1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:14,640 Speaker 2: I'm Tracy V. 4 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: Wilson and I'm Holly Frye. 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 2: We mentioned on an episode of Unearthed recently that we 6 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 2: have gotten listener requests for an episode on the Empress 7 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 2: of Ireland, and I said this recent discovery of the 8 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 2: ship's compass platform in the Saint Lawrence River might move 9 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:34,480 Speaker 2: that topic up the list, and it did. 10 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: Here is the episode. This is a shipwreck that happened 11 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: just before the start of World War One and it 12 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 1: was the worst maritime disaster in Canadian history to happen 13 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 1: during peacetime. Was also one of three major disasters over 14 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: the span of just about three years involving ships that 15 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: were all registered in Liverpool. The other two were the 16 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: Titanic disaster, which happened in nineteen twelve, and the Lusitania, 17 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: which would be sunk by a German U boat almost 18 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:09,039 Speaker 1: exactly a year after this in nineteen fifteen. While the 19 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:12,559 Speaker 1: Empress of Ireland is a big part of both Canadian 20 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: history and the history of the Liverpool shipping and shipbuilding industry, 21 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: it does not have nearly the name recognition today, as 22 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: those other two disasters do. The RMS or Royal Mail 23 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,320 Speaker 1: ship Empress of Ireland and its sister ship, the Empress 24 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: of Britain, were both owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway Line. 25 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: They were part of Canadian Pacific's growing steamship service between 26 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: Europe and North America, and they were the first ships 27 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: Canadian Pacific built specifically for its fast Atlantic service. The 28 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: ships were both focused primarily on passenger service, but they 29 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:53,120 Speaker 1: both also carried mail and other cargo. The Empress of 30 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: Britain was launched on November eleventh, nineteen oh five, and 31 00:01:57,120 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: took its first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in the 32 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 1: south of nineteen oh six. It was requisitioned for military 33 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: purposes during World War One, but aside from that, the 34 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,679 Speaker 1: Empress of Britain offered regular passenger service across the North 35 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: Atlantic until nineteen twenty nine. After its last scheduled Transatlantic voyage, 36 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: the Empress of Britain was taken out of service and 37 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:22,799 Speaker 1: then scrapped. The Empress of Ireland was launched on January 38 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: twenty seventh, nineteen oh six, and also took its first 39 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,480 Speaker 1: voyage that summer. It sailed out of Liverpool which was 40 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 1: a major shipping, transportation and shipbuilding center and was a 41 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: popular port of departure for people immigrating from northern and 42 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: Western Europe to North America. The trip on the Empress 43 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: of Ireland took six days in each direction, two days 44 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: on the Saint Lawrence River and four to cross the Atlantic. 45 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,639 Speaker 1: So there were other shipping companies who were really focused 46 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:55,799 Speaker 1: on using luxury experiences to try to stand out from 47 00:02:55,800 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 1: their competition, like the White Star Line, whose Olympic class 48 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: included the Titanic. And while there were people who used 49 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,839 Speaker 1: words like luxury to describe various amenities aboard these two 50 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:11,920 Speaker 1: sister ships, they were really meant more to be comfortable, 51 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 1: reliable and fast. They were nice, but they were not 52 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,359 Speaker 1: like over the top fancy and their decor and their 53 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: amenities like the Titanic had been. These ships had upper 54 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:26,720 Speaker 1: and lower promenade decks with protected spaces for deck chairs. 55 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 1: There was a library, a cafe, and a music room, 56 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 1: plus smoking rooms, social halls, dining saloons, that kind of thing. 57 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 1: Some of these were reserved for first or second class passengers. 58 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: The Empress of Ireland had cabins that could accommodate three 59 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty first class passengers, three hundred and fifty 60 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: second class passengers, and one thousand third class, and to 61 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: some extent, these could be reconfigured based on passenger demand. 62 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: There are some accounts that describe third class as steerage, 63 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: but steerage makes it sound like a mass of people 64 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 1: shoved below decks with no real accommodations for their comfort 65 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 1: or safety. Third class was on the lower decks, and 66 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: it definitely was not as spacious or upscale as first 67 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: or second class, but there were passenger cabins along with 68 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: a third class smoking room, a lady's salon, and a 69 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: dining room. There was a space that could be used 70 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 1: more like a dormitory with rows of open berths, but 71 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: still everyone in third class had a cabin or a 72 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: berth assigned to them. Every deck also had bathrooms and lavatories, 73 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: so that people did not have to go far from 74 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 1: their cabins to use them. The ship was. 75 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 2: Also built according to the safety standards of the time. 76 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 2: This included being built with watertight compartments, and the ship 77 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:47,280 Speaker 2: could stay afloat if two adjacent compartments were flooded. There 78 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 2: were also twenty four watertight doors that could be closed 79 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:52,800 Speaker 2: off in the event of damage to the ship. 80 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: After the Titanic disaster in nineteen twelve, the Empress of 81 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: Ireland and its sister ship were also outfitted with additional 82 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: safety equipment. The Empress of Ireland had enough lifeboats to 83 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: accommodate eighteen hundred sixty people, and that was set as 84 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:12,040 Speaker 1: its maximum capacity, even though the ship itself was capable 85 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: of carrying more. There were also more than two thousand 86 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: life belts on board, one hundred fifty of them sized 87 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,920 Speaker 1: for children, and twenty four life buoys or life preservers. 