The Reverend Canon Ernest Edward Maxwell Phair was born in Fort Elizabeth, Manitoba, Canada, on the 27th December 1870, the son of Archdeacon Robert and Mrs. Martha Mary Phair (née Smith). His father was a Church of England clergyman, who had emigrated from Ireland, and Ernest was the third eldest of seven known children in the family.
On completing his formal education, he became a government secretary before travelling to England to study to become a clergyman, like his father. He was ordained in 1895 by the Bishop of Worcester, and was appointed curate at Christ Church, Sparkbrook, near Birmingham, Warwickshire.
On the 30th August 1897, he married Louellamore Henry Sherlock-Hubbard at St. James’ Church, Buxton, Derbyshire, and the couple had three children –, and Unfortunately, Robert only lived for five months, dying the year he was born.
Shortly after his marriage, Ernest Phair took up a position at Stowting, Kent, and while there, he and his wife welcomed their first two children - Louella Margaret, born in 1900, and Robert Sherlock Maxwell, born in 1904.
In August 1904, the family travelled across the Atlantic Ocean from Liverpool to New York on board the Celtic, and from there, made their way to Winnipeg, Manitoba, where Ernest Phair took up a new clerical position. On the 13th September 1904, their son, Robert, died in Winnipeg, aged just five months. Their third child, Edward
Maxwell, was born in Winnipeg in 1908. Their residence in Winnipeg was at 172. Church Avenue, which is adjacent to St. John’s Cathedral.
In 1913, Ernest returned to England, where he spent six months as an assistant cleric at All Saints, The Parish Church of Ryde in the Isle of Wight, before accepting the post of tutor and lecturer at St. John's College, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Subsequently, he was appointed canon of St. John's Cathedral, and examining chaplain to the Archbishop of Rupertsland, Manitoba. His father had, at one time, been Archdeacon of Rupertsland, which is presumably why Canon Phair had been born in Manitoba.
Early in 1915, his wife had left Canada with their children, to stay with friends back in England, and Canon Phair decided to join them there for the summer holidays, after which they all intended to return to Winnipeg.
Consequently, he booked as a second cabin passenger on what became the Lusitania's final voyage and joined her at the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York, on the morning of 1st May. The liner’s sailing was then delayed until the afternoon as she had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Liner Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war service as a troop ship, at the end of April. The Lusitania finally left port at 12.27 p.m. and just six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20. At that point, she was off The Old Head of Kinsale in southern Ireland and only 250 miles away from her Liverpool home port and destination.
Canon Phair was killed as a result of this action. He was aged 44 years. His body was amongst the first to be recovered from the sea, however, and after it had been landed at Queenstown, it was taken to one of the temporary mortuaries set up there - probably the one in the yard of the Cunard office at Lynch’s Quay - and given the reference number 79.
Once it had been positively identified, perhaps from property recovered from it, it was sent to Sparkbrook Vicarage, on the instructions of Canon Phair‘s father, Archdeacon Phair. At that time, the Canon’s brother-in-law, Canon G.W.H. Tredennick was Vicar of Christ Church, Sparkbrook.
On 13th May 1915, a funeral service was held at Christ Church, where he first began his public ministry, officiated by Canon Tredennick, assisted by Viscount Montmorres, curate of All Saints, Ryde, The Reverend C.N. Long, Rural Dean of Bordesley, and The Reverend J.M. Tredennick of London.
His body was then taken to Brandwood End Cemetery, Birmingham, and carried to the grave by four clergymen. At the graveside, The Bishop of Birmingham pronounced the Benediction and many relatives and friends were present for the interment. It lies there to this day, in Section B2, Grave B2. The grave is surrounded by a white granite kerb and the headstone consists of a square, flat base on which is set a slab of marble tapering to its top upon which sits a Celtic cross. The inscription on the marble slab states: -
TO THE DEAR MEMORY
OF
EDWARD ERNEST MAXWELL PHAIR
CANON OF ST JOHNS CATHEDRAL WINNIPEG,
WHO PASSED FROM THIS LIFE
IN THE TRAGEDY OF THE LUSITANIA
MAY 7TH 1915.
