General Information about Empress of Ireland

[Traci Miller]

I'm very interested in the Empress of Ireland and wondered if anyone had done much research or found anything in detail about her?

Thanks,
Traci

 

[Geoff Whitfield]

Traci,

Look for David Zeni's excellent book "Forgotten Empress" this tells the whole sad story from start to finish. It also contains deck plans and the most wonderful passenger list put together by someone called Geoff Whitfield!!!!!
Seriously though, it is on sale in Great Britain, Canada and Germany. If you are in the USA you may have to ask in your local bookshop. Good hunting
Geoff

 

[Traci Miller]

Geoff:

Thanks much - I'll track it down!

Traci

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Cleaning out the postcard collection-and came across a card I forgot I had- the Empress with a hymn-words and music under a broadside view of her- a sepia print. Played it on the piano- God Be With You Till We Meet Again- I guess this must be the Nearer My God to Thee of the Empress.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Forgot to add I also picked up a hardcover a while back with a forward by Bill Tantum- late of THS- called The Tragedy of the Empress of Ireland-wonder if that is available in paperback from 7C's now?

 

[Traci Miller]

Shelley:

Thanks for letting me know. I'll bet I can find it either in paperback or maybe as a used book someone. I'll see what I can find.

Thanks again,
Traci

 

[Paul Rogers]

Traci,

I'm sure you may have found it already but, in case you haven't, there's a fascinating Empress site (with "video" of the collision!) at: http://members.home.net/seaviewimaging/index.html

Takes a while to download though...Hope this is useful.

Regards,

Paul.

 

[Maureen Zottoli]

Thanks Paul. I am so new at this that many of the stories I am learning or learning more about each and every day. These additional site addresses help.
Maureen.

 

[Mike Poirier]

Dave Zeni ( author of 'Forgotten Empress' ) has a profile in the introduce yourself section.
He is very friendly with his responses.
The Empress memorial book usually runs from $20-$50 and is fairly easy to find in the used book searches.
Another Empress book is
' Fourteen Minutes ' by James Croall

 

[Maureen Zottoli]

Dear Michael Poirier,

I need to know this, do you have all of this in your brain. Man, I have atough time remembering my license tag number. Wow. Thanks for the information. You are one amazing man!
Maureen.

 

[James Eldridge]

Greetings,

I just looked at the website above for the Empress of Ireland and it really is impressive,...thanks for posting the link Paul!

I thought the video was really terrific and even when its not running it still looks like there is motion happening so its truly impressive. Unfortunately, I never heard of this ship before coming to this board and her 14 minute sinking with such great loss of life is truly sad. Perhaps the fact that it sunk too fast for stories of heroism to be generated and people to make conscious decisions regarding life and death is the reason its so little known. Someone mentioned elsewheres that salvage and grave robbing activities are being planned is this true?

Thanks

Eldridge

 

[David Zeni]

James:
The Empress of Ireland was first visited by divers 50 years after her loss in 1964. On or about September 1970, A Quebec man began regularly diving and removing artifacts. After some 600 dives he has some 600 artifacts, actually more. His name is Phil Beaudry...he has had a "relationship" with the wreck having been devoted to it for over 25 years. Beaudry appeared with Bob Ballard in the PBS documentary LOST LINERS. Now Beaudry, has applied for an export license with the Canadian Government to sell 401 artifacts to a U.S. citizen who plans to resell the items. Beaudry is not the only party cashing-in on his exploration. I recently learned that another diver is selling the brass letters "EMPRESS OF IRELAND Liverpool" recovered from her stern. As for the wreck itself, it is far more a grave than any other liner wreck because conditions on the floor of the St. Lawrence have preserved human bone fragments. This fact helped sell the Canadian Government on declaring the wreck a national underwater heritage site. Because of this law divers are now prohibited from removing artifacts from the site. Of course, by this time Beaudry; and other divers already obtained their trophies. I believe Canadian citizens should work to secure these artifacts from the various private parties. Remember, the Empress, unlike Titanic sailed for eight years prior to her loss. The Empress brought thousands upon thousands of immigrants to North America. These artifacts are evidence of this period and a vital part of the colonization scheme which made Canada what it is today.

 

[Geoff Whitfield]

Well said Mr Zeni! It can't be the lettering in the museum at Pointe Au Pere that is up for grabs though is it? Or does that come from another part of the ship? Amazing how the numbers 401 keep cropping up - berth 401 for Titanic, 401 Empress of Ireland items, 401, the number of my last car!!
Trust all is well on "The Cape" and that The Laird of Glencairn is behaving!
Geoff

 

[Mike Herbold]

And here in the states we have our 401K retirement plans and 401 jeans (for thin folks). Maybe there is something to this Titanic 2000 numerology.

 

[Maureen Zottoli]

Now you are being a less than a full deck penny or one farthing less than a pound sterling or whatever it is you said back there on that other thread that made me laugh so much. I personally think that the sign painters only have those stencils and they rent them out for really cheap rates to anyone who wants them and that is why all ships have that number painetd on them.
Maureen.