88 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: The Empress of Ireland also had a Marconi wireless telegraph 89 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:32,480 Speaker 1: for communication and an underwater iceberg detection system. The Empress 90 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,920 Speaker 1: of Ireland left Liverpool for a routine trip across the 91 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: Atlantic on May fifteenth, nineteen fourteen. It arrived safely in 92 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 1: Quebec City, and on May twenty eighth it departed for 93 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: its return trip to Liverpool. On board were eighty seven 94 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: first class passengers, two hundred fifty three second class, seven 95 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:56,479 Speaker 1: hundred seventeen third class and four hundred twenty crew. Captain 96 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: Henry Kendall was in command, and this was the first 97 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 1: time he had commanded a ship on the Saint Lawrence River. 98 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 1: But while he was new to this particular ship and 99 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:09,839 Speaker 1: this route, he was an experienced captain. He had twenty 100 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: five years of experience at sea and almost twelve years 101 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,159 Speaker 1: working for Canadian Pacific. About half of that time for 102 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:18,839 Speaker 1: Canadian Pacific had been in command of one of the 103 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 1: company's ships. On board the Empress of Ireland were about 104 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: one hundred and seventy members of the Salvation Army who 105 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:28,200 Speaker 1: were going to London for a series of meetings known 106 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: as the International Congress. This was the fourth time the 107 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: Salvation Army had held such a congress, that the previous 108 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: ones being in eighteen eighty six, eighteen ninety four and 109 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 1: nineteen o four. There were also about three hundred workers 110 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:44,840 Speaker 1: who had been laid off from Ford Motor Company and 111 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 1: were returning to Europe. The two most well known people 112 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:52,280 Speaker 1: on board were probably married stage actors Lawrence Irving and 113 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:55,560 Speaker 1: Mabel Hackney, who were returning to Britain after a tour 114 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: of Australia and North America. The other ship involved with 115 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: this disaster was the Norwegian ship SS Storstid, owned by 116 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:08,280 Speaker 1: AF Clavinus and Company and built in nineteen ten. The 117 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: Storrestide was a cargo ship that primarily carried coal and or. 118 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: It had a maximum capacity of roughly ten thousand, eight 119 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: hundred tons of cargo. Master of the ship was Thomas Anderson, 120 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,480 Speaker 1: who had taken command when the store Stid was only 121 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: a few months old, so that gave him about three 122 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:29,600 Speaker 1: years of experience as the captain of this ship. When 123 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 1: the collision took place, though. 124 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 2: Anderson was asleep and first mate Alfred Toftiness was in command, 125 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 2: although there were standing orders that he was to wake 126 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,600 Speaker 2: up the captain either when they were six miles of 127 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 2: quantau Peer or father Point, or if they encountered fog. 128 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 2: Toftanis had also been working on the ship for about 129 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 2: three years. On May twenty ninth, nineteen fourteen, as the 130 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 2: Empress of Ireland was traveling toward the Atlantic Ocean on 131 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 2: the Saint Lawrence River, the store stud was heading in 132 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:05,160 Speaker 2: the opposite direction, carrying roughly ten four hundred tons of 133 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:10,000 Speaker 2: coal from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Montreal. Ships traveling this 134 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:12,600 Speaker 2: stretch of the Saint Lawrence River used a river pilot 135 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:17,120 Speaker 2: to help navigate around Quebec City. When the two ships collided, 136 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 2: the Empress of Ireland had left Quebec City and had 137 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 2: just dropped its pilot off at Ponta Pere. The Storstod 138 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:27,120 Speaker 2: was heading to Ponta Peer to pick up its pilot 139 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 2: before heading toward Quebec City, so both of the ships 140 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:33,439 Speaker 2: were on the south side of the river, fairly close 141 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:36,640 Speaker 2: to the shore. Navigating this stretch of the river could 142 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 2: be treacherous. The river became significantly narrower, busier, and more 143 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 2: crowded the closer it got to Quebec City. Beyond that, though, 144 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 2: especially at this time of the year, it was prone 145 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:52,440 Speaker 2: to sudden, dense fog as warmer air came into contact 146 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 2: with cold river water that was made even colder by 147 00:08:55,720 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 2: runoff from melting ice and snow. These conditions could change 148 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 2: extremely rapidly, and that is what happened on May twenty ninth, 149 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:07,960 Speaker 2: nineteen fourteen, when these two ships spotted each other. The 150 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:10,839 Speaker 2: weather was fine and clear, but just a few minutes 151 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:14,839 Speaker 2: later Fogg completely cut off their line of sight. We'll 152 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 2: get to that after we take a quick sponsor break. 153 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 2: As we said before the break, at a little after 154 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 2: one am on May twenty ninth, nineteen fourteen, the weather 155 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 2: was clear and fine on the Saint Lawrence River near 156 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 2: Quanto Peer, which today is part of the city of Ramuski. 