James Mackay, usually known as ‘Hamish‘, was born at 8. Springfield Street, Leith South, just north of Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, on the 18th March 1881, the son, and eldest child, of John and Christina Mackay (née MacPherson). By 1915, the family resided at Warrender Park Road, Marchmont, Edinburgh. He had two brothers John and George, and three sisters, Jessie, Annie and Violet. His parents were of Highland stock and his father was employed by a railway company.
James had a fine baritone voice and trained under Alfred C. Young and Dr. Isidor Georg Henschel, (a noted singer-pianist, composer and conductor), for seven years, to reach a very high standard of Scottish and classical music. For some time before embarking on his singing career, he was employed by Messrs. Nelson, the Edinburgh publishers.
On 27th January 1912, he married Adeline Lilian Henry-Anderson, known as ‘Morlich’, at the Rosehall United Free Church, Edinburgh, and they set up home at 39. Dick Place, in the city. His wife was a mezzo-soprano, who under her stage name Morlich Macleod, performed professionally with Hamish Mackay. They had begun their careers together in 1908 and toured Canada and the United States in 1912. Their only son, Hamish Cedric Mallory Godfrey, was born in Canada, on 26th September 1912.
Because of the outbreak of war, Hamish Mackay decided to go alone on his next tour of Canada and America and left Britain on the steamer, City of New York. After completing his tour he should have returned on the same ship but instead, booked as a second cabin passenger from New York on the Lusitania to return home to Scotland, because she was faster ship.
The Lusitania left the Cunard berth at Pier 54 in New York at 12.27 p.m. on the early afternoon of 1st May 1915, after a delayed departure brought about because she had to take on board passengers, cargo and some of the crew from the Anchor Liner
Cameronia, which the British Admiralty requisitioned as a troop ship at the end of April
On the evening of 6th May 1915, he gave a performance on board, although he was known to be unwell at the time. The following afternoon, he was killed when the liner was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-20, off the coast of southern Ireland. As no trace of his body was ever discovered and identified afterwards, he has no known grave. He was aged 34 years.
In a letter to their uncle and aunt, his sister Jessie wrote on 16th May 1915: -
44, Warrender Park Rd.,
Edinburgh
16/5/15
Dear Uncle & Aunt,
I am writing this to let you know we have given up hope of ever seeing James again.
He was coming home from New York to have a holiday as he had been rather “run down” for some time past. His wife wrote to him telling him to be sure to sail on the American liner “New York City” and to take out his first papers as an American Citizen so that even if the Germans happened to board this neutral vessel, he could not be taken as a prisoner.
We naturally thought he would do this, but we received letters from him on the Monday after he had sailed, stating that he would leave New York by the Lusitania. This ship as we all know over here was doomed, as far as the Germans were concerned, but it was too late to stop him by cable.
You can guess we had an extremely anxious time waiting for the Lusitania to get across and we all thought when Friday arrived and she was still unhurt, that she had managed to outwit the Germans. On Friday night, however, Violet came in with the awful news, but we still hoped that James might be saved. We have found no trace of him and the worst must have happened.
Mr. Angus was over in Queenstown all last week, but all he found out from some of the survivors was that he had been singing on Thursday evening at the ship’s concert and that he was to have sung again on Friday evening. He did not appear either at Breakfast or Lunch on Friday.
Apparently, he had not been feeling quite fit and was resting to try to bring himself into good form” for Friday night’s concert; but nobody has been able to tell more about him.
There is no need for me to tell you how we all feel. You will understand. Since all hope has been abandoned, Mother seems to be getting worse every day.
I remain
Your affectionate Niece
Jessie D Mackay
P.S. Please tell Uncle George all about it.
In a tribute to him published in The Dunedin Magazine of July 1915 it was stated: -
Mr. Mackay was far removed from the ordinary type of Scottish singer, who sings a rather limited number of well-known Scots songs with crude and commonplace accompaniments. It was after studying to very good purpose the folk songs and art songs of Scotland, England, Ireland, France, and Germany, that he came to the conclusion that the lyrics of his own country were not excelled or even equalled by those of any other. He then decided to make a speciality of Scottish song; and he brought all the resources of his art and his Scottish individuality to ensure adequate interpretation.
He took the greater pains to bring out the meaning of the songs, not to miss a single point; and, to enhance their value, he was always eager to get the very best musical settings and arrangements, in some cases inducing composers to write these specially for his use, when no satisfactory ones could otherwise be found.
Morlich Mackay used to relate the story that before the liner sank; Hamish had given up his lifejacket to a teenage boy, in the hope that it would save his life. After the death of her husband, she never sang professionally again.
She died in 1954, aged 67 years and their son, Hamish,`` died in October 1992, aged 80 years.
Soon after the sinking, Hamish Mackay‘s mother, Christina, applied to The Lusitania Relief Fund, for financial help. This fund had been set up immediately after the liner had gone down, by The Lord Mayor of Liverpool and other local business dignitaries to help second and third class passenger survivors and the relatives of those who had perished, who had come upon hard times as a result of the sinking. It was thought that saloon class passengers were wealthy enough not to need help and each claim was met on its merits.
Her grounds for making a claim were that she was a dependent and he had left her with accumulated debts of £50-0s-0d, but the Liverpool fund did not need to help in the event, as the sum owed was paid by The Lord Provost of Edinburgh from money collected within the city of Edinburgh.
Scotland Births & Baptisms 1564 – 1950, 1881 Census of Scotland, 1891 Census of Scotland, 1901 Census of Scotland, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Daily Record, Dundee Peoples Record, Dunedin Magazine, Edinburgh Evening News, Liverpool Record Office, PRO BT 100/345, UniLiv D92/2/54, UniLiv D92/2/315, Deaths at Sea 1871 – 1968, Graham Maddocks, Ian Mackay, Bonnie Hocking, Paddy O’Sullivan, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.