43. 1914 The outbreak of War

1914 (as we know) was the year the world was turned on its head with the commencement of World War One. From this year on, not one single persons life would remain untouched by the awful events that took place for the next 4 years.

F.A.I. started this year as he had ended the last, on board the R.M.S Tunisian.

He sailed twice from Liverpool to Halifax N.S. still chopping up his vegetables.

He spent his 30^th birthday mid Atlantic

2^nd January – 28^th January & 31^st January – 23^rd February

On 7^th March he was off again out of Liverpool to Halifax but this time on the R.M.S. Empress of Britain. He did 2 sailings on her both to Halifax, returning to Liverpool on 25^th April.

No more ‘veg’ for F.A.I. he was now 1^st Assistant Pass Cook (what ever that is??)

This Empress of Britain was the 1^st of 3 ships of the same name in Canadian Pacific’s fleet over the years. She was built at Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering’s yard in Glasgow and launched in 1905.

Her maiden voyage took place on the 5^th May 1905 sailing from Liverpool to Montreal.

She was a bit if a ‘mover’ setting 2 eastbound speed records in 1906 &1908.

During World War One, she served as an armed merchant cruiser and troop carrier. She managed to get through the war unscathed and returned to the Canadian Pacific fleet in 1919.

After a conversion to become a cabin cruiser she was renamed the Montroyal. Her final voyage was in 1929 and she was scrapped in Norway in 1930.

The final entry out for 1914 in F.A.I.’s discharge book is dated 21^st May. He sailed out of Liverpool for Paraguay on the R.M.S. Anthony. I am afraid he was back to vegetables again! He returned to Liverpool 10^th July.

Whilst he was away Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on 28^th June. I wonder if he had heard but above all did it actually mean anything to him or his fellow sailors and passengers at the time?

Within few weeks of is return, Austria & Hungary declared war on Serbia (28^th July), Germany declared war on Russia (1^st August), Germany declared war on France (3^rd August) then we joined in declaring war against Germany on 4^th August with Lord Kitchener 3 days later calling on 100,000 men to join up to fight for King and Country.

F.A.I’s discharge book comes to halt in 1914 and starts briefly again in 1920. His book of poems continued though.

I know he was in Edinburgh in 1914 as he was photographed with I believe to be his brother Arthur. I would imagine that this was taken post July 1914 and his time asore before he too signed up to ‘fight for King and Country’.