157 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:43,560 Speaker 2: At one twenty am, pilot Adelard Burnier, who had guided 158 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 2: the Empress of Ireland out of Quebec City, disembarked onto 159 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 2: a tug to take him to shore. Not long afterward, 160 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,960 Speaker 2: the crew of the Empress of Ireland spotted the masthead 161 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 2: lights of a steamer that was about six miles away. 162 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:00,120 Speaker 2: That steamer was the Storstid, which was on its way 163 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 2: to pick up its pilot. The mass headlight is one 164 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:05,640 Speaker 2: of the lights on a ship that lets other vessels 165 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 2: know where it is and where it's going. There are 166 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 2: a number of different lights and configurations, all of which 167 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:15,800 Speaker 2: have their own meanings. The most critical ones to understanding 168 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,440 Speaker 2: what happened to the Empress of Ireland are the masthead 169 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 2: light and the sidelights. The mass headlight is a white 170 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:24,280 Speaker 2: light that shines from the forward part of the ship 171 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:27,360 Speaker 2: in a two hundred and twenty five degree arc, making 172 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:31,440 Speaker 2: the ship visible to other vessels it's traveling toward. The 173 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:34,880 Speaker 2: side lights are red and green, green on the starboard 174 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:38,079 Speaker 2: side and red on the port side. The Empress of 175 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:40,400 Speaker 2: Ireland set a course that would take it past the 176 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:44,559 Speaker 2: store Stod so that they would pass starboard side to starboard. 177 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 1: Side, i e. Green to green. But when the vessels 178 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 1: were about two miles apart, a heavy fog developed over 179 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: the river. Aboard the Empress of Ireland, Captain Henry Kendall 180 00:10:56,679 --> 00:10:59,920 Speaker 1: ordered the engines full of stern, basically putting them into 181 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,800 Speaker 1: reverse to stop the ship. The Empress of Ireland also 182 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:06,360 Speaker 1: sounded a signal on the ship's whistle to let the 183 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:10,319 Speaker 1: other ship know that they had gone astern. The Empress 184 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:13,320 Speaker 1: of Ireland heard the Storestod answer with a blast from 185 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: its own whistle, and based on accounts, they repeated this 186 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:21,120 Speaker 1: set of signals. When the Empress of Ireland was fully stopped, 187 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 1: it sounded two blasts on the whistle to inform the 188 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:28,080 Speaker 1: Storrestid that it was no longer moving. According to accounts 189 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: from the crew of the Storrestod, just before the fog 190 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:34,400 Speaker 1: obscured their view of the Empress of Ireland, the first mate, 191 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:38,679 Speaker 1: Alfred Toftanus, saw the green navigation lights, but then they 192 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 1: said the Empress of Ireland changed course and that the 193 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:45,320 Speaker 1: red lights were visible, and that only the red navigation 194 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: lights were visible. When the fog cut off their view, 195 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:50,880 Speaker 1: so the crew of the Storstod thought that they were 196 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,720 Speaker 1: going to be passing the Empress of Ireland red to 197 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:57,760 Speaker 1: red or port to port, not starboard to starboard, green 198 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:01,800 Speaker 1: to green. It is not possible for both of these 199 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 1: accounts to be true. The report of the Commission of 200 00:12:04,960 --> 00:12:09,920 Speaker 1: Inquiry into this disaster describes them as irreconcilable, and a 201 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,559 Speaker 1: lot of the testimony about which lights were showing, which 202 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: signals were given and heard from the ship's whistles, and 203 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:21,880 Speaker 1: which ship had the right of way are contradictory and confusing. 204 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:24,240 Speaker 1: But if both of the ships. 205 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,960 Speaker 2: Had maintained their original headings at this point, they would 206 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:30,839 Speaker 2: have passed by one another in the fog with no issue. 207 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:34,160 Speaker 2: Aboard the store Stod as the fog closed in toftness, 208 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 2: ordered the helm hard to port, So the use of 209 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,800 Speaker 2: port is a little confusing here. At the time, ship 210 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:44,280 Speaker 2: commands were given using what's known as tiller orders, which 211 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,000 Speaker 2: were a carryover from when ships were steered by a 212 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 2: tiller that was connected to the rudder. Moving the tiller 213 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:54,360 Speaker 2: hard to port caused the ship to turn starboard. In 214 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 2: some of the testimony before the commission, people said this 215 00:12:57,160 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 2: turn was to try to counteract the shift in the 216 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:04,000 Speaker 2: and keep the ship on its original course. But during 217 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,959 Speaker 2: the inquiry, C. S Hate, one of the councilors for 218 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:10,000 Speaker 2: the owners of the Storstad, said that Toftinus had told 219 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:12,200 Speaker 2: him that they made the turn so that they could 220 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:16,520 Speaker 2: give the Empress of Ireland more room. If the ships 221 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:19,600 Speaker 2: had been passing one another port to port, as the 222 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 2: crew of the Storstad apparently believed that they were, this 223 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 2: would have given the Empress of Ireland more room. But 224 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,679 Speaker 2: they were passing starboard to starboard, so when the store 225 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:32,840 Speaker 2: Sad made this turn, it headed right for the Empress 226 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:33,440 Speaker 2: of Ireland. 227 00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:37,200 Speaker 1: It was after giving this order that Tofton has woke 228 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:41,520 Speaker 1: Thomas Anderson, the captain of the Storstod. Anderson arrived on 229 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:43,400 Speaker 1: the bridge to see the lights of the Empress of 230 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:46,880 Speaker 1: Ireland coming out of the fog between six hundred and 231 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:50,479 Speaker 1: eight hundred feet away and on the Empress of Ireland. 