The Hemlington Nautical History Society

As part of GPS Research you know we take the hard work out of research for you

Lost at Sea 

 Lost liners of the 20th Century

As part of  our ongoing search for material to add not only to here, we have started to evaluate what we consider to be the stories of three of the most famous and most tragic ships in history.
Their names were Titanic, Lusitania and Empress of Ireland.

At this point Titanic is well documented so will pass on that one here. But read below and do check out the links underlined in blue

Each was a proud symbol of Edwardian Britain. Each had strong links with Liverpool and its people.They say that disasters come in threes.
The sinking of the Titanic, Lusitania and Empress of Ireland all happened within three years, 1912 to 1915.
Each was a major world event.Their combined effect on the port and people of Liverpool was devastating. In some ways, they marked the end of Liverpool’s Edwardian heyday.

OK The Titanic owing to the fact we have this discussion board here on her needs no introduction, So onto the Lusitania,
I have already posted on this ship but for the puposes of this post will represent it here now,

Please note, that the links in blue in the following articles take you to off site imformation

Featured Articles: RMS Lusitania: The Fateful Voyage

On April 30th 1915, the Lusitania was at New York, being loaded with meat, medical supplies, copper, cheese, oil and machinery, but she was also secretly being loaded with munitions for Britain for the war. That same day, Kapitänleutnant Walter Schwieger was ordered to take his U-boat-20 German submarine to the northern tip of Great Britain, then back down south on the Atlantic side and then east to the Irish Channel to destroy ships going to and from Liverpool, England.....Now read full account here......... Sinking of the Lusitania

After reading the completes story, you may like to check out the following links on the aftermath .....
U.S. Protest Over the Sinking of the Lusitania, 13 May1915 HERE

Second U.S. Protest Over the Sinking of the Lusitania, May 1915 HERE

Third U.S. Protest Over the Sinking of the Lusitania, 21 July 1915 HERE

German Government's Response to the Sinking of the Lusitania, 28 May 1915 HERE

British Law Courts Review of the Sinking of the Lusitania, 7 May 1915 HERE

Contributed by Vincent Kan at: http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/lusitania.htm Which is basically the source for this article.

The Empress of Ireland

OK now onto the Empress of Ireland, Ninety Five years after her demise, the 'Titanic' is more popular now than ever before. But there's another ship with a similar tale that history has almost forgot...{ The Empress of Ireland }
Today on the bottom of the St. Lawrence River just east of Rimouski, Quebec lies the wreck that other ill-fated ocean liner - the 'Empress of Ireland'.
In the early morning hours of May 29, 1914, the 'Empress' slipped beneath the waves on her way from Quebec City to Liverpool, after colliding with the Norwegian coal ship 'Storstad' in the fog.
And yet the story of the Canadian Pacific's 'Empress of Ireland' seems to be buried as deeply in the mud as her rapidly decaying hull.
That's despite the fact that more passengers lost their lives on the Empress of Ireland than either the 'Lusitania' or even the 'Titanic'. The total loss of passengers on the 'Empress' was 840,
Some might claim the passenger loss on the 'Empress' to be somewhat of a finicky statistic in the grand scheme of things, especially when compared to the Titanic's total loss of 1503 lives including crew members, two years earlier.
Yet at total of 1012 souls went down with the 'Empress' - a staggering loss by anyone's standards.
So what did happen the night of May 29, 1914? "If you back up to the afternoon of May 28th, she left Quebec at 4:27pm.
She steamed successfully for about 200 miles. And then when she was east of Rimouski, her captain - Captain Kendall - saw another ship coming up the St. Lawrence.
He manoeuvred north to make sure there was plenty of room to clear the ship. But then suddenly, an oval-shaped cloudbank from the south shore propelled itself between the two ships.
What happened next was catastophic - at least for the 'Empress'.
Another ship the the 'Storstad' struck the 'Empress' right between the funnels and put a hole through the 'Empress' below the water line 25 feet deep and broke deck plating 21 feet above the surface.
It was the beginning of a very short end for the 'Empress'.
A huge quantity of water rushed into both boiler rooms, and the weight of the water rushing in brought the 'Empress' down to the main deck level so that it sank on the starboard side by about nine feet.
It was a matter of seconds, perhaps minutes for people on the lower decks before they met their end.
After 14 minutes, the entire ship was gone. That much I think from what I have read is certain.
But why the collision occurred is not nearly as clear.
According to the British Inquiry led by Lord Mersey - the same person who held the inquiry into the sinking of the 'Titanic' - the collision was the fault of the 'Storstad'. He ruled that the officer on the bridge of the 'Storstad' on the night of the collision failed to inform Captain Anderson of the 'Storstad' of the heavy fog conditions.
So it's not that the 'Empress' story is without the elements that make a legendary tale: prestige, chaos, massive loss of life, and perhaps even conspiracy.
The story of the 'Empress of Ireland' has fascinated me for some time, I have come to the conclusion that it may simply have been dealt a bad hand in the context of history.
Two months after she sank, World War One broke out and before long, the horrors of war, the gas attacks, and the sinking of the 'Lusitania' clearly overshadowed the loss of one Canadian Pacific liner."
If like me you want to know more then visit this site,You will find it a good reference point. Arrow Empress of Ireland

 

Now more recent lost at sea reports

 

On the 21st Oct 1988 in calm seas a 6306 ton Greek cruise ship Jupiter with nearly 500 British schoolchildren on board came into collision with a roll on roll off car ferry. Adige, this happened just outside the port of Piraeus Greece. The ship sank in a matter of 40 minuets. In 1986 the roll on roll off ferry Herald of free enterprise capsized and sank also in a matter of forty five seconds. in the harbour of Zeebrugge. Belgium. with the loss of almost 200 lives.

