rescue

Given the date on the photograph (September 25, 1940), I believe this may actually be a photograph of Lifeboat 12 from SS City of Benares. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_City_of_Benares "15 minutes after the torpedo hit, the vessel had been abandoned, though there were difficulties with lowering the lifeboats on the weather side of the ship. HMS Hurricane arrived on the scene 24 hours later, and picked up 105 survivors and landed them at Greenock. During the attack on the SS City of Benares, the SS Marina was also torpedoed. Hurricane mistakenly counted one of the lifeboats from the SS Marina for one of the lifeboats from SS City of Benares. As a result, Lifeboat 12 was left alone at sea. Its passengers had three weeks supply of food, but enough water only for one week. In the lifeboat were approximately 30 Indian crewmen, a Polish merchant, several sailors, Mary Cornish, Father Rory O'Sullivan (a Roman Catholic priest who had volunteered to be an escort for the evacuee children), and six evacuee boys from the CORB program. They spent eight days afloat in the Atlantic Ocean before being sighted from the air and rescued by HMS Anthony."

I'm curious to know if there would be an option to get higher resolution/sizes of this image, and if yes, how.

Hi Simon. You can order any of our images on Flickr at print resolution from our image library. Just follow the link at the bottom of the image description.

Thanks!

My elderly father claims that his father picked up a lifeboat of survivors from the SS Marina (which was torpedoed along with the SS City of Benares) just off Tory Island. They'd been at sea for 8 (?) days. I can't find anything about this on the internet. Any idea how I can find out more about it - I tried searching the National Archives site but I'm a bit confused by all the different sections. Thanks, Trish

From The Tragic Story of the Empress of Ireland, An Authentic Account of the Most Horrible Disaster in Canadian History... by Logan Marshall (L. T. Myers 1914): 69-70.

HERO SAVED WEE GIRL The description of the wreck and the heart-rending scenes that followed, given by Robert W. Crellin, of Silverstone, British Columbia, was graphic. Crellin is a prosperous farmer. He was one of the heroes of the wreck. He saved Florence Barbour, the eight-year-old daughter of a neighbor, by swimming with the child on his back, and, with the aid of another rugged passenger, pulled two women and several men into a collapsible boat. Clad only in a night shirt, Crellin said the water and air were as cold as winter, chilling all hands to the bone. Despite the peril and exposure, flaxen-haired Florence Bar- bour clung to Crellin's neck and never even cried. "The child was pluckier than a stout man/' said Crellin. "She never even whimpered, and complaint was out of the question. You should have seen how the girls and women in the little village of Rimouski hugged her when we got ashore. "Time and time again I feared Florence would lose her hold, and I would speak to her when my mouth and eyes were clear. Each time her little hands would clutch me tighter, until it seemed she'd stop my breath, but I welcomed the hold be- cause it showed she had the pluck and courage needed. "Poor child! She lost her mother and sister, and only a year ago her father, William Barbour, of Silverstone, was killed. She's alone in the world, but Florence will never need a friend or home while I have breath in my body." Big and rugged as he is, Crellin's eyes grew moist as he recalled how the child's mother and three-year-old sister Evelyn were drowned.

Thank you pennylrichardsca for the moving story behind this photograph. We will add some of the details to the description when we update.

Here's the complete book free on Google Books: books.google.com/books?id=XrPuHIo7vlYC&dq

In 1914, the Marconi Wireless Station at Father Point played a role in the rescue of 400 passengers of the doomed ship, "RMS Empress of Ireland." Here is the story, from the website of the Southgate Amateur Radio Club: www.southgatearc.org/news/october2010/empress_of_ireland.htm "John Bowen, G8DET, Chair of the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society (CARS) brings news of a TV show on the Yesterday channel that covers the last voyage of the Empress of Ireland, which involved a UK radio amateur Ron Ferguson who was later to become G4VF. "John G8DET writes: "I happened to be looking through the “What’s on TV” section and noted that on Monday, October 11 at 5PM (1600 UT) there is a show on the UK Freeview Channel “Yesterday” called “Last Voyage of the Empress of Ireland” [may also be available on the web]. It is for one hour. "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Empress_of_Ireland and www.sea-viewdiving.com/shipwreck_info/ empress_home/thetragedy.htm "This is another story involving Marconi Wireless Telegraph company personnel. What the two links above do not say is that Ron Ferguson, G4VF, was the Senior Wireless Officer aboard the Empress of Ireland and had just retired for the night when the collision occurred. Ron became President of the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society (CARS) and lived in Chelmsford, Essex. "His Second in Command was on duty. On feeling the collision, Ron dressed and took over the Wireless Room and told him to get into a lifeboat, which he did. "Ron hammered out a SOS which was picked up by the Marconi shore station at Father Point. They informed the marine people who launch 5 boats. These were tugs and what were available at short notice. "Officially Ron should have waited to receive instructions from the Captain but took it unto himself to send the SOS as he rated (quite correctly as it turned out) to be a desperate situation. "Ron stayed at his post giving directions, points to aid the rescuers until after only 12 minutes or so the Wireless failed and a huge wave swept him out of his Wireless Room. He grabbed a large deck-chair that swept past him and was then washed overboard. "He was rescued by the Collier. Either the Collier had a Wireless but no Wireless Officer or Ron was transferred to one of the rescue ships. "One way or another Ron found himself on a ship with a Marconi Wireless but no Wireless Officer. He was given permission by the Captain to break the lock and for many hours continued to coordinate the rescue. "2 years later Ron visited the Shore Station at Father Point and someone said “Hello Ron, that is your jacket”. It had been hanging on a peg all that time. "In the early 1970s I said to Ron one evening at a CARS Meeting “Ron, weren’t you involved with the Empress of Ireland?” not really knowing anything of the story. “'Well that was a long time ago, lad – let’s get on with tonight’s meeting' "That was as much as I ever got from Ron. "I do not think Ron was ever awarded any medal or citation for his involvement with saving the lives of over 400 persons. "Do you know more or different to my story above? "This is another story we will commemorate in 4 year's time when it is the Centenary. Every year the Canadians have a commemoration day to remember the 1,012 or so who died in that dreadful accident. "See what the TV show tells us about the event. "Regards John G8DET"

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointe-au-P%C3%A8re,_Quebec

Thank you Wystan and Richard Arthur Norton for the context to this image of the wireless station at Father Point, Quebec. We will add some of it to the description when we update.

Really great item for Flickr. Love these old photos.