View source for CS Mackay-Bennett

{{Short description|Halifax Cable Ship notable for its retrieval of Titanic victim's bodies}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= Mackay Bennett.jpg
|Ship caption= CS ''Mackay-Bennett'' around 1900
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag=[[File:Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|100x35px|border|class=noviewer|British Merchant Navy Ensign]]
|Ship name=''Mackay-Bennett''
|Ship namesake=[[John William Mackay|John Mackay]] & [[James Gordon Bennett, Jr.|Gordon Bennett]]
|Ship owner=
|Ship operator=[[Commercial Cable Company]]
|Ship registry=[[London]], [[England]]
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|Ship builder=[[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|John Elder & Co.]], [[Glasgow]]
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|Ship launched=September 1884
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|Ship in service=1884-1922
|Ship out of service=May 1922
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|Ship homeport=[[City of Halifax|Halifax, Nova Scotia]] / [[Plymouth]], [[England]]
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|Ship fate=*Storage hulk, May 1922
*Scrapped, 1965
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of the Atlantic Cable & Submarine Telegraphy - Commercial Cable Company 1886 |url=http://atlantic-cable.com/CableCos/CCC-Teleg/index.htm#mackay |access-date=2009-11-07 |publisher=atlantic-cable.com}}</ref>
|Ship type= [[Cable ship]]
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|2,000|disp=long}}
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|Ship length=*{{convert|270|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|o/a]]
*{{convert|250|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[Length between perpendiculars|p/p]]
|Ship beam= {{convert|40|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship depth={{convert|24|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} [[Moulded depth|moulded]]
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|Ship propulsion=*2 × [[Compound steam engine|Compound]] inverted 2-cylinder engines
*2 × Cylindrical single-ended multi-tubular [[boiler]]s
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[[File:CS MacKay-Bennett in Dry Dock, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, between 1885 and 1922.jpg|thumb|right|CS ''Mackay-Bennett'' in Dry Dock at [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]]]]
The '''Cable Ship ''Mackay-Bennett''''' was a transatlantic [[Cable layer|cable-laying]] and cable-repair ship registered at [[Lloyd's of London]] as a Glasgow vessel but owned by the American [[Commercial Cable Company]]. She is notable for being the ship that recovered the majority of the bodies after the [[sinking of RMS Titanic|sinking of the ''Titanic'']].

==Design and build==
The ship was commissioned by the USA-based [[Commercial Cable Company]] from then noted [[River Clyde]]-based warship builders [[Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|John Elder & Co.]] at their Fairfield Yards. The company incorporated a number of then new and original features into the cable ship. It was one of the first ships built from [[steel]] rather than iron, and she had a relatively deep keel design to both accommodate as much cable as possible and to keep the ship stable in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] swells. The design was also very hydrodynamic to keep her fuel efficient and fast in operation. The hull design included [[bilge keel]]s to keep her stable, and she had two rudders, one fore and one aft, to maximize manoeuvrability.<ref name="BBC4CBS">''Clydebuilt: The ships that made the Commonwealth'' - CS ''Mackay-Bennett'' David Hayman, [[BBC Four]], 5 June 2014</ref>

==Operations==
Named for two founders of the Commercial Cable Company, John W. MacKay and James G. Bennett, she was launched late in 1884.<ref name="TRG20200420">{{Cite web |date=2020-04-20 |title=RMS Titanic Resource Guide |url=https://archives.novascotia.ca/ |access-date=2023-02-17 |website=Nova Scotia Archives}}</ref> Mainly based in [[City of Halifax|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], where she first arrived in March 1885,<ref>{{Cite web |title=CS ''Mackay-Bennett'' |url=https://novascotia.ca/nsarm/virtual/titanic/ships.asp?Ship=Mackay-Bennett |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714110654/http://novascotia.ca/nsarm/virtual/titanic/ships.asp?Ship=Mackay-Bennett |archive-date=14 July 2014 |access-date=6 June 2014 |publisher=Government of Nova Scotia}}</ref> she was also often used for operations on the European side of the Atlantic, based out of [[Plymouth]], England. The Canadian author [[Thomas Raddall]] worked as wireless operator aboard ''Mackay-Bennett'' and based some short stories on his experiences aboard.

In addition to carrying out numerous difficult cable repairs, many during times of wartime danger, due to the nature of her work and resultant position in the Atlantic, ''Mackay-Bennett'' performed many rescues. Typical was the rescue of the crew of the sinking [[schooner]] ''Caledonia'' on 12 February 1912.<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/diary-of-frederick-hamilton-cable-engineer-mackay-bennett.html "An Echo of a Past Tragedy, The Diary of Frederick Hamilton (Cable Engineer: MacKay Bennett)", ''Encyclopedia Titanica'']</ref>

