Auction Catalogue

30 March 2011

Starting at 10:00 AM

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Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Washington Mayfair Hotel  London  W1J 5HE

Lot

№ 918

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30 March 2011

Hammer Price:
£1,300

A rare ‘Lusitania’ casualty pair awarded to Stewardess Christina Campbell Duncan, Mercantile Marine, killed when the S.S. Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Ireland, 7 May 1915

British War and Mercantile Marine War Medals (Christina C. Duncan) good very fine (2) £800-1000

Stewardess Christina Campbell Duncan, Mercantile Marine, was killed, aged 36 years, when the S.S. Lusitania was torpedoed by the German submarine U.20, off the coast of Ireland on 7 May 1915. Having no known grave, her name is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London. Born in Kirkdale, Lancashire; she was the daughter of Andrew and Jessie Duncan.

The
Lusitania, sailing from New York to Liverpool with 1,257 passengers and 702 crew, was torpedoed without warning by the German submarine U-20 off the southern coast of Ireland. Sinking within 15 minutes, 1,198 persons were killed in the outrage, including 124 American citizens. The American casualties created opposition in the U.S.A. to Woodrow Wilson’s previous policy of neutrality and helped precipitate American entry into the war.