18. John Nixon and the Welsh Coal Trade to France by Brian Davies
19. Tydfil School, Merthyr Tydfil, 1859-1873 by Evan Williams – Transcribed
20. Gossiping in Merthyr Tydfil by Carolyn Jacob
21. Penywern to Pontsarn. The Story of the Morlais Tunnel. The Writer’s Early Impressions by A. V. Phillips
22. Short History of the Thomas-Merthyr Colliery Company. Merthyr Tydfil, 1906-1946 by Ronald Llewellyn Thomas – Transcribed
23. Morien and Echos of Iolo Morgannwg by T. F. Holley
24. Merthyr Tydfil’s Stipendiary Magistracy and Walter Meyrick North (1886-1900): A Case Study by Huw Williams

VOLUME 26 (2014) ISBN 978 0 9929810 0 6 Ed. T.F. Holley
1. Three Generations of a Dowlais Medical Family 1860-1964 by Stuart Cresswell
2. Viscount Tredegar, Balaclava Veteran, 1913 by T. F. Holley
3. What Makes a Country Great? Lecture by Stipendiary Magistrate – J. C. Fowler – 1858
4. Billy ‘The Doll’ Williams by Malcolm K. Payne
5. Evan James, Dr. William Price and Iolo Morganwg’s Utopia by Brian Davies
6. John A. Owen (1936-1998), Dowlais Historian: An Appreciation by Huw Williams
7. Welsh Women and Liberation from Home: Feminist or Activist? By Lisa Marie Powell
8. Gwilym Harry (1792-1844), Unitarian – Farmer – Poet by Lyndon Harris
9. ‘Aunt’ Emma’s Ronnie by Clive Thomas
10. Morgan Williams: Merthyr’s Forgotten Leader by Joe England
11. Matthew Wayne (1780-1853) by Wilf Owen
12. The Contribution of Hunting to the 1914-18 War, 1914 by T. F. Holley
13. The Difficulties of M.T.C.B.C.’s Financial Management and Administration, 1926-1937: Maladministration, Political Ideology or Economic Reality? By Barrie Jones
14. The Rail Accident at Merthyr Station, 1874 by Stephen Brewer
15. Courtland House, 1851 by Mary Owen
16. Formation of the South Wales and Monmouthshire Brass Bands Association, 1891 by T. F. Holley
17. Moses Jones (1819-1901) by Annette Barr
18. Dr Richard Samuel Ryce, M.D. M.Ch.: An Irish Doctor by T. F. Holley
19. Cwmtaf – A Drowning of the Valley and its Consequences by Gwyneth Evans
20. A Professor Gwyn A. Williams Symposium
a. Recollections of Professor Gwyn Williams, University of York, 1967-70 by Frances Finnegan
b. Memories of Gwyn at York by Brian Davies
c. Professor Gwyn Alf Williams. A Personal Remembrance by Viv Pugh
21. Merthyr Tydfil at War, 1914 by Stephen Brewer
22. Photo Feature – Archaeology by T. F. Holley

David Alfred Thomas and the Lusitania – part 2

Sinking of the Lusitania. Engraving by Norman Wilkinson, The Illustrated London News, May 15, 1915

Rescue

Lifeboat #11 was spotted by the trawler Wanderer of Peel and the boat took on the survivors. After four hours of being cold and miserable, Oliver asked D. A., “Exciting day, Mr. Thomas?”

“Outrageous. Simply outrageous.” D. A. growled.

“They certainly made a job of it.”

“Didn’t you see what happened at the lifeboats? Deplorable. The standard of human efficiency is far below what we are entitled to expect — today it was ghastly.”

“Of course,” Bernard said, “it’s got to start at the top. You can’t expect efficiency from the crew if you don’t set an example on the bridge.”

“What do you imagine the percentage of average efficiency to be?” Thomas asked.

“Fifty per cent?”

“Nonsense, young man. Any employer who gets an average of ten per cent efficiency all around is doing extremely well.”

The Wanderer of Peel (foreground) with the sinking Lusitania. Photo courtesy of The Lusitania Resource

As the Wanderer was becoming overcrowded, the skipper, Ball, had to have many of the rescued transferred. Bernard and Thomas were taken aboard the trawler Flying Fish.

At Queenstown, he was looked after by a Catholic priest who treated D. A. to dinner and brandy, despite D. A.’s protests. By the time he returned to the Queenstown quay to await news of his daughter, he was a bit tipsy.

Margaret was aboard the Bluebell, the same boat that saved Captain Turner. Upon their reunion, the father and daughter checked into the Queen’s Hotel to put an end to their ordeal. Dorothy visited Lady Mackworth the next morning to check up on her and to say that Howard was safe. Lady Mackworth and D. A. Thomas went home to Wales; Dorothy and Howard continued on to work on the battlefields of France.

Despite his survival, the Lusitania left a lasting impression. D.A. Thomas would later remark, “The thought of crossing the Atlantic frightens me. I can’t get the Lusitania out of my mind. I dream of it.”^*

Media coverage

The 8 May 1915 New York Times, page 4 ran this: “Mr. Thomas declined to relate his experience, saying that he had too easy a time to be interesting. Just as a boat was being lowered on the starboard side an officer ordered him to take a vacant seat. This boat got away without any trouble and was one of the first to be picked up.”

