I'll also try to find out some more details. This was my great Uncle, I believe. Empress of Canada had sailed from the Clyde in January 1943, in Convoy WS26, and arrived at Freetown on 6th February then on to Cape Town. I am trying to discover whether my late uncle, Janusz Kowal, was on board. BOREAS returned to Freetown from escorting H.M.S. Occurring just two years after the RMS Titanic disaster, and a year before the loss of the RMS Lusitania, it is essentially forgotten. My father Peter was on Empress of Canade and he survived after 3 day and 3 night in the Ocean. She spent many weeks in Freetown to recover and then sailed to Glasgow and worked until the end of the war for De Gaulle in London. Amazing new images of the shipwreck were revealed at the ceremonies to mark the 100th anniversary of Canada’s worst, and one of the world’s worst, civilian maritime disasters. He knew what was coming after the first torpedo as he had been torpedoed and sunk twice in quick succession at the Battle of Jutland. He was Bombardier Theodore Ross Kerr-Taylor and only 22 yrs old. He did say that there were a number of Nurses on the float that he was near, and the men all stayed in the water so that the nurses would have the best chance of survival. I would be interested to learn of any information,eyewitness accounts or stories that have been past down to relatives of what happened and how it affected those involved please email. THE 'EMPRESS OF CANADA' OF 1961 . Whilst he survived, he never spoke of the experience.Bronek Kowal, Hello Bronek,I have the same issue concerning my late father, Waclaw Franciszek Herzog.From his letters, the locations, descriptions and dates match closely with those of the sinking of The Empress of Canada. 1 degree 13 seconds South & 9degrees 46 seconds west .I have a google earth map - how do I post? My father was HMS Crocus one of the three royal navy ships to respond to the mayday call. They were married for 55 years and had 4 children ..my husband being their son.She died Xmas day 2000 but it was only a short time before that that anyof the family knew what had happenened in those dark days. My late grandfather survived the torpedo attack on the Empress of Canada, his name was Roman Lewandowski, Sergeant Tank of the Polish Armed Forces. Fire on the River. )Ernie's brother, Billy, had been lost int he Atlantic some six months earlier. Launched last May by Mrs Diefenbaker, the "Empress of Canada" has just been carrying out her trials. I have no idea regarding specifics but would be grateful if anyone by any chance knew any details about him. He suffered shark bites which pained him all his life. By coincidence, this week could be dubbed ‘Ferry Cropper Week”. A tradition his mother had started a year or so after the sinking. and served on many merchant navy ships on Atlantic Convoys (and sunk a few times) he was also sabataged by both food contamination, so they had to live on rice for the whole crossing) and fire bombs in New York harbour, when the ship was loaded with 500lb bombs, aviation fuel and 2 stean engines mounted on deck. I must mention that my father could not stand the bad treatment the merchant navy sailors received on land (all because they did not wear a military uniform), some of the merchant sailors he served with had been sunk many, many times and still came back for more, even though they did not get paid from the time their ship was sunk! According to John Willis, curator at the Canadian Museum of History (CMH), the sinking of the Empress of Ireland, which claimed 1,012 lives, is at heart a … He never spoke of his war experiences but he wrote a diary of war with the events. Nineteen Keys and the Lure of a Furious Sea. My dad Richard OUtrum Massy was the purser and a photographer on the ship from 1939 through the time it sunk. I have an ashtray in the form of a ships wheel, made of solid aluminum with a crest in its centre bearing a checkered white and red flag with the name of S. S. Empress of Canada around it in a blue circle. He was called Norman Peers who was described as a A/S but served as a 'Hospital Attendant'. I think he was the ships pharmacist. Hard to get gold in the UK during the war.He escaped the sinking and got into a lifeboat and was in it for 5 days. I have lots of stories too. The position of the sinking is given at 1°13'S, 9°57'W. my grandad was on this ship and he survived. 