Dependent Ships after the First World War

On February 10, 1919, the first official dependent ship, the Tunisian, arrived at Saint John, New Brunswick after WWI. An Order-in-Council was passed in January with plans to bring soldiers' families home to Canada. Many were war brides. It was the first of 73 dependent ships in 1919. While each ship carried the families of soldiers, it also had civilians travelling on board as well.

Red Cross Nurses Are Brides Today at Double Wedding Here

 

Romance Indeed in this Happy Ceremony - Grooms Returned Soldiers - Met on Train on Way to City.

A real romance, in fact, two romances, culminated in a double wedding in the solemn quietude of Trinity church this afternoon when James Steadman of Calgary became the husband of Dorothy Tucker of Reigate, England and George Kerr of Moose Jaw wedded Ethel E. Masters of London, Eng. The grooms are returned soldiers and the brides returned nurses, all four having seen strenuous services in the late war from its earliest stages.

Tunisian -  Annette Fulford collection

I posted an article back in 2019 about the young women who travelled to Canada after the war to be married to former Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers.

The brides from the article were Ethel Emily Masters, age 22 and Dorothy Tucker,  age 31. They arrived together on the Tunisian after the war, which landed at Saint John, New Brunswick on February 10, 1919. The ceremony was held at the Trinity Church in Saint John, the following day.

Ethel Emily Masters was born in 1896 in Lewisham, London, England to Hugh Edmond Masters, a Law Clerk, and his wife Ann Elizabeth Muckle. She married British-born, George Kerr, a Commercial traveller who was born in Dudley, Worcestershire, England in March 1885. He came to Canada on the ship Victorian in October 1912 and was headed to his brother living at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

George Kerr travelled to England and enlisted in the 43^rd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in Birmingham in July 1915. This is usual. Most British-born men returned home to enlist in the British Expeditionary Force or joined the CEF in Canada. Was he travelling at the time or visiting his brother Walter who lived in Birmingham?

He was wounded on March 31, 1916, just three months after he arrived on the Western Front. George was struck by eight pieces of shrapnel which included his left leg and ankle causing a fracture of his tibia and fibula. He was also hit in his elbow, buttock and his chest causing fractures to two ribs. 

After repairs were done on his leg, his damaged leg was 3/4 of an inch shorter than his right leg and he was having difficulty walking. In December 1916 infection spread in his leg. He spent many months in hospital with a variety of additional issues before being invalided to Canada for further medical treatment on the Missanabie in October 1917.

The second bride Dorothy Tucker was born 1887 in Hackney, London, to George Nathanial Goldsmith Tucker, a Printer, Publisher and Editor and his wife Emily Jane Williams. Dorothy worked as a nurse before the war but I haven't located where she was during the war when she met James.

James Steedman was born in Japan in 1883 to Scottish parents. The family returned to Scotland circa 1887 and James came to Canada circa 1907 destined for Winnipeg, Manitoba where he would find work with the Canadian Pacific Railway as a Land Inspector.

James enlisted with the 56^th Battalion in Calgary in 1915 and while overseas was transferred to the 49^th Battalion. He was wounded in June 1916, a gunshot wound to the arm and returned home on the Andania in January 1917.

The ladies were roommates on the ship and they both indicated on the passenger manifest that they were going to Canada “to be married.” The manifest pages even have details of their intended husbands and where they lived. The men met on the train and discovered that they were both travelling to New Brunswick to meet their sweethearts and get married.

I’ve love to know where the women were working during the war and if these couples remained friends. If you have any further info on them, please contact me at wwiwarbrides@shaw.ca

(c) Annette Fulford, March 2021

George Kerr, Personnel Records of the First World War: Regimental No. 421122, RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 5115 - 46, Library and Archives Canada (accessed March 5, 2021)

James Steedman, Personnel Records of the First World War: Regimental No. 447218, RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 9252 - 15, Library and Archives Canada (accessed March 5, 2021)

First War Bride Ship Arrives At Sand Point in Saint John, New Brunswick

Sand Point, New Brunswick Harbour circa 1909. Annette Fulford collection.

It was on 10 February 1919, that the first official ship carrying military dependents - war brides and their children, arrived at Sand Point in Saint John, NB. Many war brides had travelled to Canada since 1917 but this was the first sailing where the ship was just for dependents. The Tunisian carried 711 adults and 202 children under 14 years of age and sailed from Liverpool on 31 January, landing 11 days later.

Tunisian Manifest Info. Library and Archives Canada.

All soldiers’ dependents were provided with free third-class passage aboard the troopships, except for those who paid to travel in a superior class. Unfortunately, obtaining a superior class on board usually meant they had to travel to Canada at later date. And when given the option to wait until later to sail, most chose third class passage in order to get to Canada as soon as possible with their husbands.

Third-class is essentially steerage, where the cheapest accommodations on the ship are housed. This is where the majority of the passengers were located on the ship. The rooms are below deck and were very crowded. In some cases, there is no proper ventilation to air out the stale air, the smell of seasickness or dirty diapers.

The rooms were very basic, often containing only two or four berths, which included bunk beds, and a wash basin. Steerage also had limited toilet facilities for the vast amount of passengers it contained. It was inadequate for women travelling with small infants.

CONDITIONS ABOARD

At the beginning of the repatriation scheme, there are many complaints in the immigration files about conditions in the third-class accommodations as most families were not used to travelling in steerage. It was an ordeal for most travellers.

Once on the ship, though, most passengers preferred to be on deck in the fresh air, not stuck in their cramped berths. Another common complaint was the lack of seating on deck for those who wanted to escape their berths. There were additional complaints about seasickness, overcrowded, dirty accommodations, and lack of amenities. Many of these complaints were dealt with while on board, while many other complaints were aired in local newspapers after the voyage.

The Calgary Herald, on 15 February 1919, described the adverse conditions on board the Tunisian:

  

Mr. Dyson who was a travelling representative for the Returned Soldiers' Commission, reported that "there was a good deal of sickness among the women and children owing to the conditions they were subjected to on board the steamer." Due to rough seas, lavatory water soaked the floors in steerage.

However, this information was not confirmed in any of the other news reports about the sailing.

Annette Fulford Collection

Gladys Kendrey, a war bride who was headed to Peterborough, Ontario, noted in a letter to her parents in England a month later, that the sailing was uncomfortable but she did not expand on the subject further. It was possible that she was trying to appease her parents so that they would not worry about her. Her father had sent a news clipping from a British paper with the headline "Brides Pelted with Refuse." She was adamant that this was not the case. Gladys was concerned about the many war brides who had yet to travel would read this and change their minds about coming to Canada.

She told her parents that her arrival in Canada was very pleasant. They had expected a cool reception from the Canadians. Once they made it through the immigration process, they were treated to free refreshments from the Salvation Army, Knights of Columbus War Activities and Y.M.C.A, in a large hall. They had time to freshen up and were shown a place for their children to take a nap while they waited for the trains to be loaded with passengers. If someone was ill, they could be seen by a nurse.

On the final leg of their journey, young children and the ill were given special treatment while travelling by train. Each train carried a Red Cross nurse. Once they arrived at their final destination, the local Rotary Club took them home in cars.

Cars taking soldiers home. Annette Fulford collection.

Sadly, Gladys Kendrey didn't stay in Canada for long. She and her husband Roscoe went to the US where her husband died in 1930. She returned to England with her young son. Donald Walker Kendrey enlisted in the British army during WW2 and died on 28 November 1944. His name is listed on a memorial in Singapore for the soldiers and airmen who have no known grave.

(c) Annette Fulford, February 2018