232 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:53,680 Speaker 1: Just after sounding the two blasts on the whistle signaling 233 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:56,720 Speaker 1: that they had stopped. Kendall also saw the lights of 234 00:13:56,760 --> 00:14:00,320 Speaker 1: the Storstad approaching the Empress of Ireland at all most 235 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:01,160 Speaker 1: a right angle. 236 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:05,800 Speaker 2: Anderson ordered the Storrestid to go full astern to try 237 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:10,040 Speaker 2: to slow it down. Kendall thought a collision was inevitable 238 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 2: and ordered the Empress of Ireland to go full speed 239 00:14:12,679 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 2: ahead and to try to turn away from the Storrestide. 240 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:18,439 Speaker 2: The hope was that the two ships, if they did this, 241 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:22,560 Speaker 2: would glance off of each other. Instead, the Storestid hit 242 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:24,640 Speaker 2: the Empress of Ireland toward the middle of the ship, 243 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:29,080 Speaker 2: almost head on, roughly thirty seconds after Anderson had seen 244 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:32,920 Speaker 2: the ship through the fog. Kendall hailed the Storrestod by 245 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 2: megaphone and ordered them to go full speed ahead with 246 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 2: the hope of keeping both ships together and beaching the 247 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:42,080 Speaker 2: Empress of Ireland on the southern shore of the Saint 248 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:46,640 Speaker 2: Lawrence River. Anderson answered that he was going ahead full speed, 249 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:49,360 Speaker 2: but the two ships did not stay together as Kendall 250 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,880 Speaker 2: had hoped. Anderson believed this was because of the speed 251 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 2: at which the Empress of Ireland was moving. By that point, 252 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 2: the Storstod just could not keep up, and its bow 253 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:00,920 Speaker 2: fell away from the hole it had made in the 254 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:05,360 Speaker 2: side of the Empress of Ireland. It had not felt 255 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 2: like that heart of a collision when it happened, but 256 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:12,120 Speaker 2: the Storstad had a very pointed bow that made an 257 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,040 Speaker 2: enormous hole in the side of the Empress of Ireland 258 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 2: at least fourteen feet wide, and a lot of that 259 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:22,480 Speaker 2: was below the waterline, so water immediately started filling the 260 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 2: lower decks of the ship and rushing through open portholes 261 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:29,480 Speaker 2: that fell below the waterline. As the ship started to tilt, 262 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:33,240 Speaker 2: Anderson was afraid the momentum and direction of the two 263 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:36,720 Speaker 2: vessels would cause them to collide a second time, so 264 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:40,560 Speaker 2: he turned away and essentially made a circle. The Storstod 265 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,240 Speaker 2: sounded several signals on its whistle, but did not get 266 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 2: a response from the Empress of Ireland. The Storstod was 267 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:51,080 Speaker 2: once again completely enveloped in fog and briefly could not 268 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:55,080 Speaker 2: figure out where the Empress of Ireland was. That changed 269 00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:57,880 Speaker 2: when the crew started hearing people calling for help in 270 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 2: the water. In addition to hailing the store stide, Kendall 271 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:04,560 Speaker 2: had taken other emergency measures. As soon as he saw 272 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 2: the other ship through the fog, he ordered the telegraph 273 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 2: operators to send a distress call, and they were able 274 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,840 Speaker 2: to do so before the ship lost power. He sounded 275 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 2: an emergency siren to order the crew to close the 276 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:20,080 Speaker 2: water type doors and prepare to abandon ship, and he 277 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:22,960 Speaker 2: ordered the stewards to start waking up the passengers and 278 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 2: distributing life belts, but the ship sank so quickly that 279 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,080 Speaker 2: there was almost no time to do any of this, 280 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 2: and once the power was out, people were trying to 281 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 2: evacuate in total darkness. Many passengers in the lower decks 282 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:40,440 Speaker 2: drowned in their cabins. The ship started listing so sharply 283 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:43,840 Speaker 2: that many of the watertight doors could not be closed, 284 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 2: and only five or six of the forty lifeboats were launched, 285 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 2: and one of those was crushed when the ship fell 286 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:53,800 Speaker 2: onto its side. The ship fell onto its side within 287 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:57,520 Speaker 2: ten minutes of the collision. For a few minutes after that, 288 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:01,360 Speaker 2: surviving passengers tried to stand on the exposed hull of 289 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:05,879 Speaker 2: the ship, but the Empress of Ireland sank about fourteen 290 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,280 Speaker 2: minutes after being struck by the store stead. 291 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:11,800 Speaker 1: We'll talk about rescue efforts and the impact of this 292 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:14,719 Speaker 1: disaster after we pause for a sponsor break. 293 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:26,879 Speaker 2: When the crew of the Storestid started hearing people in 294 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,240 Speaker 2: the water, Captain Thomas Anderson moved toward those sounds and 295 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:34,320 Speaker 2: then lowered four lifeboats. Those boats went back and forth 296 00:17:34,359 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 2: between the store Stid and the survivors, bringing people back 297 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:41,359 Speaker 2: with them. The station at puantal Peer also sent two 298 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:46,400 Speaker 2: government steamers, the Lady Evelyn and the Eureka, to rescue survivors. 299 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:49,679 Speaker 2: Survivors were all taken to Ramuski, where they were fed 300 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:53,120 Speaker 2: and sheltered and given medical treatment in addition to any 301 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:56,119 Speaker 2: injuries that people might have sustained while trying to evacuate, 302 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,520 Speaker 2: The water was extremely cold, so a lot of people 303 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:03,320 Speaker 2: had developed typothermia. There had been one thousand, four hundred 304 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,399 Speaker 2: seventy seven people on board the Empress of Ireland and 305 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:10,920 Speaker 2: only four hundred sixty five survived its sinking, including only 306 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:14,719 Speaker 2: four of the one hundred thirty eight children aboard. Of 307 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 2: the one thy twelve people who died when the ship sank, 308 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,960 Speaker 2: eight hundred forty were passengers, which is more than the 309 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:24,879 Speaker 2: number of passenger deaths aboard the Titanic or the Lusitania. 