19th March, FridayH.M. He also has stories of people being taken by sharks, And he remembers being picked up by the ship HMS Borious, and vividly remembers the letters H77 on its side. Was you relative a military passenger or crew member? The morning after the fire: the EMPRESS OF CANADA capsized on her port side, with her funnels smashed against the quay. May 29th. He apparently became ill on board ship with severe tonsilitis, and despite some medical attention including an injection, died. I have downloaded paid-for content that provides images and information about the ship and its sinking, but regrettably no passenger or survivor lists. My Father was Flight Sergeant L.E.Mckie. Where would be the best place to post these so relatives and searchers about this time could access them?Shaun Massy brinkcontact me also at www.traumatransformed.com, My father(Andrew Lee) was a stoker on the Empress of Canada He survived. Book "Three Miles Down" [1998] James Hamilton-Paterson, tells story of attempt to salvage gold from this shipwreck. I have just spent part of my afternoon talking with my honorary Auntie, now in her nineties, about her father, who was a gunner in the RN. My mother in law Maria Paterek as she was then was on the ship when it was torpedoed... she survived on the lifecraft and was picked up by a ship and taken to Liverpool. My Father - Len Price - was a steward on the Empress of Canada. He suffered from insomnia the rest of his life...unable to sleep until after the time (midnight or so?) He was one of the troops returning on leave, to England because his own ship was being repaired in Durban. Ivan Seymour Jacklin was a surgeon lieutenant who died swimming with his doctor's bag around his neck. In peacetime she had operated on the trans-Pacific route for Canadian Pacific, based at Vancouver, as well as running a number of very successful and popular Round-the-World cruises. Late on 13th March 1943, Canadian Pacific’s Empress of Canada was hit on the starboard side by a torpedo from the Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci, and quickly developed a list and lost all power. He joined the Royal Navy and had to change his name to Richard Johnston. It was again hit by a second torpedo and sunk after midnight. There were 1892 on board, including about 500 prisoners of war in transit.14th March, SundayH.M.S. EMPRESS OF CANADA.18th March, ThursdayH.M.S. "The sea will grant each man new hope, his sleep brings dreams of home." He said the Boreas picked up 700 Empress of Canada survivors out of the shark infested waters. 22 seems terribly young to die by modern standards, especially from an illness that we, today, would consider easily treatable, but one must remember in those dark days, many tens of thousands died at sea whilst possessing similarly tender years. Resource) was being repaired in Durban. The book also goes on to give the name Jock Walker as a ship officer who claims that the ship carried a great deal of Gold?? I started a page on facebook to post them and the stories. My Father was a steward - he could have served your mother that dinner! He lived until he was 80 and died in 2002 and my mother died in 2010. The ship listed 15 degrees starboard and began to sink. Empress of Canada sunk 13th March 2017 Les Late on 13th March 1943, Canadian Pacific’s Empress of Canada was hit on the starboard side by a torpedo from the Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci, and quickly developed a list and lost all power. She mentioned being attacked by sharks and barracudas and was badly hurt on her bottom. I have only just started to learn about what happened as he never spoke of his war experiences, his name was Donald Davies known as Don and was from Shropshire he served three tours of duty on the ship between 1941 and when she was sunk. They were to be in the same lifeboat but decided to separate on the boat beck so maybe one would get home.My dad told me he was in the motorboat rounding up survivors from the water and witnessed some of his crew mates taken by sharks.Both my dad and his brother got home and carried on through the war.As soon as the ship sank the crew pay stopped and my Mum got no money at all until my Dad got home and went back to sea. This ship would be the first of two CP vessels to be named Empress of India, and on 28 April 1891, she was the very first of many ships named Empress arriving at Vancouver harbor. I am scanning photos of that time from my dad's old albums. EMPRESS OF CANADA. 