One of the more famous ocean liner disasters, the Lusitania stands as a model of the terror of war imposed on civilians. Often credited with turning American non-involvement sentiment toward the war in Europe, she was torpedoed off the coast of Ireland and went down in a reported 20 minutes. While controversy about her possibly carrying war materials exists, the families of passengers who died still claim , and enjoy popular support for the assertion, that they died from an act of outright murder. Germany, conversely, celebrated the event by striking a medal. The British copied the medal and circulated it widely to show how their enemy was gloating over their fallen victims. Below is the box cover from the British copy of the medal followed by the images shown on a literature piece enclosed with each medal explaining the meaning of the images and urging support of the war effort.

Medal Box - Cover

  Medal front shows stricken liner (with imagined deck guns) sinking.

Medal Reverse Side - Death sells tickets for Cunard Line.

Cigarette Card remembers the Lusitania Sinking

Back of Cigarette Card recalls news coverage of Lusitania.