310 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:29,040 Speaker 2: One hundred and seventy two of the crew died. Many 311 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:32,840 Speaker 2: of those crew were from Liverpool and many had Irish ancestry. 312 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 2: One hundred and twenty four members of the Salvation Army died, 313 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,280 Speaker 2: including much of its leadership. Of Salvation Army in Canada, 314 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:43,359 Speaker 2: and twenty nine of the forty one member Salvation Army staff, 315 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:47,520 Speaker 2: band actor Lawrence Irving, died after diving back into the 316 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:51,119 Speaker 2: water to try to find his wife, Mabel Hackney. Neither 317 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:52,679 Speaker 2: of their bodies was ever found. 318 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:56,280 Speaker 1: About half of the survivors were members of the crew, 319 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:58,840 Speaker 1: people who were more familiar with the layout of the 320 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:01,560 Speaker 1: ship than the passengers who had only been aboard for 321 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:05,960 Speaker 1: about ten hours. First and second class passengers, whose cabins 322 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:08,320 Speaker 1: were higher up on the ship were more likely to 323 00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:12,160 Speaker 1: survive than the third class passengers, whose cabins were below 324 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:15,400 Speaker 1: Many in areas of the ship that flooded almost instantly. 325 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: One of the survivors of this disaster was a crew 326 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:22,840 Speaker 1: member named William Clark, who had also survived the sinking 327 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:26,000 Speaker 1: of the Titanic. He had actually worked as a fireman 328 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:30,560 Speaker 1: on both ships. The youngest person known to have survived 329 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:33,840 Speaker 1: and the last known survivor, was Grace Hannigan, who was 330 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:36,600 Speaker 1: seven and whose parents had been part of the Salvation 331 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:40,520 Speaker 1: Army group. Her parents were both killed and Grace died 332 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:44,400 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety five. Despite the damage to its bow, 333 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:48,879 Speaker 1: the Storstodd was still mostly seaworthy after assisting with the 334 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:53,359 Speaker 1: rescue effort, it continued on to Montreal. Canadian Pacific Line 335 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 1: later filed a two million dollar lawsuit against the Storstod's 336 00:19:57,040 --> 00:20:01,160 Speaker 1: owners and the ship was forfeited to Canadian Passion as compensation. 337 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:04,920 Speaker 1: It was later sunk by a German submarine off the 338 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:08,480 Speaker 1: coast of Ireland during World War One. The fact that 339 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:12,560 Speaker 1: it continued on to Montreal sounds kind of I don't know, uh, 340 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: callous callous, but like during the investigations, it was remarked 341 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,240 Speaker 1: that like the store Stid had acted admirably during the 342 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:28,040 Speaker 1: rescue effort, and it like there wasn't a reason for 343 00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:30,240 Speaker 1: them to stay there. At that point. 344 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:35,160 Speaker 2: Canadian Pacific Salvage Company to retrieve the first class mail 345 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,560 Speaker 2: from the wreck of the Empress of Ireland, as well 346 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:40,040 Speaker 2: as the purser's safe and about one hundred and fifty 347 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:43,639 Speaker 2: thousand dollars worth of silver bullion that was aboard. They 348 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 2: also recovered about two hundred and fifty bodies. To access 349 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:50,040 Speaker 2: the interior of the ship, divers actually had to blast 350 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 2: another hole into its side because the hole made by 351 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:55,200 Speaker 2: the store Stide was on the side of the ship 352 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 2: that was resting on the bottom of the Saint Lawrence 353 00:20:57,640 --> 00:20:58,760 Speaker 2: River that was not a hole. 354 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 1: They could get to. An attempt was made to refloat 355 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:05,119 Speaker 1: the vessel in June, but it could not be lifted 356 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:09,360 Speaker 1: from the river. Because this collision had happened so suddenly 357 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,879 Speaker 1: and the ship sank so quickly, it wasn't obvious at 358 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 1: first what had happened and who, if anyone, should be 359 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:19,399 Speaker 1: considered at fault, although Kendall, who was picked up by 360 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:23,439 Speaker 1: one of the Storstadd's lifeboats, reportedly shouted quote, you have 361 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:26,639 Speaker 1: sunk my ship at Anderson as soon as he was 362 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:31,119 Speaker 1: brought aboard. A commission of inquiry was convened from June 363 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:35,520 Speaker 1: sixteenth to June twenty seventh, nineteen fourteen. John Charles Bigham, 364 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:38,800 Speaker 1: Lord Mercy, presided over this inquiry, which he had also 365 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,680 Speaker 1: done for the inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic 366 00:21:42,119 --> 00:21:46,159 Speaker 1: and would later do for the sinking of the Lusitania. 367 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:48,919 Speaker 1: As we mentioned earlier, the testimonies that were given by 368 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:51,119 Speaker 1: crew members from each of these ships just did not 369 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:54,400 Speaker 1: match up, and there were also no living witnesses who 370 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:57,480 Speaker 1: had actually seen the damage to the ship before the 371 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: Empress of Ireland sank. Wasn't Some divers had been able 372 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:03,720 Speaker 1: to investigate because the ship had come to rest on 373 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:07,200 Speaker 1: the damaged side. And then beyond all that, a number 374 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,880 Speaker 1: of people who testified before the Commission speculated on various 375 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:14,480 Speaker 1: equipment that might have malfunctioned or steps that might have 376 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 1: been taken. But a lot of this was contradictory and 377 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:20,720 Speaker 1: the Commission didn't really find any of it to be valid. 