===Recovery of bodies===
[[File:BoatBbyMB.gif|thumb|[[Lifeboats of the Titanic|Collapsible Boat B]] of the ''Titanic'', found adrift by the ''Mackay-Bennett'' during its mission to recover the bodies of those who died in the disaster. It was abandoned after an attempt to bring it on board failed.]]
In April 1912, she was berthed at [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] during a period of long-term work maintaining the [[France]]-to-Canada communications cable. Of the three ships in Halifax at that time only ''Mackay-Bennett'' had a hold capable of holding the 125 coffins and ice forming part of the exercise to recover bodies. The ship became notable as the main vessel contracted by the [[White Star Line]] to carry out the difficult task of recovering the bodies left floating in the [[North Atlantic]], after the {{RMS|Titanic||2}} disaster. The task was further motivated by Vincent Astor's announcement of a $100,000 reward for the ship recovering the body of his father [[John Jacob Astor IV|J. J. Astor]].<ref>Titanic: The Aftermath</ref> Her captain, Frederick H. Larnder, took on board a combination of specialists and an effective mobile mortuary.<ref name=BBC4CBS/><ref>{{Cite web |title=CS ''Mackay-Bennett'' |url=http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/ship/174/ |access-date=6 June 2014 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Titanica]]}}</ref> Both additional and specialized personnel and supplies were taken on board for the assignment. These included:

*Canon Kenneth Cameron Hind of [[All Saints Cathedral, Halifax]]
*John R. Snow, Jr., the chief embalmer with the firm of John Snow & Co., the province of Nova Scotia's largest undertaking firm, hired by White Star to oversee the embalming arrangements
*Sufficient embalming supplies to handle 70 bodies
* 100 coffins
*{{convert|100|LT}} of ice, in which to store the recovered bodies

Crew were paid double pay for the grisly task. There was a hierarchy to the mortuary details as the ship could never hope to bring all back: first class passengers were embalmed and placed in coffins; second-class were wrapped in linen winding sheets; third class and crew bodies were weighted and buried at sea (116 in total, 60 of which were unidentified).<ref>Clydeside Built: The Mackay-Bennett</ref>

The ship left Halifax at 12:45 P.M. on Wednesday, 17 April 1912. Due to severe fog and rough seas it took the ship nearly four days to sail the {{convert|800|nmi}} to the scene of the disaster. The captain instructed the ship's crew to keep their [[logbook]]s complete and up to date during the voyage and subsequent recovery operation, but only two logbooks are presently known to have survived:<ref name=GNCrease/> seven pages from the logbook of engineer Frederick A. Hamilton, now kept in the [[National Maritime Museum]], England, and the personal diary of Clifford Crease, a 24-year-old [[Armed-forces artificer|Naval artificer]] (craftsman-in-training); much of the detailed account of the recovery operation is today traced to Crease's diary, now held in the [[Public Archives of Nova Scotia]].<ref name=BBC4CBS/><ref name="GNCrease">{{Cite web |last=Nick Logan |date=12 April 2012 |title=Diary of Mackay-Bennett crewman tells haunting tale of Titanic recovery |url=http://globalnews.ca/news/233338/titanic-stories-diary-of-mackay-bennett-crewman-tells-haunting-tale-of-titanic-recovery/ |access-date=6 June 2014 |publisher=[[Global News]]}}</ref>

The ship arrived at the scene during the night, so recovery of bodies began at 06:00 on 20 April.<ref name=BBC4CBS/> CS ''Mackay-Bennett'' was anchored close to but not within the recovery area, using her [[sea anchor]] to stay with the drifting bodies and wreckage, and she offloaded her [[skiff]] lifeboats. Crews then rowed into the recovery area and manually recovered the bodies into the skiffs. After recovering as many bodies as they deemed safe for the return journey (51 corpses), the crews then rowed back to the CS ''Mackay-Bennett''.<ref name=BBC4CBS/><ref name=StarPhoto/> The captain noted that there was neither sufficient space aboard to store all of the recovered bodies nor enough embalming supplies aboard. As the Canadian Government and associated burial and maritime laws directed that any bodies carried had to be embalmed before a ship enter a Canadian port, the captain agreed to a system whereby:<ref name=BBC4CBS/><ref name="NSMus">{{Cite web |date=14 February 2013 |title=''Titanic'' Victims |url=http://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/titanics-halifax-connection/frequently-asked-questions#8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161206154503/http://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/titanics-halifax-connection/frequently-asked-questions#8 |archive-date=6 December 2016 |website=Maritime Museum of the Atlantic}}</ref>
*First-class passengers were embalmed, placed in coffins, and stored in the rear cable locker. These included the bodies of: [[John Jacob Astor IV]], the richest man aboard, body No.124 recovered on 22 April, identified by his unique diamond finger ring and the initials sewn on the label of his jacket;<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=John Jacob Astor IV |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Titanica]] |url=http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/titanic-biography/john-jacob-astor.html |access-date=2010-10-27}}</ref> architect [[Edward Austin Kent]], body No.258; and [[Isidor Straus]], owner of [[Macy's]] Department Store.
*Second-class passengers were embalmed, wrapped in [[canvas]], and stored in the forward cable locker.
*Third-class passengers and crew were [[buried at sea]], a total of 116 bodies. In October 2013, a photograph taken by Fourth officer R. D. "Westy" Legate came up for auction, which captured the Canon ministering over a ceremony of multiple burials at sea on board the ship.<ref name="StarPhoto">{{Cite web |last=Rob Ferguson |date=4 October 2013 |title=Rare photo of Titanic body recovery shows Halifax ship |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/10/04/rare_photo_of_titanic_body_recovery_shows_halifax_ship.html |access-date=6 June 2014 |website=The Star}}</ref>
*The body of band leader [[Wallace Hartley]], found fully dressed with his music case strapped to his body, was transferred to the [[SS Arabic (1902)|''Arabic'']] and returned to England, where on 18 May he was buried in Keighley Road Cemetery, [[Colne]], [[Lancashire]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 March 2013 |title=Titanic band leader's violin is authentic, say experts |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-21806334 |access-date=16 March 2013 |website=News Wiltshire |publisher=BBC}}</ref> 
*The body of 19-month old [[Sidney Leslie Goodwin]] (known until 2008 only as "The Unknown Child"), a third-class passenger and the fourth body recovered,<ref name=GNCrease/> was saved by the crew and stored in the hold.<ref name="BBC4CBS"/>

