11. 1912 February

On the 13th February 1912 F.A.I. sailed out of Liverpool on the R.M.S. Ivernia headed for Boston. He was working this time as 3rd Cook. His return was to Liverpool on 7th March.

R.M.S. Ivernia was launched in 1899 and was built for Cunard by C.S. Swan & Hunter,
Newcastle.

Ivernia's funnels, at 106 feet (32.31 m) above the main deck (and those of her sister, Saxonia) were the tallest single funnels ever installed on an ocean liner.
Her maiden voyage was from Liverpool to New York, on 14 April 1900 and in June 1900 she

was placed on the Liverpool-Boston route for which she was originally intended and remained on that route until December 1911.

Research I have suggests that the Ivernia was then placed on a Trieste-New York route and remained there until World War I, except for the winter of 1912-13, when she returned to the
Boston-Liverpool route but I have F.A.I. on there in February 1912 to Boston!
She was taken over as a troopship in September 1914.

On New Year's Day 1917 the Ivernia was torpedoed and sunk by a UB-47 off Cape Matapan, Greece, with 2,400 Scottish soldiers on board. 85 soldiers and 36 crew were killed.

As this was his first ship of 1912 I thought it apt to add the first poem in the book.

Upon The Road to Memory

Upon the road of memory I lingered long today
And of the things that I did see upon that precious way
A little chef with dark brown eyes with others came along
He was not big or very wise but happy was ‘is song
He sang of days that were to come when he should become a man
They made a truly wonderous sum the things he that he planned
And then he spoke his voice was kind
His words- ah! They were very good
He whispered softly ‘never mind
We’ve done the best we could’
But when he looked me in the face I was with a willful eye
Then turned and gazed far into space and gave a little sigh
For on the road to Memory
That leads to yesterday
He was the lad I used to be
Before my locks were grey

FAI 1912