Owen Ladd – A Welshman lost on the Lusitania
, 5 May 2015
A hundred years ago today, on 7 May 1915, the British ocean liner the Lusitania was struck by a German torpedo off the Irish coast, on her homeward voyage across the Atlantic from New York to Liverpool. She sank within twenty minutes. 1,198 of the 1,959 passengers aboard, including children and crew, perished. This was seen as a ‘German crime against humanity’, and a verdict of ‘wilful and wholesale murder’ was pronounced against Kaiser Wilhelm II and his government. In Germany, a medal was struck to commemorate the event, a copy of which we have in the collection.
Among those lost was a Welshman named Owen Ladd. He was born in 1882, the son of William and Phoebe Ladd, of Eglwyswrw in north Pembrokeshire. Owen had been educated at Llantood Board School and later became an apprentice watchmaker in Cardigan. He had also managed a shop in Pentre, Rhondda, for nine years.
In 1911, he left Wales to join his older brother, David, who was an accountant in Winnipeg, Canada. Owen quickly became a prominent figure within the Welsh community there, serving as secretary of the St David’s Society as well as being a leading member of the Nassau Street Baptist Church. He also occasionally acted as adjudicator at local eisteddfodau.
In 1915, Owen decided to return to Wales to visit his ageing parents and possibly enlist in the military. However, tragically, he lost his life on that fateful voyage aboard the Lusitania.
On 12 May 1915, The Haverfordwest and Milford Haven Telegraph reported on ‘The Sinking of the Lusitania’ and mentioned Owen Ladd as missing. An eyewitness account of Owen’s final harrowing moments appeared in the north Pembrokeshire’s weekly –
on 20 May 1915.
In 1977 the Museum acquired some diaries and papers from Owen’s relatives, including two letters written by Owen from Winnipeg, dated 8 March 1915 and 15 April 1915.
“The reason of my delay in replying to your enquiry was that I've been contemplating paying a visit to the old land when I would call & see you & settle all matters. Now I've definitly [sic] decided & shall be sailing by the Lusitania from New York May 1st. therefore I hope to call & see about the end of May. of course if we encounter any German torpedoes you'll have to claim on the German Emperor.”
(Extract from letter sent by Owen Ladd to Mr Francis, 15 April 1915)
The collection also includes a telegram, which was despatched by his brother David in Winnipeg on 8 May 1915 enquiring as to Owen’s safety; a non-committal reply was received from Cunard’s in Liverpool later the same day. And a letter received by another of Owen’s brothers, Hugh Ladd of Eglwyswrw, from ‘The Cunard Steam Ship Company Limited, Queenstown’ dated 14 May 1915.
The Owen Ladd collection is available to view online on the First World War Collections catalogue.
Comments - (5)
Dear Patricia,
Thank you for your comment. I'm glad that this account added to your understanding of your family history, and this tragic event.
I will pass on your comment to the author, who will be glad to hear,
Best wishes
Sara
Digital Team
My husband is the great-nephew of Owen Ladd and the grandson of Owen’s older brother, David, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. We read with much interest your wonderful article on Owen and the letters etc that accompany it. In my genealogical research , I had come across information of Owen here and there, but i’m thrilled to have such a complete version of this tragic incident for my Family History research.
Thank you.
Patricia
Thank you so much for your comments. I'm pleased that you enjoyed the blog. Your research sounds very interesting. Would it be possible for you to email a copy of the photo to me? If you ever find yourself in Cardiff please do call in to see the collection.
Dymuniadau gorau
Richard
Thank you so much for your comments. I'm pleased that you enjoyed the blog. Your research sounds very interesting. Would it be possible for you to email a copy of the photo to me? If you ever find yourself in Cardiff please do call in to see the collection.
Dymuniadau gorau
Richard
Also reported in May 1915, that amongst those who had been lost in the sinking of the Lusitania was Owen Ladd, a former secretary of the St David’s Society. Four other Welsh people from the city perished also.
This photograph of Owen Ladd shows that he had a severe right-sided proptosis, most likely due to Graves’ Disease (thyrotoxicosis), up till that time an untreatable condition. He would probably have had less than 6 months to live. In 1915, the first successful treatment of Graves’ Disease using radium was carried out at St Thomas’s Hospital in London, that patient being the composer Herbert Howells, who died in 1983. Possibly Owen Ladd was travelling to London to be treated in the same way.
Owen Ladd was the brother of my maternal grandfather, William Arthur Ladd, who started his working life as a jeweller, also. His principal occupation was as the manager of the agriclutural Coop, in Haverfordwest. At his funeral, apparently a local worthy creditted him with keeping the county fed during two world wars.
Best wishes, Neil.