378 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 1: After weighing the evidence, the Commission found that the officers 379 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 1: in charge of both ships had committed navigational errors, and 380 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:31,520 Speaker 1: that first Mate, Alfred Toftans, should have summoned the Store 381 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:35,880 Speaker 1: Studd's captain earlier because of the fog. Toftinis had said 382 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:37,920 Speaker 1: that he had not done so because he just didn't 383 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:41,399 Speaker 1: think there was any danger. The Commission also believed that 384 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:44,560 Speaker 1: Toftonis had been mistaken in his assessment that the Empress 385 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:47,760 Speaker 1: of Ireland was intending to pass the Store Stud port 386 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:50,360 Speaker 1: to port, and that if each ship had maintained its 387 00:22:50,359 --> 00:22:54,359 Speaker 1: original set course, they would not have collided. In the 388 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,639 Speaker 1: words of the Commission's final report, quote, we regret to 389 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:01,000 Speaker 1: have to impute blame to anyone in connection with this 390 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 1: lamentsable disaster, and we should not do so if we 391 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:08,919 Speaker 1: felt that any reasonable alternative was left to us. We can, however, 392 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 1: come to no other conclusion than that mister Toftiness was 393 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:15,399 Speaker 1: wrong and negligent in altering his course in the fog, 394 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:18,480 Speaker 1: as he undoubtedly did, and that he was wrong and 395 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,200 Speaker 1: negligent in keeping the navigation of the vessel in his 396 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:24,160 Speaker 1: own hands, and in failing to call the captain when 397 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:27,199 Speaker 1: he saw the fog coming in. We don't really know 398 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:30,439 Speaker 1: what happened to tofton Is after this. We do know 399 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:33,800 Speaker 1: that he died in New York on April nineteenth, nineteen eighteen, 400 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:37,720 Speaker 1: at the age of thirty six. In later interviews, family 401 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 1: members said that he believed he had been unfairly blamed 402 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:44,440 Speaker 1: for the tragedy. Unlike some of the other shipwrecks we've 403 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:47,120 Speaker 1: talked about on the show, this wasn't the case where 404 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:50,400 Speaker 1: major changes were made to try to prevent a similar 405 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:54,399 Speaker 1: disaster in the future, like requirements for safety drills and 406 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:58,280 Speaker 1: lifeboat capacity that were established after the sinking of the Titanic. 407 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,200 Speaker 1: This really seems to have been a case of tragic 408 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:05,159 Speaker 1: human error rather than evidence of like a big systemic 409 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:08,440 Speaker 1: problem that needed to be corrected. But the commission did 410 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:10,680 Speaker 1: recommend that ships. 411 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:13,760 Speaker 2: Closed all their watertight doors and portholes at night and 412 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:16,879 Speaker 2: in the fog and other hazardous weather as a preventive measure. 413 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 2: Because so few of the Empress of Ireland's lifeboats had 414 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 2: successfully deployed, and some of the ones that did deploy 415 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,919 Speaker 2: had injured people as they kind of careemed around the 416 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:32,280 Speaker 2: listing ship, the Commission also recommended lifeboats be placed on 417 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:35,120 Speaker 2: upper decks in a way that they could just float 418 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 2: free in the event that the ship sank. The Commission 419 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:42,760 Speaker 2: also recommended that changes be made to how ships picked 420 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,439 Speaker 2: up and dropped off their pilots on the Saint Lawrence 421 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,879 Speaker 2: River to reduce the need for them to cross paths 422 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:53,000 Speaker 2: so close to one another. This ship wreck had similarities 423 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:55,800 Speaker 2: to another one that took place decades later in nineteen 424 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:59,000 Speaker 2: fifty six, the Andrea Doria, which has also been on 425 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:02,199 Speaker 2: Tracy shortlist for a while, but that one's actually on 426 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,320 Speaker 2: the list because it's not a story of a massive tragedy. 427 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:08,879 Speaker 2: The Andrea Dooria collided with the Stockholm in the fog 428 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,960 Speaker 2: off the coast of Nantucket, and like the Empress of Ireland, 429 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:14,240 Speaker 2: it listed in a way that prevented many of its 430 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:18,439 Speaker 2: lifeboats from being deployed. But more than sixteen hundred of 431 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 2: the Andrea Doria's seventeen hundred six passengers and crew were rescued. 432 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:26,680 Speaker 2: The forty six passengers from the Andrea Doria and five 433 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:29,800 Speaker 2: crew from the Stockholm who were killed all died as 434 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:33,840 Speaker 2: a result of the collision itself. Today, the Wreck of 435 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,560 Speaker 2: the Empress of Ireland is in water that's only about 436 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,679 Speaker 2: one hundred and thirty feet or forty meters deep, and 437 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:44,320 Speaker 2: that's right at the maximum recommended depth for recreational scuba divers. 438 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 2: It's really only appropriate for experienced divers. The water is 439 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:53,760 Speaker 2: very cold, currents are variable, and visibility can be difficult. 440 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:56,959 Speaker 2: The interior of the wreck can also be treacherous, and 441 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,840 Speaker 2: the conditions inside it can change as silt deposited in 442 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:03,960 Speaker 2: there by the river. No one has known to have 443 00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:07,080 Speaker 2: dived to the wreck of the Empress of Ireland between 444 00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:10,560 Speaker 2: the end of the salvage operation in nineteen fourteen and 445 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:15,040 Speaker 2: nineteen sixty four. I think a big reason for this 446 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:20,000 Speaker 2: was just more accessible diving technology, but at least six 447 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:23,920 Speaker 2: people have died on attempted dives to the wreck since 448 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:28,560 Speaker 2: nineteen sixty four. For decades, the wreck wasn't protected in 449 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:31,400 Speaker 2: any way, and a lot of divers brought back objects 450 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:35,439 Speaker 2: with them, some who were basically collecting souvenirs for themselves, 451 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:39,680 