Mr Albert Adrian "Bert" Dick, 31, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, 29 July 1880, the son of George Dick (1847–1911) and Agnes McMillan Morrow (1853–1941). He had two brothers William Robert Dick (1878-1961) and George Howard Dick (1884-1969). Albert was raised in Alberta when it was still a Canadian territory.
Albert and a brother started a sawmill in Ponoka, and by 1904 they were so successful they began selling real-estate and commercial properties in Calgary. By the time Bert was 24 the Dick brothers had built the Hotel Alexandra on 8th Ave. S.E. (since demolished and replaced by a theatre), and the Dick business block on 9th St S.E., which still stands.
The Dick business block
Courtesy of Jason D. Tiller
On 31 May 1911, the same day Titanic was launched, he and Vera Gillespie were married. They went on a long honeymoon to Egypt, the Holy Land and throughout Europe. They had returned through London to source antiques and furnishings for their new Tudor-style home at 2211-7th St. in Calgary's affluent Mount Royal District.
Courtesy: Alan Hustak, Canada
They booked passage home on Titanic as first class passengers. They boarded the ship at Southampton and occupied Cabin B-20 (ticket number 17474, £57).
Aboard ship, one of the younger stewards, a man by the name of Jones1, took a shine to Vera, and much to Bert's annoyance, Vera flirted with him. They were also befriended by Thomas Andrews, and on the last night of the voyage the Dicks shared his table at dinner. Vera Dick was to say afterwards that she would always remember the stars that night. "Even in Canada where we have clear nights I have never seen such a clear sky or stars so bright."
The Dicks were getting ready for bed when the ship hit the iceberg, and felt nothing. They were made aware of the accident when the same steward who had taken a shine to Vera knocked on their door and told them to dress. "We would have slept through the whole thing if the steward hadn't knocked on our door shortly after midnight and told us to put on our lifejackets," Mrs Dick told a Calgary newspaper. Both were escorted to lifeboat 3 by Thomas Andrews who saw them off. According to Bert, and his wife were locked in a farewell embrace, when he was pushed into the lifeboat with her. As the boat jerked towards the water, the Dicks wondered whether it might not capsize and whether they might not be safer had they not left the ship.
When they returned to Calgary, Bert was ostracised because he had survived. His name was tarnished by gossip that he had dressed as a woman to get off the ship. His hotel business suffered, so he sold it and continued to make money in real estate. Vera studied music at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and was well known as a vocalist in Calgary. They built an elaborate brick staircase in front of their house that local gossip said was patterned after the Titanic's grand staircase, however it does not look anything like it.
Adrian and Vera had a son who was born and died 6 December 1913, and a daughter, Gilda Vera (later Mrs Louis Van Norman, 1915-1992).
Courtesy: Alan Hustak, Canada
Albert Adrian Dick died in Calgary, Alberta on 2 June 1970. His wife died in Banff, Alta. on 7 October 1973. Both are buried in Calgary's Union cemetery. Lot 4, Block 1, Section L.
Comment and discuss
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In Calgary Herald August 26 1996 there was an interview with Mr. Bruce van Norman. Van Norman s grandmother was Vera Dick on the Titanic. According to van Norman, Vera was saved because she would not go in the boats without her husband. The daughter to the couple Dick, Gilda, died in Calgary at age 77 in 1992. According to the obituary about Vera Dick in the Albertian Oct 7 1973, she had three great grandchildren. They must be children to Bruce van Norman?
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They are. Last I heard they live in Seattle. There are several stories about how they were saved. Gilda told me that during the trip, a young steward had a crush on her mother, much to Bert Dick's annoyance...it was the steward that saw to it that both Mr. and Mrs. Dick were saved.
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To my delight, I have just discovered an account of the sinking by Bert and Vera Dick published by Maclean's Magazine, May 1, 1950 - "When That Great Ship Went Down" by Ray Gardner. Kinda pre-dates Walter's book. For those interested, there is also another piece from Maclean's,Nov 21, 1959, by Sir James Bissitt, "I watched the Titanic Rescue..."
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Alan: Good finds! Is Bisset's article basically a promotion for "Tramps and Ladies" (same year), or is it a quite independent "telling"?
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It is an independent telling, John. No metion of Tramps and Ladies, all it says is that he was known as "Lucky Bisset, who went to sea at the age of 15. In all of my dealings with the Dicks I never heard tell before that Bert "had been badly clipped by professional gamblers in Naples..." Maybe that is why is wife was cheesed off at him aboard Titanic.
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Thanks, Alan: Regarding Bert's gambling misadventure and any subsequent familial fallout -- Yep, I imagine that could do it! :-) (Time for some new Inter-library loan requests.)
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You can find both accounts in a book called In the Face of Disaster, True Stories of Canadian Heroism from the Archives of Mcleans, published by Penquin books. isbn-0-14-028804-x
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does anybody have any other then a profile shot?
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Great bit of research Phil. I agree that a bona fide birth record like that is by far the most convincing, even more so than a paper Birth Certificate that a person had. The latter can be - and have been known to be - doctored in the past.
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