International Heritage Centre blog

The Empress of Ireland

The RMS Empress of Ireland was an ocean liner that sank in the St Lawrence River, Canada, on 29th May 1914, following a collision with another ship. It was the worst peacetime maritime disaster in Canadian history, with 1,012 individuals tragically losing their lives. 

The lost included 171 Salvationists, travelling to London for the fourth International Congress. The exact number of Salvationists who died differs according to the source, but for this blog, the number given by the War Cry in its coverage of the disaster is used. Only hours into its voyage, the Empress of Ireland collided with the SS Storstad, a carrier ship coming into the St Lawrence River. Of the 171 Salvationists who were on board, only 8 survived. Testimonies of those who survived related how officers gave up life jackets and sang hymns to try and keep everyone calm. Within 14 minutes, the Empress had disappeared. The rapidity of its sinking resulted in little to no time for rescue efforts, and the horrendous death toll. The loss of the Empress of Ireland has been overshadowed by the Titanic and Lusitania disasters, with the outbreak of the First World War two months later affecting the lasting impact of this tragedy.
 

Commissioner David and Ruth Rees

Commissioner David Rees and his wife Ruth were just two of the lives lost on the Empress of Ireland. Commissioner Rees held the post of Territorial Commander for Canada and Newfoundland, and like his comrades, was on his way to represent the territory at the International Congress in London. Ernest Ford, who survived the disaster, told the War Cry of the bravery shown by Commissioner Rees:
“Commissioner Rees… set a fine example by refusing to leave his companions. The Commissioner had a lifebelt on… but he saw that he could not get his wife and children and other women of the party on deck in time, so he remained with them."

General Bramwell Booth led tributes to Commissioner Rees, stating he had lost a friend, and the Army a ‘true leader’. The Rees’ were joined on board by their three eldest children, who also died in the tragedy.

Colonel Sidney and Staff Captain Hettie Maidment

Another Salvationist couple lost on the Empress of Ireland were the Maidment’s. Having only recently settled in Canada after being appointed Chief Secretary, Colonel Sidney and Staff Captain Hettie had spent most of their officer careers overseas. They planned to visit family in England after the International Congress. A letter from Hettie to her sister in May 1914, just two weeks before the voyage, demonstrates her excitement to “meet you all again after so many years” and “have a grand time together.” This was sadly not to be. The Maidment’s left behind six children.
 

Grace Martyn (née Hanagan)

One of the few Salvationist survivors of the Empress of Ireland was eight-year-old Grace Hanagan. Her father, Edward Hanagan, Bandmaster of the Canadian Staff Band, was one of the band members lost. Grace later recalled her father conducting the orchestra as the ship set sail from Quebec, the last time he would do so. When the ship sank, Grace and her parents were thrown into the water. Grace was rescued by a lifeboat but sadly her parents were not. A dedicated attendee at The Salvation Army memorial services in Toronto each year, Grace died in 1995, the last survivor of the Empress of Ireland. 
 

Legacy

A Relief Fund for orphaned children and widows was quickly set up by the Lord Mayor of London. General Bramwell Booth was invited to Buckingham Palace, where King George V paid his respects to the dead and the ongoing work of the Army around the world. According to The War Cry, ten thousand people attended the funeral of the lost Salvationists in Toronto on 7th June 1914. One hundred thousand people lined the route to the cemetery. For The Salvation Army, 110 years later, the memory of the suffering on the Empress of Ireland is still prevalent. Every year, on the anniversary of the tragedy, a service is held at the memorial monument (pictured) in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Canada, to remember the lives lost. 
 

Rose

May 2025