Letters, photographs, telegrams etc relating to the loss of Joseph and Alice Bishop on the Lusitania 1915-1931.

Joseph and Alice Bishop were British citizens who left England in 1913 to farm in Canada. However, they struggled, and after not working since January 1915, they decided to return home to England on the Lusitania. The liner was sunk by German torpedoes on the 7 May 1915; Joseph and Alice did not survive. They had two sons, Walter Bishop who lived in Oldham, England, and Joseph Bishop who lived in Ontario, Canada. For the next 15 years the sons fought to obtain money from insurance companies and compensation from the Government. The collection follows this struggle and also gives a personal insight into Bishop family dynamics. The contents of the collection span 1913 to 1931. There are 46 items in the collection. These include photographs of Alice Bishop, and of her son Joseph and his wife Alice; letters off insurance companies addressed to Walter Bishop; and letters from Joseph Bishop to his brother Walter. The latter two are mostly concerned with the Lusitania tragedy and insurance claims (DX/2338/1 to DX/2338/5/2).