The Empress of Ireland was an ocean liner that sank near the mouth of the St. Lawrence river on May 29, 1914 while on it's way to Liverpool from Quebec City. This was two years after the Titanic sank. Even though it was equipped with a sufficient number of lifeboats, 1,012 people died, making it the worst peacetime maritime disaster in Canadian history. Canada Post commemorated the 100th anniversary of the disaster with two stamps and a souvenir sheet, catalogue numbers 2745-7.
Recently I purchased a collection of Canadian stamps from a widow whose husband passed away over 10 years ago. The collection included his brother’s collection of odds and ends from the early 1900’s. Among them I discovered a 1914 newspaper clipping on the sinking of the Empress of Ireland. On the front is a picture of the ship and on the back is part of an article and list of survivors. In addition, there’s an envelope with a Manitoba postmark from May 21, 1914 and a Saskatchewan postmark from May 22, 1914. On the front of the envelope is this imprint, “Recovered by divers from the wreck of the S.S. Empress of Ireland”. The envelope is addressed to “Mr. Walter Middleton, 156 Wincobank Avenue, Shiregreen, Sheffield”. Ocean liners were used to carry mail overseas in those days and this letter was presumably among others on their way to the UK.
(click to enlarge)
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