Author’s Note
Say the word “Titanic” and everyone knows something about that ill-fated ship that sank off the coast of Newfoundland over a hundred years ago. Countless books have been written about every aspect of that tragedy. Blockbuster movies have brought the story to life.
But Titanic wasn’t the only great ocean liner to suffer a terrible fate in the early twentieth century. On May 29, 1914, a little after two a.m., the Empress of Ireland — a large, elegant ship that regularly sailed between Canada and England — sank in the St. Lawrence River after being accidentally rammed by the coal-bearing ship Storstad. More passengers died on the Empress (840) than on the Titanic (829), and yet for a long time the Empress of Ireland was almost forgotten.
Why was so little known about the Empress for so many years? Many believe that at the time the Empress sank, world attention was drawn to the battlefields of Europe and the increasingly grim news from World War I. There was much less interest in a non-war-related tragedy like the sinking of the Empress.
But in 2014 that changed. It was the 100th anniversary of the tragedy, and that milestone sparked renewed interest in the Empress, its passengers and the events of that terrible night. There were museum exhibits, stamps, coins and memorial services. Many people wondered what was left of the ship lying at the bottom of the St. Lawrence River.
Image 1: A postcard of the Empress of Ireland from 1909
There were also ceremonies honouring the ship and its passengers, especially in Quebec and Ontario. For years the Salvation Army had commemorated the sinking of the Empress because so many of its members were lost in the tragedy. One hundred and sixty-seven Salvation Army members boarded the ship, bound for a large convention in London, England. About forty were part of the Salvation Army band. They were a lively, friendly group, and they helped create a festive atmosphere onboard. They even played on deck just as the ship was leaving Quebec City.
Everything changed, of course, when the Storstad and the Empress collided. Many people drowned or were fatally injured by falling debris from the ship, including 128 members of the Salvation Army. Many of the senior leaders of the organization, and most members of the band, perished.
Image 2: The collier Storstad after the collision
Shipwreck! is a fictional account of the sinking of the Empress. I based my main character, Albert McBride, on members of the Salvation Army. Albert’s friend, Grace O’Riley, is inspired by Helen O’Hara — a ten-year-old passenger who knew how to swim, a skill that helped her survive in the icy river. The other characters are made up, except Captain Kendall, Captain Andersen, Dr. Grant and William Clark.
~Frieda Wishinsky
Facts About the Empress of Ireland
About 120,000 immigrants to Canada sailed on the Empress of Ireland from the day she was first launched in January 1906. Estimates are that about a million Canadians are descended from those immigrants.
The passengers on the Empress’s fatal last journey on May 28, 1914, came from many countries, including Japan, New Zealand, Fiji, England, the United States and Canada.
There were some celebrities on that last voyage. Laurence Irving and his wife Mabel Hackney were great stage actors. Big-game hunter Sir Henry Seton-Karr was aboard, as was author Ella Hart Bennett. They all died in the accident.
The black-painted collier, the Storstad, was a Norwegian ship carrying Cape Breton coal.
The Empress sank in the St. Lawrence River nine hours and forty-three minutes after she left Quebec City.
Historians believe there are two reasons the Empress sank: She was sliced deep into the starboard side of the ship below the waterline, and the airtight doors and portholes weren’t completely closed, even though maritime regulations state that all portholes had to be closed and locked before a ship leaves port.
It took a while to determine who had died and who had survived the tragedy because there was confusion about names on the passenger list.
Only 4 out of the 138 children aboard the ship survived.
Only 41 out of the 310 women aboard the ship survived.
Only 172 out of 609 men aboard survived.
248 members of the crew survived. There were 420 crew members originally on board.
When the Empress sank, Captain Kendall was thrown from the bridge into the water. He swam to the surface and clung to a wooden grate until a lifeboat picked him up.
Many consider Dr. Grant a hero in the disaster. He saved many lives and helped calm people who were injured and distressed. McGill University later presented him with a duplicate diploma to replace the one he lost on the Empress.
There was a Canadian commission of inquiry into the accident. It started on May 30, 1914 and lasted for eleven days. The conclusion of the inquiry was that the collision was the fault of Captain Andersen of the Storstad for changing course in the fog. A Norwegian commission blamed Captain Kendall.
Half a dozen divers have died investigating the wreckage of the Empress. Although the wreckage lies not far from shore, in the St. Lawrence River and is accessible to divers, strong currents, poor visibility, cold water and under-water objects, such as wires, make diving difficult and dangerous.
Canada has designated the site as a historic landmark to preserve what remains of the ship and to discourage further diving and the removal of objects from the wreckage.
About the Author
Frieda Wishinsky has written over 40 books for children, including the Canadian Flyer series; You’re Mean, Lily Jean; the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award winner Please, Louise!, as well as the non-fiction books Explorers Who Made It … or died trying; Everything but the Kitchen Sink and Colossal Canada. Frieda lives in Toronto, Ontario, with her husband.
Also Available
Survival: Avalanche!
Paperback ISBN 978-1-4431-4638-8
eBook ISBN 978-1-4431-4639-5
In a matter of seconds, Alex’s world is turned upside down. What started out as the perfect day to build an epic snow fort turns into his worst nightmare. Injured and disoriented, can Alex find his classmates trapped in the deadly snow?
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Text copyright © 2015 by Frieda Wishinsky.
Illustrations copyright © 2015 by Scholastic Canada Ltd.
Images 1 and 2: Site historique maritime de la Pointe-au-Père, Rimouski.
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First eBook edition: November 2015
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