9, course 062 degrees. They arrived in Freetown on March 19th, 1943. The liner had been built in 1922 by Fairfield’s at Govan. My late father Daniel Castille was French? (A friend of Billy was in the water and saw him taken, but luckily he survived. According to Ron nobody said a thing.In all the years I knew him, every summer, he planted Petunia's and Crocus's to commerorate 2 of the rescue ships. Ships PETUNIA, CORINTHIAN, and CROCUS arrived Freetown with survivors from S.S. Hi my father Alfred Caruana (maltese)he was on the empress of canada he was a second cook and baker i know he was selling cakes and sandwhiches to the troops during ww2 he had two suitcases full of dollas when the ship went down i know he had money he lent my uncle one thousand pounds to start a bookies runner as gambling in england was illegal at the time.on the night of the friday 13th march 1943 shortly after the torpedo struck my fathers best friend who was a pipe smoker he said to my father im going back into the cabin to get my pipe, he was never seen again. I would very much like to have his story with a view to perhaps publishing it here.Mrs. RMS Empress of Asia was an ocean liner built in 1912-19131 by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland for Canadian Pacific Steamships. He was taken to seirra leone hospital where he spent two weeks recovering.my father was a very superstitious man he never liked friday the 13th. He got himself on deck as quickly as he could but had to slide down a rope to the water, suffering severe rope burns, for which he later required skin grafts. 98 likes. Trying to work out where my father was & when during WW2.I have his diary for all 1944 when he's in Palestine with the Middle East Forces in the RASC Mobile Petrol Filling Company..He went there via South Africa on the Empress of Canada & told us (his family) it was sunk on the return journey. Pacific Marine Review. Do you have a copy of the account your father wrote? She was of course built in Fairfields and the story would start from her days in the yard until her sinking. The final casualty toll was 44 crew, 8 guards and 340 passengers, ironically many of them Italian prisoners of war. Empress of Canada offers corporate boat cruises, boat rentals, and a variety of boating events for the Toronto area. Author and historian, Les Streater has written and published over thirty books on various aspects of shipping, as well as editing and producing a number of magazines on shipping and aviation. 21,517: Empress of Canada (2) see Duchess of Richmond. EMPRESS OF CANADA torpedoed and sunk in position 1-13S, 19-57W.H.M.S. I'd be grateful for any information on the crew, passengers or in fact anyone who was involved in the Empress of Canada. He spent 3 days in the water before being rescued. Plenty of information concerning the torpedo attack, sinking and rescue.Search the webpage for '13th March, Saturday' or 'Canada'https://www.naval-history.net/xDKWD-WAfrica1943a.htmADMIRALTY WAR DIARIES of WORLD WAR 2WEST AFRICA COMMAND, FREETOWN - January to April 1943Transcribed by Don Kindell13th March, SaturdayTransport EMPRESS OF CANADA, after being diverted 3 times, finally to Takoradi, was torpedoed between the engine room and the boiler room at 2350 hours in position 1-13S, 9-57W. It is Canada’s worst maritime disaster, yet few Canadians have heard of it. He was in Palestine with the Middle East Forces on 1942, and he had traveled from Suez to Durban in the RSM "New Amsterdam" between January 2 and 13, 1943. At the time he was 16yo and serving on the ship as a cabin boy (and is now 85). MALAYA, fuelled and sailed again to assist in rescue of survivors from S.S. My Father Wieslaw Dabrowski was on the " Empress of Canada" when she was torpedoed. As well as being a passenger liner in peacetime, Empress of Asia served as an armed merchant cruiser and a troopship in wartime. He told me it was harrowing and it always remained in his thoughts and prayers. Memorial to the sinking of the Empress of Ireland, Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He recounted his conversations with her in his book, No Place to Go Home. that the torpedoes hit the Empress. They are as follows: Mass Grave - Remaining With Ship, Pointe-au-Pere, Quebec, Canada … Following the Armistice in 1945, the shipping lines could start looking into the task of rebuilding their fleets. He survived by sliding down the rope and getting onto a rescue boat. He was in the water with many others until picked up by an RN vessel. He emigrated to Canada after the war. As he was not wearing a life jacket it allowed him to swim unheaded. A Polish officer took control of the raft and helped her to survive. EMPRESS OF CANADA.Aircraft sighted 24 lifeboats in position 1-13S, 9-46W a.m. 14/4 – vicinity of sinking of EMPRESS OF CANADA.16th March, TuesdayH.M. They were scared that the sub would shoot them but that didn't happen.He arrived back in Liverpool wearing just his shorts and a singletDad was also torpedoed on HMS Salopian in 1941 and again attacked off Norwegian coast by a German pocket battle ship.Ironically, he joined the Merchant Navy to avoid the army as he thought the army was too dangerous!I haven't got his Merchant Navy Discharge book and don't know the name of the 3rd ship sinking. J. Bibber:Waclawh left a comment on 2/16/20 saying "...aircraft sighted 24 lifeboats in position 1-13S, 9-46W ..." What does 1-13S, 9-46W mean? Yes my Dad was on the Empress he is still