Lusitania Centenary: Rescuers ignored submarine risks

It is difficult to imagine one moment watching the elegance and beauty of a transatlantic liner passing you and the next to see explosions and, 20 minutes, later to see the vessel swallowed by the sea.

The sinking of the Lusitania resulted in the loss of 1,198 lives. William Ball, skipper of a mackerel rugger out of Peel in the Isle of Man, was one of the first vessels on the scene.

He recalled the events of the day in a letter home to the vessel’s owner Charles Morrison.