Death accompanies the Lusitania Part One

The world was plunged into horror as the news broke that luxury liner Lusitania had been sunk by a German torpedo.
It was a defining moment in World War one, and globally turned public opinion against Germany.
The official death toll was 1198. Among them were two New Zealand families.
Joe and Mary Macky stood on the deck of the sinking Lusitania and let others get into the lifeboats ahead of them.
Joe had been born in Auckland on March 6, 1855, to Thomas and Catherine. Although considered a British subject, he was born, lived and worked in New Zealand before that fateful trip.
Educated in Auckland he went on to found the firm Macky, Logan, Steen and Company, a well known haberdashery and clothiers, best known for their “Cambridge” shirts, a business that in its heyday employed some 2000 people.
Macky became Mayor of Devonport in 1896 and retired near the end of his fourth term in 1900. Macky also held a seat on the Auckland Harbour Board as the Devonport Borough representative. Macky was also known as a prominent Auckland yachtsman.
He had married Isabella Campbell Kennedy in 1878 and they had five children before her death in 1887.
Joe then went on to marry Mary Birrell in Australia in 1888 and have four more children.
In 1915, Joe and Mary were travelling in what’s called second cabin or second class on the luxury liner Lusitania.
They were unlikely to have known that about 50 telegrams had been received by prominent passengers warning that the ship would be torpedoed leading to some warning that “death accompanies the Lusitania.”
Joe and Mary had been visiting overseas since 1914 as part of Joe’s annual buying trip - heading to England via New York to see one of their son’s Jack, who wished to enlist with an English regiment.
In 1915 they boarded the Lusitania, going from New York to Liverpool.
On May 7, the ship was off the coast of Ireland when it crossed in front of a U-boat that fired a torpedo. On board her were 1,264 passengers, 3 stowaways and a crew of 693.
It hit the starboard bow and there were a couple of explosions. The crew raced to get people to lifeboats but the listing of the ship made it difficult. In all only 6 out of 48 managed to get launched.
Joe tried to help as much as he could but it was soon apparent some people were never going to get off the ship.
Mary was offered a seat in a lifeboat but she gave it to another younger woman passenger telling her “I am getting old and would rather stay with my husband. You are younger and have life before you.”
They were both last seen standing together on the deck. It would be only moments later the ship went under.
Both, of course, are lost at sea.​