alive to tell his story at 96 years old!! My Dad is 92 years old but still talks about his war experiences as if it was just yesterday, My name is jack bell I was on the empress of Canada when she sunk I was an assistant steward I was 18 years old when the ship was torpedoed most every one was asleep except for crew tar still still had duties there was a lot of confusion as all of the electrics were out so no one could see there was a lot of screaming too some people including myself could not swim I climbed down a rope into the water with my life jacket on and manoeuvred myself away from the ship in case I got sucked under there were sharks in the water any many were attacked when light came I was alone in the water I saw an upturned lifeboat an made my way to it and scrambled on to the top of it . She was rescued by a British Corvette and remained forever grateful to a British sailor on this Corvette who carried her in his arms up and down the deck each time there was a alarm. My father Richard Moore (now deceased) was a writer/gunner on HMS Boreas, one of the 4 vessels which picked up survivors. Though less storied than the Titanic, the sinking of the Empress of Ireland in 1914 remains the largest peacetime maritime disaster in Canada’s history. M.I.McKie, Master Mariner (Retd) mac.mckie@gmail.com. So he must have arrived early March, I think. My father told us he was winning at cards when a torpedo struck. My Father Ronald Good, is also a survivor from the sinking of the Empress of Canada. He sadly passed away some years ago, but if anyone has any info about access to any official records of this event I would be grateful for that info. He was nominally guarding Italian PoWs. RMS Empress of India was an ocean liner built in 1890-1891 by Naval Construction & Armaments Co, Barrow-in-Furness, England for Canadian Pacific Steamships. I am writing about these women and wonder if there is more that you can tell me?My regardsPeter peterhore@btinternet.com, Pamela Luke and Suzanne Roquerre and three men were the only survivors in their lifeboat after three nights and three days on the high seas - I shoudl liek to know more about them if you could kindly contact me at peterhore@btinternet.comPeter, Tina ScamellIf your father is still with us, is it possibel please to interview him?Peter Horepeterhore@btinternet.com. My Grandfather, William Sams whom perished on this ship and our family have very little information, it has been said that he escaped on a life boat but went back to the sinking ship to help try and release the Italian PoW. True, the Storstad was the worst imaginable ship that could collide with the liner. he also hated water. My mothers brother Edward Robertson was part of the crew when the ship was lost.She always spoke of him as quiet man who was sadley missed by all who knew him. Hi Sophie. EMPRESS OF CANADA. My granpa survived but he never seen again his brother. The EMPRESS OF CANADA running her speed trials over the 'Arran Mile' in the Firth of Clyde on 10th March 1961 . Rescue boats finally collected 1,360 survivors and took them to Freetown,. An SOS had been transmitted and a Catalina flying boat found the lifeboats the next day. Thanks Maureen. My father was a Royal Navy gunner in the D.E.M.S. She was a Polish nurse who had also survived Siberia. San Francisco: J.S. My great aunt was aboard the ship when it was sunk. Fire brigades from all over the north of England, and the northern Midlands, collaborated in fighting the fire. When she arrived in Freetown she was taken care of by excellent Polish doctors in a military hospital who managed to cure her septicaemia when there was no access to antibiotics. She was requisitioned in 1939 for use as a troopship, and after conversion had transported thousands of Australian and New Zealand troops. Or just copy paste these coordınates into Google Maps1°13'00.0"S 9°57'00.0"W1°13'00.0"S 9°46'00.0"W. J. Bibber,Thanks a lot for the information on the location of the ship. Thanks. On March 13, 1943, while en route from Durban, South Africa to Takoradi carrying Italian prisoners of war, the EMPRESS OF CANADA was torpedoed and sunk by Italian submarine LEONARDO DA VINCI, approximately 400 miles (640 km) south of Cape Palmas off the coast of Africa. Is that 13 degrees South, 46 degrees West?? I notice so many people on this site who have relatives involved and would like to pull it all together. Disapeared under the the water and saw him taken, but was taken by a second torpedo and after. Empress all the time of the sinking is given at 1°13 's, '... Navy ships to respond to the U.K. on the ship from 1939 through the (! Anyone who was picked up survivors on empress of canada sinking a raft very much like to pull it all.... 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