Mabel Iris Baker was born in Lambeth, London, England, in 1888, the daughter of William and Annie Baker. Her father was a barrister-at-law, and also an honorary director to the Barnardo’s Homes in London. The family home was at 33. Lancaster Road, Lambeth, London, and Mabel was an only child. Her mother died in 1901.
In 1912, she immigrated to Canada, and in 193 or 1914, she married George Cecil Henshaw, who was also from England, and they lived at Coronation Court, Fifth Avenue, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, where George was a customs officer. Their daughter, Constance Selina was born in late 1914.
In the spring of 1915, she decided to travel to London to visit her parents with her young daughter and as a consequence, she booked second cabin passage for them both on the
Lusitania. Leaving Saskatoon by rail at the end of April, they both joined the liner at the Cunard berth in New York harbour on the morning of 1st May 1915 in time for her delayed sailing, which actually began in the early afternoon.
Six days later, when the liner was only hours away from her Liverpool destination, she was torpedoed and sunk and although Mabel Henshaw survived, her baby Constance was killed. Having been rescued from the sea and landed at Queenstown, she managed to get to the home of her cousin, Mr. Allan Baker who lived at Lismacue, Bansha, County Tipperary. Whilst there, she was interviewed by a representative of the press and her interview was printed in the morning edition of The Cork Examiner for Thursday 13th May, which recorded: -
When the explosion occurred, a gentleman handed her a life preserver. Her baby was killed as a result of being knocked against some part of the ship, but the mother held on to the body as she struggled in the water, until she became unconscious. Four hours after the sinking, she was picked up unconscious by a trawler, and conveyed to Queenstown, where she gradually recovered, but her grief was poignant indeed at the loss of her child!
Her father journeyed across from London to Queenstown to meet her, and both are now at Bansha with friends.
On her return to Saskatoon, in September 1915, she was interviewed by a reporter of the local newspaper,
The Saskatoon Daily Star, and her naturally emotional account, given through
"moist eyes", was published in the edition for Thursday 23rd September. It is dissimilar in several parts from her earlier interview: -
I was in my bath when the boat was struck. I had left Constance asleep in the cabin and at first I thought that we had only grounded. Slipping on a few clothes I went to the cabin and picked up the baby; just then the boat gave a sickening list and I knew something serious had happened. The life belt which was fastened to the ceiling stuck fast and I was unable to get it down. The lights then went out and I started to grope my way along the corridor to the stairs.
The panic on the stairway and decks was frightful. Everyone seemed to have lost their heads, men fought with women and children to gain the boats, the stewards even were mad with fright and nowhere was there a semblance of order.
I met Mr. Henn on the stairway and he helped me up to the deck. When he saw me without a life belt he immediately gave me the one he was wearing and went in search of his wife and aunt. All three of them were drowned.
The boat listed over farther and a rush of water hit me in the face. I found myself struggling in the waves and I was sucked down, but I managed to hold on to my baby until we came to the surface. On coming up men, women and children were all around me hanging on to bits of wreckage, many with gaping wounds and all screaming for help.
There was a terrible explosion as a boiler burst and something hit me in the back. The baby slipped out of my arms and I was sucked down again.
When I came up I grasped an oar floating nearby, but could see no sign of Constance. Four men in a boat refused to take me in, saying that every one had to look after themselves. I was told later that I must have drifted around for four hours in the icy water, though I had no recollection of the time.
In a half stupor I was picked up by the trawler Bluebell, which had put out from Queenstown to the rescue and I was laid among the dead on the forward deck. I lay their (sic) quite a time before I could prove that I was not dead. Captain Turner of the Lusitania was picked up at the same time as I.
At Queenstown, where we arrived about midnight, I was very kindly treated by a German hotelkeeper, who did everything in his power for me. I was met there by my father and mother-in-law, who came over as soon as the news of the disaster reached England.
The baby's body was never found. I guess it was too small.
The Mr. Henn, his wife and aunt, referred to by Mrs. Henshaw, were George Henn, his wife Edith Mabel and Edith’s aunt Miss Martha M. Lakin. All three were travelling from Saskatoon and all three perished.
The German hotelkeeper was almost certainly Otto Humbert, the proprietor of The Queen's Hotel, who, when he heard of the sinking, reputedly prepared rooms for survivors, cancelled the string orchestra which normally played there each Saturday evening, and then hid in the wine cellar overnight! Either this latter part of the story is apocryphal or Mrs. Henshaw did not meet him until the Sunday morning! The Queen's hotel accommodated a lot of the passenger survivors.
Once Mrs. Henshaw was safely installed in the Queen's Hotel, however, her ordeal was not over! She contracted pleurisy, and was treated in the hotel for three weeks, the hospitals being full, and she was reported to have been feeling very nervous, and suffering mental anguish as a result of the loss of her daughter.
In September 1915, she returned to Canada on the S.S. Cameronia. The passage across the Atlantic was far from easy, as the ship was sighted and chased by two German U-Boats and in fear of a repetition of the
Lusitania disaster, lifebelts were worn at all times by the passengers and the ship's lifeboats were swung out onto their davits for instant lowering!
Cunard records published in March 1916 refer to the infant Henshaw as "Mary", but the above account would indicate quite clearly that her name was Constance.
Mabel’s husband enlisted in the Canadian Army and survived the war, and while he was serving in the army, Mabel resided in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1917, their son, William Victor was born.
Their second son – William Victor, was born in Saskatoon in 1920, and then the family appears to have returned to England for a few years, where in 1924, their third son – Dennis, was born. They eventually returned to Canada in March 1925, destined for Edmonton, Alberta, where George Henshaw, by now a qualified accountant, had secured employment.
Mabel Henshaw lodged a claim with the Canadian Commission, seeking compensation for personal injuries, and the loss of her personal property in the sinking of the
Lusitania. In March 1926, the Commission awarded her $500 for the loss of her personal property, and $4,500 in compensation for her personal injuries.
It is possible the couple had further children; however, this is not known for certain.
Mabel Henshaw died in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the 23rd May 1979, aged 90 years.
1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, UK Incoming Passenger Lists 1878 – 1960, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Canadian Passenger Lists 1865 – 1935, Cunard Records, Canadian Claims Case No. 815, British Merchant Ships Sunk by U-Boats, Cork Examiner, Saskatoon Daily Star, The Province, White Star Journal, Graham Maddocks, Kenneth Henn, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.