Jul
4
“The Empress of Ireland”
Jul 2014
By Doreen Marion Gee
Shortly after departing from Quebec City in the early hours of May 29, 1914, the Empress of Ireland was rammed by the Norwegian collier, SS Storstad, on a misty St. Lawrence River. Within fourteen minutes, the grand ocean liner sank to the bottom of the river. It is believed that around 1,012 people perished in a watery death on that infamous morning, some of them members of the Salvation Army and some from BC. The demise of the Empress of Ireland is considered to be Canada's worst peacetime maritime tragedy - in the same magnitude as the Titanic. So, why on earth in all my years of schooling and university have I never heard of this momentous event in Canadian history until now? That could be the biggest mystery of all. Well, thanks to the Maritime Museum of BC here in Victoria and the eye-opening and fascinating exhibit about the Empress of Ireland tragedy, many people will come to know about this highly significant part of our past and maybe we can now honour those innocent people whose lives were brutally taken in a morning of unspeakable horror on May 29, 1914.
The RMS Empress of Ireland was the main transporter of immigrants to this country back in the early 1900s. It was an elegant vessel "with a decor rich in wood panels, fireplaces, flowers, full of pageantry. Meals were served in the grand dining room on the sheltered deck. Among the 87 first class passengers were Mr. Lawrence Irving, a well know actor, his wife Mabel Hackney, and Sir Henry Seton Karr, a very rich English gentleman returning from a hunting trip in Canada." (The Forgotten Tragedy, The Tragedy - Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014). According to many knowledgeable experts at the opening of the Maritime Museum exhibit on May 29, 2014, about one in thirty-five people in Canada have been affected by the sinking of the Empress of Ireland in 1914, either directly or indirectly. A woman from Surrey came to the 100th anniversary of the tragedy because her grandmother was on the ship on that fateful morning.
Our local Salvation Army Band played at the anniversary event in honour of their fallen comrades a hundred years ago. According to "Death of an Empress", an article on the Salvation Army website, "Among the dead on the Empress of Ireland were approximately 150-plus members of The Salvation Army in Canada, including the entire leadership contingent and all but twelve of the Canadian Staff Band." This was a profound loss for our Salvation Army: "The Salvation Army, which was greatly affected by this tragedy, organized a memorial procession in Toronto never equaled." (The Forgotten Tragedy)
On May 29, the Maritime Museum held an unforgettable event that gave well-deserved recognition to the terrible event in 1914 and honoured the victims of the Empress of Ireland. There were interesting talks and an unveiling of a commemorative stamp to mark the important anniversary by Canada Post. A special memorial plaque honours British Columbia Residents who perished "on board during her tragic last voyage." A poignant personal story from The Forgotten Tragedy brings the past to life: "My name is Sean O'Hagan, my grandfather Thomas Corrigan was a seaman on the Empress of Ireland. He was born in Dundalk Ireland in 1871 and spent much of life serving on many different ships sailing out of Liverpool England. He was married to a Scottish woman, Jane Kirk, and together they had five children. Legend has it, Thomas, a first class swimmer died after saving a young lad who was a neighbour of his from Liverpool on board the Empress of Ireland. He was forty two years old."
More passengers died on the Empress of Ireland than on the Titanic. Of 138 children aboard, 134 died.
I wish to extend a personal "Thank you" to the Maritime Museum for enlightening me and many others about one of the most significant events in Canadian history. It is incumbent upon all of us to take an interest in that day of infamy on May 29, 2014 - and to never ever allow that tragedy to be forgotten again. We owe that to 1,012 victims and their surviving relatives.