“HE ASKED LIFE OF THEE AND THOU GAVEST
HIM A LONG LIFE, EVEN FOR EVER AND EVER.”
ERECTED BY HIS WIDOW AND SOME OF HIS FRIENDS
IN RYDE I.W.
The latter part of the inscription refers to the time he spent at All Saints and shows in what high esteem he was held by his parishioners. Also, his name as inscribed as Edward Ernest, instead of Ernest Edward!
After the news of his death reached Ryde, a memorial service was held for him at All Saints Church on the evening of Friday 14th May 1915. The lesson was read by The Reverend C.L. Blake, the hymns The Saints of God, Jesus Lives and Now The Labourers Task Is O’er were sung and The 90th Psalm was chanted. Following this, the vicar, The Reverend Hugh Le Fleming gave the address. The service was reported in The Isle of Wight Observer in its edition of 22nd May and the vicar’s words of appreciation of Canon Phair’s life and his value to the parishioners, were published in full and stated: -
It might be said that Canon Phair was only with them (the) six months - what made them feel his death so keenly? They and he knew quite well what the answer to that question was. A priest might be years working amongst them all very earnestly and conscientiously, and yet leave no special memory behind, but with Canon Phair it was altogether different. From the moment that he set foot in the parish he gave himself heart and soul to them, and to their work. He loved the Church, he loved the parish and the people, and he never made any secret of his affection for them. He positively humbled them all by the affection which he lavished upon them so freely. Everywhere he went during his stay amongst them he remarked on the kindness of the people to him and his family, and to him the work at Ryde was nothing but a pleasure from beginning to end. Many of then had had letters from him telling them how he longed to he with them again in Ryde.
It was not just that they liked him as a priest that they appreciated his ministry, his quiet reverend way of taking the service, his thoughtful and helpful sermons. They appreciated all those things immensely, but it was the man himself, so obviously sincere, so plainly trying to follow in the steps of his Master Christ, showing them, he was sure they might say, ill his own life just a little bit of the life of Jesus Christ himself. If he were asked to name the one outstanding feature of his character that impressed him, he would at once say his humility. There were so many wrong conceptions of what humility was, so many trayersities of it.
The real thing was so rare and so beautiful that they might count it a privilege whenever they came across it. They did come across it in Canon
Phair - a man of considerable learning and attainments holding a high po8ition of trust in the Canadian Church, and yet perfectly humble about himself always. Always referring to others, ready even to hear from those whom he might well have taught, thinking the best of others, thinking always lowly of himself.
Property recovered from Canon Phair’s body was eventually sent to Canon Tredennick, on behalf of his widow, at Sparkbrook Vicarage. When the Canon’s will was proven in Manitoba, on 15th October 1915, probate was granted to his widow Louella, his effects in England amounting to £221.6s.0d, (£221.30p).
Mrs. Louellamore Phair filed a claim with the Foreign Claims Office in London, seeking compensation for the loss of her husband’s personal effects in the sinking of the Lusitania, and also compensation for herself and their two children as they had been wholly dependent on him. Her case was transferred to the Canadian Commission, who decided on it in February 1926. Thy awarded Mrs. Phair $12,000, her daughter, who by then was married, $5,000, and her son, $8,000. No specific award was made in relation to the loss of Canon Phair’s personal effects, which were estimated to have been worth only $25!
Louellamore Phair died nearly 40 years later, in January 1954, aged 83 years and was also buried in the grave at Brandwood End. She never remarried.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1881 Census of Canada, 1891 Census of Canada, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1906 Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan & Alberta, 1911 Census of Canada, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Cunard Records, Canadian Claims Case No. 850, Birmingham City Council, Isle of Wight Observer, Isle of Wight Times, Wellington Journal and Shrewsbury News, Probate Records, PRO BT/100/345, UniLiv D92/2/424, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Linda Scurr, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.