At 19:00 on 23 April, CS ''Mackay-Bennett'' lay briefly alongside the [[Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers|Allan Shipping Line's]] ''Sardinian'' (en route to [[Saint John, New Brunswick]]), to collect additional canvas.

Just after midnight on 26 April, CS ''Mackay-Bennett'' rendezvoused with the [[Anglo-American Telegraph Company]]'s [[CS Minia|CS ''Minia'']] to get extra embalming supplies, before departing for Halifax at dawn that day.

After a seven-day recovery operation, the CS ''Mackay-Bennett'' had:
*Recovered 306 of the 328 bodies found from among the 1,517 who perished aboard ''Titanic''
*Buried 116 at sea, of which only 56 were identified
*Set sail for home with 190 bodies on board, almost twice as many as there were coffins available
*Arrived in Halifax on 30 April 1912, began unloading her cargo at 09:30, and transferred the bodies to the [[ice rink]] of the [[Mayflower Curling Club]].<ref name=BBC4CBS/><ref name=NSMus/>

The crew split the $100,000 reward for Astor's body (around $2500 each). Using some of that money they paid for the burial of the body of the unknown child and his headstone monument - the casket was marked by a copper plaque reading "Our Babe".<ref name=BBC4CBS/><ref name=Holm/> The entire ship's crew, together with the majority of the population of Halifax, attended the child's burial at [[Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia|Fairview Lawn Cemetery]] on 4 May 1912.<ref name=BBC4CBS/><ref name="Holm">{{Cite journal |last=Holm |first=Brandon C. |date=9 March 2007 |title=RMS Titanic: The Funerals, Memorials and Legacy of the Lost Passengers and Her Crew |url=http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/item/5510/ |access-date=2011-11-08 |journal=Encyclopedia Titanica}}</ref> With improved [[DNA testing]], on 30 July 2007 Canadian researchers at [[Lakehead University]] announced that testing of the body's [[mitochondrial DNA]] had revealed that the child was 19-month-old [[Sidney Leslie Goodwin]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 August 2007 |title=Titanic baby given new identity |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6925640.stm |access-date=2007-08-01}}</ref>

After his death in 1961, Clifford Crease's body was interred only a few steps away from the grave of "Our Babe", a site he had visited on every anniversary of the tragedy during his lifetime.<ref name=GNCrease/>

[[Mackay-Bennett Seamount]], one of the [[Fogo Seamounts]] southeast of the [[Grand Banks of Newfoundland]] in the North Atlantic Ocean, is named after ''Mackay-Bennett'' for her involvement in the ''Titanic'' disaster.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 January 2019 |title=Advisory Committee on Undersea Feature Names |url=https://www.mpo-dfo.gc.ca/science/hydrography-hydrographie/acufn/index-eng.html |access-date=2021-02-10 |website=Fogo Seamounts |publisher=[[Fisheries and Oceans Canada]]}}</ref>

==Retirement and scrapping==
The ship was retired in May 1922, anchored in [[Plymouth Sound]] to be used as a storage hulk. During [[The Blitz]] on England in [[World War II]], she was sunk during a [[Nazi Germany]] [[Luftwaffe]] attack but later refloated. Her hull was finally scrapped in 1965.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Glover |first=Bill |date=11 October 2019 |title=History of the Atlantic Cable & Submarine Telegraphy - The Commercial Cable Company |url=https://atlantic-cable.com/CableCos/CCC/ |access-date=5 February 2020}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/ship/174/ ''Mackay-Bennett''] at [[Encyclopedia Titanica]]
* {{Facebook|CSMackayBennett|CS Mackay-Bennett}}
*[http://atlantic-cable.com/CableCos/CCC-Teleg/index.htm#mackay ''Mackay-Bennett'' at the Atlantic Cable website]

{{coord missing|Atlantic Ocean}}
{{March 1941 shipwrecks}}
{{RMS Titanic}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackay-Bennett}}
[[Category:Cable ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Sinking of RMS Titanic]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:1884 ships]]
[[Category:History of Halifax, Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in March 1941]]
[[Category:Cable laying ships]]