Speaker 2: but others who were hoping to preserve them. Philippe Baudry, 452 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:42,240 Speaker 2: not to be confused at the Canadian Olympic fencer of 453 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:45,200 Speaker 2: the same name, a masked a collection of about five 454 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:47,960 Speaker 2: hundred items from the wreck and made headlines in the 455 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,160 Speaker 2: early two thousands when he obtained a permit to sell 456 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:54,600 Speaker 2: this collection outside of Canada. At that point, he had 457 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,320 Speaker 2: been looking for a Canadian buyer for some time, but 458 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:02,119 Speaker 2: with no success. Alberta resident Marian Kelch established the Empress 459 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:06,479 Speaker 2: of Ireland Artifacts Committee to buy individual objects from Boudry's collection, 460 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:09,960 Speaker 2: as it raised the funds to do so, and eventually 461 00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:14,120 Speaker 2: Edmonton's Royal Alberta Museum started accepting the purchased items to 462 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:17,960 Speaker 2: add to its collections. Then, in twenty twelve, it was 463 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:21,840 Speaker 2: announced that the Canadian Museum of Civilization would be renamed 464 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,919 Speaker 2: the Canadian Museum of History and that it was buying 465 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:29,520 Speaker 2: the entire remaining collection. The museum had an exhibition called 466 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:33,320 Speaker 2: Canada's Titanic the Empress of Ireland and that ran from 467 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:37,320 Speaker 2: May of twenty fourteen to April of twenty fifteen, alongside 468 00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:41,200 Speaker 2: the disaster's one hundredth anniversary, and that exhibit displayed many 469 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:45,720 Speaker 2: of these objects. Since nineteen ninety nine, the wreck site 470 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:48,359 Speaker 2: of the Empress of Ireland has been designated as a 471 00:27:48,560 --> 00:27:53,680 Speaker 2: historical and archaeological property. That designation was made to try 472 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:57,199 Speaker 2: to protect it. Removing items from the wreck is now prohibited. 473 00:27:57,760 --> 00:27:59,679 Speaker 2: The site is marked with a white buoy with a 474 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:03,120 Speaker 2: sign about its protected status, and divers are still permitted 475 00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:05,280 Speaker 2: to go there as long as they follow all the 476 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:10,200 Speaker 2: applicable regulations. There is also an Empress of Ireland Museum 477 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:14,120 Speaker 2: at Ponta Peer Maritime Historic Site, which is also home 478 00:28:14,119 --> 00:28:17,240 Speaker 2: to an Empress of Ireland monument and a mass grave 479 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:20,000 Speaker 2: of some of the rex victims. There is also a 480 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:23,960 Speaker 2: monument at Mount Vermand Cemetery in Quebec City. Both monuments 481 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:28,879 Speaker 2: commemorate both named and unidentified victims of the tragedy. The 482 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:33,159 Speaker 2: Salvation Army erected a monument at Toronto's Mount Pleasant Cemetery, 483 00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:37,760 Speaker 2: and there is also a memorial at Thurston Gardens in Suva, Fiji, 484 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:41,840 Speaker 2: commemorating Gabriel J. Mark's first mayor of Suva, who was 485 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 2: one of the people who died in the wreck. There 486 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,520 Speaker 2: are other markers and monuments to the wreck and other 487 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:50,840 Speaker 2: burial sites as well, and a display about the Empress 488 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:54,360 Speaker 2: of Ireland at the Maritime Museum at National Museum's Liverpool. 489 00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:56,720 Speaker 2: As we said at the top of the show, this 490 00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:59,680 Speaker 2: tragedy happened within just a year or two of the 491 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:03,120 Speaker 2: same of the Titanic and of the Lusitania, and more 492 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:06,440 Speaker 2: than a thousand people died in each of these disasters, 493 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:10,040 Speaker 2: But those other two are way more widely known than 494 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,120 Speaker 2: the Empress of Ireland is. One reason is that World 495 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:16,360 Speaker 2: War One started on July twenty eighth, nineteen fourteen, when 496 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:20,680 Speaker 2: Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia, so that was just 497 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 2: a couple of months after the Empress of Ireland sank, 498 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:27,360 Speaker 2: and it really overshadowed anything about the tragedy. Another is that, 499 00:29:27,520 --> 00:29:31,360 Speaker 2: unlike the Titanic, the Empress of Ireland wasn't carrying just 500 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:35,040 Speaker 2: an inordinate number of wealthy and famous passengers. Most of 501 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 2: them were just like regular middle class and working class people, 502 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:43,680 Speaker 2: and unlike the Lusitania, its sinking did not spark international 503 00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:47,640 Speaker 2: outrage or eventually contribute to the United States becoming directly 504 00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:52,360 Speaker 2: involved in World War One. Canadian history also often doesn't 505 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 2: get as much attention as that of other nations, in 506 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:58,520 Speaker 2: part because of its relative size and power. For example, 507 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:02,200 Speaker 2: when the Empress of Ireland sank, Canada's total population was 508 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:05,320 Speaker 2: about eight million people, compared to more than ninety eight 509 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:08,440 Speaker 2: million people in the US or more than seven million 510 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:12,160 Speaker 2: people just in the city of London, England. That said, 511 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:16,160 Speaker 2: Canada's relatively smaller population meant that this tragedy was an 512 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:19,200 Speaker 2: enormous loss, and that it had a direct impact on 513 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:22,080 Speaker 2: a lot of families and communities all across the country 514 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:25,840 Speaker 2: and to communities in Liverpool and in parts of Ireland 515 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:27,840 Speaker 2: where a lot of members of the crew were from 516 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:32,200 Speaker 2: before its sinking. The ship also carried roughly one hundred 517 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:36,800 Speaker 2: and seventeen thousand immigrants from Europe to Canada. It's estimated 518 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:40,560 Speaker 2: that about a million Canadians living today are descended from 519 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:45,240 Speaker 2: someone who arrived aboard the Empress of Ireland. Yeah, I 520 00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:48,320 Speaker 2: will say the Canadian history not getting as much attention 521 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:50,000 Speaker 2: as other parts of the world is also too of 522 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:50,720 Speaker 2: our podcast. 