Volunteers at New Quay lifeboat station pays tribute to a generous donor and special friend, the Honourable Audrey Lawson-Johnston, who sadly passed away on Tuesday aged 95.
Mrs Lawson Johnston was the last known survivor of the Lusitania and a great supporter of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. In 2004 she proudly named New Quay’s inshore lifeboat Amy Lea in memory of her mother after months of tireless fundraising to purchase the lifeboat to help save lives at sea. Since the Amy Lea arrived at station in 2004, Mrs Lawson Johnston developed a close relationship with the volunteer lifeboat crew and fundraisers.
Roger Couch, Lifeboat Operations Manager at New Quay commented:
‘This is very sad news for us after our close relationship with Mrs. Lawson-Johnston and her family. She funded the acquisition of the Amy Lea, which continues to perform well and it is such acts of generosity, combined with the support of the public at large, which enables the RNLI, as a charitable organization, to do its vital work’.
RNLI Community Fundraising Manager, Bev Rosser-Smith, remembers the close relationship that was developed between Mrs Lawson Johnston and the station over the years:
‘New Quay lifeboat station had a special relationship with Mrs Lawson Johnston and her family. She was one of life’s unique characters, always with an interesting story to tell, and will be missed by all who knew her.’
The Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat on 7th May, 1915 off the Irish coast. The ship had sailed from New York on the 1st May with 1959 passengers and crew aboard aware of the risk of likely U boat activity in the Irish Sea. When torpedoed, the ship sank within 18 minutes with the loss of 1198 lives. Mrs. Lawson Johnson, then a three month old baby, was saved when her nanny grabbed her from her cot and placed her in one of the few lifeboats which managed to launch successfully. Her parents and the nanny were also saved along with a brother but two elder sisters perished.
