Sinking of the Lusitania

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 7 May 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On 7 May 1915, the British ocean liner, the Lusitania, was sunk by a German submarine off the Irish coast, as it sailed from New York to Liverpool.

Thousands of passengers were onboard and 1,200 people died.

The attack helped turn American opinion against Germany.

In 2015, Alex Last used BBC archives to tell the story.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Sinking of the Lusitania. Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself. My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a load of sport podcasts. I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with leading journalists, experienced pundits and the biggest sports stars. Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the player's mouths. But the best thing about doing this at the BBC
0:21.5	is a unique access to the sporting world.
0:24.7	What that means is that we can bring you podcasts
0:27.1	that create a real connection to dedicated sports fans
0:30.0	across the UK.
0:31.3	So if you like this podcast,
0:32.9	head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more.
0:39.9	Hello, this is the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service.
0:45.3	We're the podcast that take you back to a moment in history
0:48.2	and we bring it all to life through incredible archive
0:51.5	and the amazing memories of key witnesses.
0:54.6	Episodes are just nine minutes long and they come out every weekday.
0:58.8	If that sounds like your thing, well make sure you subscribe wherever you get your BBC podcasts
1:03.4	and don't forget to turn on your push notifications as well so you never miss an episode.
1:09.4	But for now, let's go to World War I, when the British
1:13.4	Oceanliner, the Lusitania, which was carrying thousands of passengers, was sunk by a German
1:18.9	submarine as it sailed from New York to Liverpool. The attack caused international outrage
1:24.3	and helped turn American opinion against Germany.
1:31.3	Alex Lass has been using BBC archives to tell the story.
1:46.3	In New York, during the weeks preceding the last voyage of the Lusitania, there was much gossip of submarines.
1:52.7	Margaret Haig Thomas, later Viscountess Ronda, was a passenger on the Cunard Line's luxury liner,
1:57.2	the Lusitania. She was recorded by the BBC in 1950.
	...

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