 

Both of the above disasters where to of been the result of negligence. and a bit like the passengers of Titanic who where looking forward to a pleasant trip where either fighting for there life or dead.

At the foot of this post is an acount of two more ships lost

 

When steam power began to be used at sea there was a great rush to cash in on the transatlantic trade. And by the 1840s ships that where powered by steam where regul;arly crossing the Atlantic. Many of these ships where hell ships to use a better word but some not so. One the President was not much more than a year old when she disappeared She was launched in 1839, she was a paddle vessel also rigged for sail with a tall smoke stack just forward of the paddle wheels. She was a handsome ship with a rakish bow and because steam ships where still some what of a novelty then a huge crowed made there way to the docks to see her depart from New York on March 11 1841, for the port of Liverpool. The strange thing was they where the ;last people to see her as she did not make her port.

 

Now bear this in mind it is 1841 and the story unfolds. It is not a ghost story but a parallel one to Titanic. in all the actions.

 

Her Captain like Smith of the Titanic was a very respected man who had a good reputation. And even when stiff gales blew up no one worried. When on April 1 there had been no news the times announced that she had been delayed by storms. She had been expected to reach Liverpool in just sixteen days., But there followed the sad sequence of her been reported first late then overdue. And finally missing. The first thoughts was that she was delayed by minor trouble with her machinery. This of course was not uncommon for early steam vessels. but she also carried enough canvas to bring her to port. There where the usual rumours first that she had put into port in Madeira and was undergoing repairs. And opinions where expressed by experienced seamen that she must be safe. but the hard truth is no trace was ever found of her. 

 

Again and again ships disappear with speed. Titanic took under three hours and considering her size that is not long. and while the ship building industry and architects endeavour to take every possible eventuality into consideration each new sinking produces something new that they never allowed for. 

 

If you ask anyone to name a ship with a great loss of life, they almost always say Titanic. she lost 1503 soles. after her comes the Lusitania with 1198 soles lost. although she was hold by enemy action. she did sink however in under 45 minuets. Losses during the war where legion of course. Athenia sunk with great loss of life. Lancastria who was evacuating troops and refugees from St Nazaire. she was sunk in June 1940 and over 3000 people lost there lives. 

 

3000 sounds a lot but if you consider the Wilhelm Gustloff, who lost 7000 people in the war when she was doing Germanys own Dunkirk. But the numbers did not and there as there was two other liners lost inth same operation. General Von Stuben and Goya. the total was a staggering 18,000 soles. Hood the great British warship lost 1423 men in just seconds. But it is the loss of large amounts of people in peacetime that really makes us think and realise the velocity and ruthlessness of the sea. 

 

Of course after Titanic the authorities made every ship that went to sea carry enough life rafts to support the whole amount on board. But these new rules did not allow for the ship listing to one side as in most cases, This renders the boats at one side of the ship useless. It did not allow for human frailty and panic. Or for the fact that when a lifeboat is lowered the people on the deck only see a great gap and a deep drop to water. 

 

During the war on ships that had to drop boats men where made to wait till the boat was in the water then told to jump to the fallsand climb down to the boats. Remember most of these incidents in the war took place in day time where light was no problem. But most accidents at sea happen at night. It must be daunting enough to look down in daytime let alone night. and to see the falls way of the side of the ship as she listed to one side. 

 

To landsmen there is always a element of mystery and romance to the sea. and a element of danger, because things that are easily understandable on dry land just dont make sense when they happen on water.

 

When the pleasure steamer Princess Alice left London Bridge for an excursion to Gravesend and Sheerness on 3rd Sept 1878, she was one of the largest and best known vessels of the London Steam Packet Company. As it was a fine warm day she was crowded with excursionists, most of them women and children. determined to enjoy themselves on what may of been there only good outing that year. They would of all been gaily decked out in there best and covered with lace and ribbons. and clutching parasols and picknicks. Returning in the evening her passengers replete with food, drink and sunshine and possibly music coming from more than one spot on hr decks. 

 

It was in the days before the rules to the road where brought in and formulated. for the assistance of masters of the ships. and it was a habit for traffic to hug the side of the stream that favoured the master with the tide. Princess Alice was rounding a sharp left hand bend near Woolwich when she was faced with the collier Bywell Castle. Bound for Newcastle in full ballast. Bywell Castles stem almost cut the excursion ship in half. As water rushed in she broke in two and sank in a matter of minuets. Little could be done to save lives and though nearby watermen lay on there oars and other vessels hurried to the scene the people on board where swamped with the voluminous clothes of the period the people in the water had little or no chance. around 640 men, women and children where drowned in the sight of her disembarkation pier.