One of the more interesting headlines detailing D. A.’s survival read: “GREAT NATIONAL DISASTER. D. A. THOMAS SAVED.”

After Lusitania

D.A. Thomas was awarded the title of Baron Rhondda in 1916. From 1916 to 1917, he was President of the Local Government Board. When he was appointed Minister of Food in June of 1917, he introduced food rationing to Great Britain. Another title, Viscount, came to D. A. in June of 1918. He was only able to enjoy his title for one month, as he died on 3 July 1918 in Llanwern, Monmouthshire. His title and peerage, by special remainder, were inherited by her daughter Margaret. Margaret wrote about him in her 1933 autobiography, This Was My World.

This article is reproduced with the kind permission of the webmasters of https://www.rmslusitania.info/. If you have an interest in the Lusitania – I would recommend visiting this remarkable and fantastically researched site.

David Alfred Thomas and the Lusitania – part 1

David Alfred Thomas (1856–1918), 59, (right) was a British Member of Parliament travelling aboard Lusitania with his daughter Margaret Mackworth and his secretary Arnold Rhys-Evans. On board, they also became friends with Dr. Howard Fisher and his sister-in-law, Dorothy Conner, who were travelling to France to work in the field hospitals. Father and daughter were separated during the sinking, but both survived, as did Fisher and Conner.

Family and background

David Alfred Thomas was born in Ysgyborwen, Glamorgan, Wales on 26 March 1856 as the son of Welsh coal magnate Samuel Thomas of Aberdare. He was educated at Caius College, Cambridge, and returned to Wales to become the senior partner in the Cardiff-based Thomas and Davey. This company owned several collieries in the Rhondda Valley. Despite being born into wealth and privilege, D. A.’s needs were simple. A Labour politician had even commented, “There goes Thomas — with the income of a duke and the tastes of a peasant.”

Subsequently, D. A. Thomas married Sybil Haig on 27 June 1882. Their only child, Margaret Haig Thomas, later Lady Humphrey Mackworth and even later Viscountess Rhondda, was born in 1883. D. A. educated his daughter in matters of business and she became a champion for women’s equality everywhere. As D. A. would say of her daughter, “Margaret and I are not like father and daughter. We’re buddies.”

Involvement in politics

D.A. Thomas was elected Member of Parliament (MP) as a Liberal for Merthyr Tydfil in 1888. He subsequently became MP of Cardiff as well, and he held these positions until the 1910 General Election. Although Thomas was reputedly an agnostic, he was a supporter of Nonconformity in his constituency. He even laid the foundation stone of Soar Welsh Calvinistic Church, Cwmaman, and many others.

When the First World War broke, David Lloyd George sent D. A. Thomas to arrange the supply of munitions for the British armed forces. In April of 1915, D. A. Thomas and his daughter Margaret, who was now her personal assistant and proxy, went to take a look at Thomas’ interests in the Pennsylvania coal mines. He also was launching a new barge service on the Mississippi and planning extensions of Canada’s railroad system. His secretary, Arnold Rhys-Evans, also came along.

Lusitania

To end their trip abroad, they had booked passage on the Lusitania. His saloon cabin was the parlour suite B-86, B-88. Aboard the Lusitania, D. A. Thomas and his daughter had befriended Dr. Howard Fisher and Nurse Dorothy Conner, Fisher’s sister-in-law. Dorothy had often commented on the lack of excitement on the voyage and was often teased by D. A. Margaret had also found the voyage rather dull, but as her father was having fun she decided to keep her mouth shut.

A typical 1st Class bedroom on the Lusitania. Photo courtesy of The Lusitania Resource

On the afternoon of 7 May, D. A., Margaret, Arnold, Dorothy, and Howard all sat down to lunch with the foghorn blaring. Margaret remarked, “Home tomorrow! Aren’t you pleased, father?”

“I would be more pleased, my dear,” D. A. remarked, “if I believed that wretched siren hasn’t given our whereabouts away.”

Margaret and D. A. left the saloon and left Howard and Dorothy to finish lunch by themselves. The father and daughter stood waiting for the elevator with Frederick Tootal and Albert Byington. D. A. then joked with his daughter, saying, “You know, Margaret, I think we might stay up on deck tonight. Just to see if you get your thrill.”

Before Margaret could respond, they felt the torpedo rock the ship with “a dull thudding sound.” They were already partially inside the elevator, but instinctively, they stepped back, a move that would save their lives. D. A. ran over to a porthole to see what had happened; Margaret went upstairs to grab lifebelts, and they were separated.

Sometime later, D. A. tried to get back to his cabin, but he found the stairs to be too crowded. A steward gave him an inflatable lifebelt, but it wouldn’t work. He was finally able to get to his cabin and retrieve one from the wardrobe. On deck, he saw the ship overwhelmed by “absolute confusion” and “an entire absence of discipline” among the crew.

Back outside, he saw that the water was almost level with the deck and a woman with a small child hesitating to get into a lifeboat. D. A. shoved them both into the boat, #11, before he jumped in himself. Oliver Bernard, also in the boat, was amused by the “rather worried and puzzled expression” on the Welshman’s face. His secretary, Arnold Rhys-Evans, was also in #11, but had gotten in before D. A. did. Being one of the last boats to leave, #11 was still close enough to the Lusitania when she foundered that they were in danger of being crushed by the funnels.

To be continued…..