Basil Guildford Wickings-Smith, known as Guildford, was born at Blackheath, Kent, England, on 13th June1885, the eldest son of Basil and Agnes Ingham Wickings-Smith (née Keen), later of 11, Church Terrace, Lee, Kent, England. He had an older sister,
Agnes, and four younger brothers, Claude, Cyril, Frederick, and George. He was educated at Sherbourne School from 1901 until 1908. He then went on to read law and made it his profession for a while. Whilst studying, he had been a member of The Inns of Court Officer Training Corps in London.
On 12th April 1910, he married Beatrice ‘Bea’ Mary Fenn at The Holy Trinity Church, Wimbledon, Surrey, and three weeks later they left for Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada. They eventually set up home at 323, Sunrise Avenue, Victoria, British Columbia, and had one child, a daughter whom they named Joan Muriel. Guildford’s younger brother, Cyril, also went to Canada, as they both hoped to make their fortunes there, and on the 28th August 1912, Cyril married Beatrice’s sister, Phyllis, in St. Mark’s Church, Vancouver. Phyllis, who did not initially intend to go to Canada, probably left England specifically to marry Cyril!
On 10th January 1915, Guildford enlisted in a local military unit, the 88th Victoria Fusiliers, and on 18th March transferred to the 48th (Victoria) Battalion of the Canadian Army. On 26th March, he was given the rank of Lance Corporal, with the service number A30592 and although the Battalion was to leave Canada for service overseas in July 1915, he obviously decided to make his own way to England to enlist there in a battalion of Kitchener’s Army as an officer, probably to get into the war sooner.
Thus, on 24th April 1915, he was discharged “By Purchase”, but on the same day according to records held in The National Archives of Canada: -
Discharge cancelled Granted furlough with permission to proc. Eng. for purpose of accepting an Appt, in Imp. Army.
His brother Cyril had also decided to travel to England to obtain a commission in the British Army and both families decided to go with them. However, just before they were all due to depart, Bea and Joan Wickings-Smith became ill and could not join the family. Thus, on 1st May 1915, the two brothers, accompanied by Guildford’s sister-in-law Phyllis and his niece Nan, who was eight months old, set sail from New York as second cabin passengers on what would be the Lusitania's last voyage.
Having left Victoria, the four arrived at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York on the morning of 1st May 1915 in time for the liner’s scheduled 10.00 a.m. sailing, but had to wait until the early afternoon before the liner sailed, as the Lusitania had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from Anchor Lines vessel the Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for service as a troop ship, at the end of April.
Then, six days out of New York the Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20, only hours away from her Liverpool destination and within sight of the coast of southern Ireland. Although the other three family members survived, Guildford Wickings-Smith was killed and no trace of his body was ever found and identified afterwards. He was aged 29 years.
In two letters written to the mother and brother of another second cabin passenger, Richard Preston Prichard, who was also lost, and whose remains were also never found or identified, his brother, Cyril, gave details of how Guildford is likely to have lost his life. While trying to comfort the Prichard’s and ease their minds, in the first letter, written on the 20th June 1915, he stated: -
“ It was quite possible
yourself feel that it was a terrible end because I feel sure that the last moments would be far better & quicker than if he had been hurt and struggling in the water. From information received I am convinced that my brother was caught like that as he was going down fetching lifebelts and your son was probably doing the same. …”.
In the second letter, written on the 11th July 1915, he stated: -
“ My brother was going up and downstairs fetching lifebelts and I am afraid he must have got caught down below. …”.
As he was a serving soldier, Guildford Wickings-Smith is commemorated on a memorial to Canada's missing at sea, at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. By the time the memorial register had been compiled, his widow and daughter had moved to 1147, Newport Avenue, Victoria.
On 18th May 1915, Cunard in Winnipeg received a plea, from a family friend, a Vancouver solicitor named A.F.R. Mackintosh, which it passed on to Liverpool. The letter stated: -
I and a few friends are interested in the wife and child of Basil Wickings-Smith who was lost in the sinking of the Lusitania. Mr. Smith was on his way to take a commission in the Old Country and through his death his wife and child are left absolutely destitute and I should be pleased to hear from you that you could arrange immediately to allow the mother and child a free pass to England and as far as any actual pocket money which they may require, we are arranging that matter here.
The late Mr. Smith, I understand, booked through your Victoria office.
Kindly let me hear from you by return and I may say that it would facilitate matters if on reading this letter, you should wire your agent here, arranging as to issuing a ticket.
Cunard’s reaction was predictable and on 26th May, the Winnipeg cabled Liverpool that: -
We have informed Mr. Mackintosh that we have no authority or discretion to issue such free tickets and we are referring the matter to you.
Cunard in Liverpool decided to be magnanimous, however, and on 10th June 1915, granted Mr. Mackintosh’s request. Subsequently, Bea and Joan Wickings-Smith sailed to England.
They returned to Canada, however, and Bea lodged a claim with the Canadian Commission, seeking compensation for the loss of her husband’s life, and also for household effects belonging to her, that her husband was bringing to England on her behalf. The Commission noted that the British authorities refused to pay Basil’s wife and daughter a pension because he was not actually serving in the British Army when he lost his life; however, the Canadian Pension Board was allowing Bea a pension of $60 per month and his daughter, Joan, a monthly pension of $15 until she reached sixteen years of age. Whereas they could not compensate Bea Wickings-Smith for the loss of her husband, they did agree to pay her $1,000 in respect of the household effects
she had lost, which included silver, bedding, linen and china.
Basil Wicking-Smith’s father had died in February 1913 and his mother died in 1921.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Surrey England Church of England Marriages and Banns 1754 – 1933, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Cunard Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Canadian Claims Case No. 869, National Archives of Canada, Sherbourne Register, Surrey Advertiser, IWM GB62, UniLiv.D92/1/7, UniLiv D92/11, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Paul Wickings, Mary Wickings-Smith, Jane Woods, Richard Woods, Bronwen Woods, Hal Giblin, James Maggs, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.