1915-03-06yy

On March 6, 1915, the Hamilton Times published a letter written Mrs. Monks, one of the supervisors of the Hamilton Playgrounds association.

Mrs. Monks had just written home after arrival in England, completing an eventful crossing of the Atlantic :

“                              26 Park Row, Eagley Bank, Bolton, Lancashire, Eng.

                                                                                     February 8, 1915.

“At last I am able to write and tell you of our safe arrival in old England.

“Today is Monday and we landed in Liverpool last Friday after a perilous journey. The first four days were and scarcely anyone seasick. A gale then sprung up, and for three days we were terribly tossed. The sea was certainly angry, rising mountains high and we often thought, especially in the night, that every moment was our last. Everybody complained of sleepless night, so that we soon lost our high spirits, and you can easily imagine that the waiters in the dining room were not overworked.

“I must tell you that after leaving New York we were guarded by a line of battleships, each having a patrol of 200 miles. These ships were just over the horizon, so that we rarely saw one, although we were always within two hours’ call of one or the other.

“Perhaps you would not know that the cargo of the ‘Baltic’ was the heaviest and most valuable for years, and was certainly a prize. The weight was 22,000 tons, and the ship lay 33 feet in the water. That, of course, reduced our tossing in the gale, and we all agreed that she was a marvelously steady boat.

“The cargo consisted of motor trucks, armored motor cars, sealed cases of, supposedly, firearms, gun powder, cotton and food stuffs.

“We understand that our captain revealed orders from the British consul in New York, and also receieved orders from every battleship on the way as to the route he should take. Altogether we went 143 miles out of the usual course to avoid danger.

“On approaching the Irish Channel, we were met with an escort of 14 ships of all classes – cruisers, torpedos, torpedo-destroyers, submarines, etc.

“Every passenger heaved a sigh of thankfulness on beholding the British ships, and it was very thrilling and interesting to see the vessels of each side taking such care of us. We had all raised a cheer on seeing the great battleship outside the three mile limit at New York, but now felt choked with emotion when we saw by the escort that Britain was determined to see us safely landed.

“At Birkenhead, near Liverpool, we saw the ‘Lion’ and the ‘Tiger’, probably being repaired after the North Sea fight.

“I did not tell you of the excitement on board caused by a fire amongst the cotton. The hold had to be flooded, and it was rumored that it was not due to accident, but design. That would be settled at Liverpool.

“However, here we are all safe and sound and very thankful too.

“The weather so far has been very wet, but not very cold – we often wonder if snow is still with you yet. We saw no snow after leaving Hamilton.”¹

¹ “Voyage an Eventful One : How the Vessel Was Protected By British Warships”

Hamilton Times.    March 6, 1915.