In August 2019, I was sitting on a Zodiac in the middle of the St. Lawrence River piloted by a French Canadian marine biologist. The trip was arranged by Hugh Verrier, and we were right above the wreck of the Empress of Ireland, a CPR-liner that sunk in 14 minutes after being rammed by a Norwegian coal ship in 1914. It’s now an underwater graveyard for more than 800 souls.
Hugh is based in New York and heads up one of the world’s largest law firms, but he is originally from Montreal, and has a summer property near Rimouski, close to where the Empress of Ireland sank. Hugh swims in the St. Lawrence River most summers and has always known about the tragedy, but in recent years he has developed a fascination for the story of survivor Gordon Charles Davidson.
Gordon Charles Davidson:
Davidson was a PhD candidate who lived in Vancouver when he wasn’t studying at UC Berkeley in San Francisco. He had reportedly survived the sinking of the Empress by swimming 6.5 kilometres (4 miles) to shore. When Hugh looked into this, experts told him this wasn’t possible—not at that time of year and not for that distance. But Hugh wanted to make sure. He wanted to verify the information that had been repeated in newspapers articles and regurgitated in books and even at Davidson’s own memorial service more than a hundred years ago. Whatever happened, Hugh wanted to set the record straight.
Hugh had hired me two years earlier to research the story of Gordon Davidson, one of the few survivors from Vancouver. In an email to me, he attached Davidson’s 1922 obituary, an article about his miraculous swim to shore, and a photo of him receiving medical treatment at the Château Frontenac following the shipwreck. “I have not found any record of him speaking or writing about swimming to shore,” Hugh wrote. “He did not have any children. So, this is not going to be easy to find out about.”
Staggering Loss of Canadian Life:
I was surprised that I’d never before heard of the Empress of Ireland, because the loss of Canadian life was truly staggering. More passengers died that night (836), then died on the Titanic (832) in 1912, or on the Lusitania (788) two years later.
I was eventually able to locate one of Davidson’s descendants and track down the real story of Gordon’s survival. He had written a letter to his parents immediately after his rescue.
Davidson did not swim to shore, the story came from the wild speculations of a Province newspaper reporter and later went around the world as fact.
Myth Busting:
I was curious how many other stories told about the Empress of Ireland were also myths, and it turns out there were quite a few. A large part of the book is righting those wrongs. Another focus of the book is telling the stories of the survivors as some went on to fight in the first world war, while others took up homesteading on the Prairies, and a few became successful entrepreneurs.
Thanks to a Canada Council grant, I was able to travel across the country to visit Rimouski, as well as various archives and museums and interview descendants of the survivors.
The Western Canada Connection:
While researching Gordon’s story, I was surprised by how many connections there were to Western Canada—75 people were from BC, and only 10 returned. Arthur Delamont, a 22-year-old from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan was part of a 161-member Salvation Army delegation travelling to an International Congress in London where he was playing in the staff band. Arthur lost his brother in the tragedy and later moved to Vancouver where he founded the Kitsilano Boys Band and taught Jimmy Pattison, Bing Thom and Dal Richards, among hundreds of others. Delamont Park in Kitsilano is named for him.
The Empress of Ireland carried more than 117,000 people between England and Canada from 1906 to 1914. A million or so Canadians can trace their roots back to an ancestor who came to Canada on this ship.
Copies of my new book, Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck, are available through all the usual online sources, through my publisher Arsenal Pulp Press, or from any independent bookstore across Canada
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Congratulations! I can’t wait to hold a copy of the new book in my hands…and a few others, too, for Christmas gifts! See you at the Book Launch.
I was interested to learn that Arthur Delamont was a survivor of the tragic accident. My brother took trumpet lessons from him in Vancouver, and was a member of the Kitsilano Boys Band back in the early 1960s. Mr. D., as they used to call him in the band, was something of a household name at the time – at least around Kitsilano! I am looking forward to reading your book when it comes out next year.
Yes! Looking forward to your new book. Also love your website and stories!
When and where is your book launch mentioned by Sue. I am an hour away in the valley. Would love to attend and meet you. And of course, own signed copy. Thanks in advance, Johanna
Eve,
Your most recent Book, I’m sure will be another fascinating best seller for you, and I can’t wait to get my own copy!
The Empress of Ireland, brought many people across the sea to fulfill their hopes and dreams in a new land. Yet it also unfortunately became the ship that carried so many to their tragic deaths. We are currently doing our genealogy, and finding about our ancestors who came to Canada from Ireland and England. I look forward to learning much more about its history!
It’s such a fascinating story. Can’t wait to read your book. Congrats Eve!
Hi my grandfather was on that ship he saved a little girl she hung on to his neck and swam to shore
My Grandfather John W. Langley was one of the survivors of this tragedy. He survived by squeezing through a porthole; hanging on to a railing until the ship submerged and swimming to the surface. He was a strong swimmer and managed to swim long enough until rescued and taken to the Chateau Frontenac. I am looking forward to reading your book! Thank you.
Congratulations Eve on this achievement
Congratulations Eve! Lets hope it could be published in Norwegian some day.
Congratulations Eve. Looking forward to reading the book. I haven’t visited your website yet, but I will!
Oh Eve, ive followed you along with each book you’ve written.
I’m so looking forward to getting this book as well. Sounds so interesting.
I know i shouldn’t ask in this place but i have a friend who is blind & has so enjoyed your story’s along the way. Do you have the books in reading cassettes. Where he came listen to them. If so where could we purchase them.
Thank you Eve for your patience with my request.
Long time Fan Elaine Pera
Very much looking forward to buying and reading your book, Eve. My Grandmother and her Mother came to Canada aboard the Empress of Ireland in either 1907 or 1908 from Liverpool.
The story of the Empress of Ireland is a haunting reminder of how quickly tragedy can strike at sea. It’s intriguing how personal connections, like Hugh’s, can deepen the fascination for such historical events.
Eve:
What a great accomplishment. We were so delighted to have opportunity to meet with you and share some of the wonderful stories about the Empress and its people. It was great to catch up with you again at Rimouski, and I really look forward to receiving these posts as they come. Thanks so very much for your book, with is well-written, informative, and inspirational.
I’m very much looking forward to reading this new book. I’m currently reading Cold Case of Vancouver.
My family, mom, dad, brother and myself, emigrated to Canada in 1958 from Ireland. I’ve never heard about this terrible accident. We docked in Montreal and my uncle drove from Niagara Falls to pick the four of us up. Unfortunately my brother contracted mumps and my uncle ended up them as well.
Thank you for what you do.
[…] of my new book, Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck, are available through my publisher Arsenal Pulp Press, or from any independent bookstore […]
[…] of my new book, Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck, are available through my publisher Arsenal Pulp Press, or from any independent […]
[…] of my new book, Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck, are available through my publisher Arsenal Pulp Press, or from any independent […]
[…] of Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck, are available through my publisher Arsenal Pulp Press, or from any independent […]
[…] of my new book, Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck, are available through my publisher Arsenal Pulp Press, or from any independent […]
[…] of my new book, Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck, are available through my publisher Arsenal Pulp Press, or from any independent […]
[…] of my new book, Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck, are available through my publisher Arsenal Pulp Press, or from any independent […]
[…] of my new book, Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck, are available through my publisher Arsenal Pulp Press, or from any independent […]
[…] of my new book, Beneath Dark Waters: The Legacy of the Empress of Ireland Shipwreck, are available through my publisher Arsenal Pulp Press, or from any independent […]
My Grandfather Fred Charles Lailey was on the Empress of Ireland when it sank in 1914.
I can’t find his name on my lists, was he passenger or crew?