James Cargill Haldane was born in Partick, Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the 18th April 1889, the son of William and Margaret McConnell Haldane (née Ross). The family home was at 23 Bridge Street, Partick, Glasgow.
On the 10th June 1910 he boarded the Numidian at Glasgow, and disembarked in Boston, Massachusetts, ten days later. His brother, William, was already living and working in Boston, and James quickly found work with the Walworth Manufacturing Company as a travelling salesman. He resided at 733. East 3rd St., South Boston.
As soon as he arrived in Boston, James applied to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, and he became a naturalized citizen on the 17th March 1915.
As he was now legally permitted to leave and re-enter the United States of America at will, he decided to return to Glasgow for a holiday and as a consequence, booked as a second cabin passenger on the
Lusitania, which was due to leave New York on 1st May 1915. He left Boston by rail at the end of April and joined the liner in time for her delayed sailing in the early afternoon of the 1st May.
When she was torpedoed and sunk, just six days later, off the southern coast of Ireland, James Haldane was counted amongst the survivors and having been rescued from the sea and landed at Queenstown, he eventually made it back to his native city on Sunday 9th May. Once there, he gave an interview to a reporter from The Dumfries and Galloway Standard
about his survival, which was published in the edition of May 1915. It stated: -
It was, I think the hardest part men had to bear, to see the women and children perish before our eyes. We were helpless. Women and children were crowded into the boats and as many as possible were picked up; but scores of them were beyond all aid. The most pathetic sight of any which I witnessed was that of a man who strove bravely to save his child - a wee mite of 18 months or so. He failed.
I was swimming some distance away from them when they first came under my notice. The man had got hold of a hatch cover, and had lifted the child on to it. He himself was in the water clinging tenaciously to the wreckage with one hand while with the other he held the child, keeping her in a sitting position. The baby was being lashed by the waves which were washing over their support. Their case seemed hopeless. The child was about ‘done for’ when I saw them and the man was near to exhaustion. He was as white as a ghost. I turned on my back to rest and when I looked again the man and the child had disappeared, and the wreckage to which they had been clinging was floating lightly away“.
After the explosion, Mr. Haldane was in the water and struck out to get clear of the suction of the ship, but was drawn back by the swirl of the water and dragged under for a few seconds. Hundreds of persons were caught in the terrible maelstrom bumping against each other and against the wreckage of the ship.
Most survivors remarked especially on the fact that there was no great maelstrom when the ship went down and how surprised they were, as they had expected to be sucked down. James Haldane is one of the few who reported it as above.
When he rose, he found drowning passengers all around him, everyone calling for help. Corpses began to float by him. He swan strongly to get out of this death zone, but the cries of men and the screaming of women and children followed him everywhere.
After he had been about 45 minutes in the water he saw an upturned collapsible boat about 400 yards distant. It was crowded with people but he saw a small vacant space at the bow and made for it. He found 48 survivors on the boat, seven of whom were women. Lady Allan, wife of Sir Montague Allan, one of the principal directors of the Allan Line was one of them. She was badly bruised.
One of the men on the boat, a stoker, had his arm almost blown off. It was hanging by a thread. He must have suffered intense pain, but he never complained. Another, an elderly man was lying with his leg injured and had to be held on to prevent him rolling overboard. The upturned boat drifted away from the scene of the wreck, and from the other boats with survivors, and they had a very anxious time looking out for an approaching ship.
They could see the land clearly, but it was more than 15 miles away and they ha d not hope of reaching it without assistance. The saw a fishing vessel coming out, a sailer, but there was no wind and she seemed to be stationary. After he had been for about three hours on the upturned boat, they were rescued by the Katrina, a vessel flying the Greek flag, and inward bound from the West Indies.
In fact, the Katrina was the Hopkins and Jones and Company’s ship
Westborough under the command of Captain E.L. Taylor of Cardiganshire, Wales. She was sailing under the name of
Katerina and flying the Greek flag as a ruse to deter U-Boat attack.
On board her, the stoker, who had had his arm almost blown off, was operated upon by a doctor using only a pen knife and his arm which had been
hanging by a thread was successfully amputated! It is likely that this doctor was second cabin passenger survivor Silvio de Vescovi.
Lady Allan, like James Haldane, survived her ordeal and was eventually reunited with her family.
On reaching Partick, James stayed at the home of one of his married sisters, a Mrs. Wilson, who resided at 13, Muirpark Street, Partick, but after his brief holiday, and no doubt taking the time to recover from his ordeal, it was time for him to return to Boston.
Having travelled to Liverpool by rail, he boarded the Philadelphia on the 19th June 1915, and after an uneventful voyage on this occasion, he disembarked in New York City and returned to his home in Boston.
On the 25th September 1917, James crossed the border to Canada, and on reaching Fredericton, New Brunswick, he enlisted in the Canadian Army, volunteering for the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force. As 1031367 Private James Haldane, he was assigned to the 236th Overseas Battalion, knowns as ‘The New Brunswick Kilties – Sir Sam’s Own’.
On the 30th October 1917, he embarked on the s.s. Canada at Montreal with his battalion, arriving in Southampton on the 19th November, and on disembarkation, his battalion were sent to Seaford, Sussex, to complete their basic training. James must have shown promise as a soldier because on the 21st December, he was promoted to acting corporal.
Then on the 19th February 1918, he sought permission from his authorities to get married, although it appears that he had married his sweetheart, Jeanie Finlayson, who was a neighbour of his in Partick, on the 5th February. The couple married in Partick, and their honeymoon, if they were able to avail of one, was very brief, as James had to return to his battalion to prepare for their transfer to the Western Front.
On the 8th March, James transferred to the 42nd Battalion of the Canadian Army and embarked for France. On his transfer, he had to revert to the rank of private.
He served with the 42nd Battalion until the 12th August 1918, when he was reported as having been killed instantly by enemy machine gun fire during an attack on the village of Parvilliers-le-Quesnoy, France. His remains were not recovered and he is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial. He was aged 29 years.
His unfortunate wife, Jeanie, was residing at 21. White Street, Partick, at the time of his death, and received a grant of $180 following his death, and also received a pension of $40.00 per month. Her husband’s name is inscribed in her family grave in Glasgow Western Necropolis.
1891 Census of Scotland, 1901 Census of Scotland, Massachusetts Passenger Lists 1820 – 1963, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, Massachusetts State and Federal Naturalization Records 1798 – 1950, U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards 1917 – 1918, U.S. Residents Serving in Canadian Expeditionary Forces 1917 – 1918, Canada WWI CEF Personnel Files 1914 – 1918, Canada War Graves Registers (Circumstances of Casualty) 1914 – 1918, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Dumfries & Galloway Standard, Dundee People’s Journal, IWM GB62, Graham Maddocks, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.