Hamiltonians who perished in catastrophic marine tragedies
A little over a century ago this week, the city received the tragic news that a young nurse from Hamilton was among 234 killed when a Canadian hospital ship was torpedoed by a German sub in the Atlantic Ocean near southern Ireland.
Mae Bell Sampson, 28, was on board the HMHS Llandovery Castle on June 27, 1918, when the vessel with a giant Red Cross on it was attacked in one of the worst atrocities of the First World War.
Sampson survived the initial attack and she and 13 other nurses were guided onto a lifeboat. But the craft was swamped by the sinking ship with all the women drowning. There were 43 Canadian women who paid the supreme sacrifice in the First World War and nearly a third of them died that day.
Sampson, who was the first nurse from Hamilton to enlist in the war, and was known for her compassion with patients, is remembered in a plaque at the Hamilton General Hospital to this day. For decades after, a wreath was regularly placed by the plaque each Remembrance Day.
But she was not the only person from Hamilton to perish in a catastrophic marine disaster over the years.
Here are some other Hamiltonians who found themselves on the wrong ship at the wrong time:
SHIP: RMS Titanic
DATE OF SINKING: April 15, 1912
DEATHS: 1,523 of 2,200 on board
- The British luxury steamship Titanic struck an iceberg on the evening of April 14, 1912, while on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. The ship, that was supposed to be unsinkable, took on water and eventually sank in the early hours of the next day about 370 kilometres from the coast of Newfoundland.
- The mammoth ship was not Dr. Alfred Pain's first choice to return to Canada after a year at King's College Hospital in London, England. The 24-year-old doctor figured he could make the passage for free on board a freighter if he signed on as a ship's doctor. But that didn't work out and he explored other options, finally ending up with a second-class ticket aboard the Titanic.
Pain was born and grew up in Hamilton, going to the University of Toronto to study medicine. After graduating in 1910, he worked as a house doctor for Hamilton City Hospital before moving to London for further studies the following year. His remains were never found, although Hamilton Cemetery has a memorial stone to remember him.
Frederick James Rutherford
SHIP: RMS Empress of Ireland
DATE OF SINKING: May 29, 1914
DEATHS: 1,012 of 1,477 on board
- The ocean liner Empress of Ireland foundered near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River on May 29, 1914, after colliding in thick fog with the SS Storstad, a cargo ship. The Empress of Ireland sank in only 14 minutes and was the worst peacetime marine disaster in Canadian history.
- Frederick Rutherford, 43, lived on Markland Street in Hamilton, and was a buyer for J.C. Watkins of Hamilton. According to Peter's Empress of Ireland," a blog devoted to the ship, Rutherford travelled frequently for his work. His body was recovered and identified. He was buried at Hamilton Cemetery.
SHIP: RMS Lusitania
DATE OF SINKING: May 7, 1915
DEATHS: 1,198 of 1,959 on board
- The British ocean liner Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the southern coast of Ireland. The horrendous loss of life galvanized support for the British First World War effort and was a factor in swaying public opinion in the U.S. to declare war on Germany two years later.
- An estimated 19 Hamiltonians died on the Lusitania including James Mason Young, 61, and Georgina Abigail Young 61, who were travelling to England to be by the hospital bedside of their son James Vernon. An officer with Canadian troops, he was wounded in France. According to an eyewitness on the ship, the Youngs held hands and jumped over the side moments before the vessel went down. James Mason Young co-founded the Hamilton Cotton Co., a major employer in Hamilton through the early decades of the 1900s. There is a memorial stone for the couple Hamilton Cemetery. James Mason and Georgina Young were great grandparents of Bob Young, the owner of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
SHIP: SS Athenia
DATE OF SINKING: Sept. 3, 1939
DEATHS: 112 of 1,400 aboard
- The Athenia was a British passenger liner that was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland and was the first U.K. ship to be sunk by Germany during the Second World War. The incident was criticized as a war crime.
- Margaret Hayworth, 10, was returning to Canada with her mother, Georgina, and sister, Jacqueline, 5, when the ship was struck by a torpedo within hours of Great Britain declaring war on Germany. Margaret suffered head injuries and died six days later. More 1,200 mourners filled St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church at Barton Street East and Smith Avenue for her funeral. She was interred at Woodland Cemetery.
Robin McKee, who is known for his tours of Hamilton Cemetery, hopes to host one with the theme Disasters, Demises and Disappearances" this fall. It would include examples of Hamiltonians who died in marine disasters. The weekly tours have been on hold because of COVID but he expects they will resume in September.
The theme of the disaster tour is people dying in circumstances that they had no control over, whether it be ships going down, fires or other major accidents. It can be weather, icebergs, bridges collapsing or maybe bad luck. That's why it's important to remember every moment is precious because you just don't know what is going to happen. Be careful out there."
The Turbinia
Speaking of ships, did you know that in the early years of the 1900s you could ride a regularly scheduled steamer between Hamilton Harbour and Toronto?
In fact, 117 years ago this past Saturday on June 19, 1904, the $175,000 Turbinia began the service with great fanfare that included a blast of a cannon and whistle blowing along the waterfront. Her approach was heralded miles away out on the lake by the shafts of light sent out by her powerful searchlight, and she made the turn in the bay coming into the company's new wharf. There were thousands of people along the shore and on the wharf ready and willing to cheer lustily," The Spectator wrote.
But amid the growing popularity of the automobile, the service was halted in the late 1920s.