523 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:52,360 Speaker 1: We are aware. 524 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 2: It is for many of these same reasons that, plus 525 00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:02,120 Speaker 2: you know, our own listener demographic es people ask for 526 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:04,840 Speaker 2: things a lot of the time that are connected to 527 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:07,960 Speaker 2: where they are from. 528 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:10,200 Speaker 1: This has been a downer week. Do you have a 529 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:13,800 Speaker 1: listener mail that's not so depressing? I did not pick 530 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:16,640 Speaker 1: sad mail at all. This is from Jamie. 531 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:19,960 Speaker 2: Jamie wrote after our most recent Unearthed episodes, which of 532 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:24,000 Speaker 2: course also inspired this episode. Jamie wrote, Hello, Holly and Tracy. 533 00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:27,200 Speaker 2: I just listened to the latest Unearthed episodes and found 534 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:29,240 Speaker 2: a small way I could be helpful. I am a 535 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:33,280 Speaker 2: former German translator, and when Tracy mentioned reading English articles 536 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:36,960 Speaker 2: that said that the coin had been found in a sandbox, 537 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:40,880 Speaker 2: but the videos in German seemed to indicate otherwise, I 538 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:44,320 Speaker 2: knew this was my time to shine. I watched a 539 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:46,800 Speaker 2: couple of German language videos about the find, and the 540 00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:49,920 Speaker 2: boy found the coin on school grounds, but not in 541 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:53,800 Speaker 2: a sandbox. As he was walking on a sidewalk nearing 542 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:56,800 Speaker 2: an entrance to the school, something shiny in the dirt 543 00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:59,880 Speaker 2: next to the sidewalk caught his eye. This is the 544 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:02,280 Speaker 2: third such coin to be found in Bremen, which is 545 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:06,600 Speaker 2: really interesting because Marcus Aurelius's empire never extended that far north, 546 00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:09,239 Speaker 2: but people would travel to or resettle there and use 547 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:10,080 Speaker 2: the coins. 548 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 1: To trade with. There was also a silver shortage at 549 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:14,840 Speaker 1: the time this coin was made, which makes it even 550 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:18,240 Speaker 1: more rare and special. I'm here for all your German needs. 551 00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:21,080 Speaker 1: Thank you for keeping me entertained and educated during my 552 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:24,959 Speaker 1: many long drives for work. Jamie talks about being on 553 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:26,880 Speaker 1: the road quite a bit and then says, I have 554 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,560 Speaker 1: two horses. I hope they are acceptable as pet tax. 555 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:32,440 Speaker 1: The brown one is an off the track there are 556 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:35,640 Speaker 1: bread named Roger. The white one is my now retired 557 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:39,760 Speaker 1: draft cross named Vanity. Let me say I'm excited about 558 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:45,200 Speaker 1: some horse pictures. I love a horse picture. We got it. 559 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:47,240 Speaker 2: I don't remember who sent an email recently, but we 560 00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:49,480 Speaker 2: got an email from someone recently who. 561 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:51,000 Speaker 1: Was like, what's pet tax? I feel bad. 562 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:52,920 Speaker 2: I don't have any That's just a thing that we 563 00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:59,560 Speaker 2: on the internet say about sending pet pictures. It's not 564 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:02,640 Speaker 2: a real time. You're not required to send us pet pictures, 565 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,200 Speaker 2: but you know we do love them. I will also say, 566 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:07,920 Speaker 2: and I'm scared to say this because you might be like, no, 567 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:11,400 Speaker 2: thank you. You can send me anything for pet tax. 568 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:13,240 Speaker 2: If you have a pet spider, send it over. 569 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:16,600 Speaker 1: But I don't know if Tracy VI so that's fine. Sure, sure, 570 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:20,120 Speaker 1: pet snake, I'm in. I want all the animals also good. 571 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:25,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know I cannot think of an animal I 572 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:28,680 Speaker 2: would be upset, you know, as long as we're talking 573 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:33,880 Speaker 2: about living cared for animals. Please do not send us 574 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:37,600 Speaker 2: like horrific animal death pictures that would be very upsetting, 575 00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:43,480 Speaker 2: but like any animal totally fine. Also craft projects, art projects, 576 00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:46,200 Speaker 2: pretty sunsets, you know whatever. If you want to send 577 00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:50,040 Speaker 2: us a picture something that brought you some joy, that's great. 578 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:53,240 Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Jamie. This was indeed your time 579 00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:58,160 Speaker 2: to shine. This aligns with what I was watching in 580 00:33:58,200 --> 00:33:59,680 Speaker 2: this newspapert w or. I was like, this does not 581 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:03,680 Speaker 2: look like this child was digging in like a constructed sandbox. 582 00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:07,680 Speaker 2: That just looks like the dirt. So I'm glad to 583 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:11,879 Speaker 2: know that all of the English language news reporting. I'm 584 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:15,120 Speaker 2: assuming somebody like there was maybe a Google Translate problem 585 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:18,319 Speaker 2: or like one person came up with sandbox and it 586 00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:21,720 Speaker 2: just spread from there. So thank you so much Jamie 587 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:25,120 Speaker 2: for this, and I mean just great great horse pictures. 588 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:28,200 Speaker 2: If you'd like to send us a note about this 589 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:31,520 Speaker 2: or any other podcast or a history podcast at iHeartRadio 590 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:35,520 Speaker 2: dot com or on social media at Missed in History. 591 00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:39,840 Speaker 2: You can subscribe to our show also on the iHeartRadio app, 592 00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:48,200 Speaker 2: or wherever else you'd like to get your podcasts. Stuff 593 00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:51,000 Speaker 2: you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 594 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:55,959 Speaker 2: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 595 00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:58,080 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.