S S Manchester

[aligator1234]

Hi My Grandfather, James Maclean, was in the RAMC., apparently according to family members, although I have never found an Army record or a Pension Record for him. I was told also that he was on S.S. Manchester in WW1 when it went down, but there are a few S.S. Manchester Liners on various websites, and I am not sure which one it might be.

I was told also that he was found floating in the water, and could not remember his name.

He also used another name of "Holden"., for whatever reasons I don't know.

Is there anywhere that might hold the lists of crew members on these ships, as all I have is word of mouth he was in the RAMC., during WW1, and in receipt of a pension.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Faith

[BradfordPal]

Hi Faith

Could you possibly give a bit more detail to work with. Such as;

Was James your G'Fathers full name? Where was he born and do you know the approx year?  Can you confirm the Maclean spelling or could it have been McLean? Were you told when the sinking took place and where he might have been travelling to? You say he also used the name Holden. Were you told any detail of the circumstances he used this name in. i.e was it to join up or some other reason.

I think it unlikely he would have been a crew member of whichever SS Manchester ships he was on more than likely being transported from a to b. If you can give some more detail on where he was going I am sure someone would be able to work it out for you (or at least narrow it down). The fact that he was overseas would hopefully mean there is a medal index card (MIC) for him and this would be a start but without more to go on it could be difficult to pin him down.

Martin

[aligator1234]

Hi Martin - My Grandfather's full name was James Maclean. From all the family history that I have done all his family members were Maclean, and not Mclean. He was born in Nairn in Scotland in 1877, and his parent's were Alexander Maclean and Elizabeth Black. They lived at Park Lane, Balblair Road, Nairn, but he went to Edinburgh I am sure. My Mum is the only one left now and her Father talked very little of his life, and more so not to his children. I was told he must or may have led a double life, but cannot totally say he did as there was a lot of talk, as there was in those days.
The story was that he was found floating in the sea on some wood and he had lost his memory and did not know who he was, and was lucky to be alive. On his death certificate my Grandmother Edith Clarke, put this name on their and it read- James Maclean, otherwise Holden. I have no documents apart from this with that name on, but he may have used it to get away from people, as that is what I feel, but  for what I don't know.
He had family in Canada. A Sister Elizabeth and another Sister Margaret Alice. I was told also he was in the RAMC., so that threw me a bit as why was he on this ship. The ship must have been torpedoed. It would be between the first world war years, but cannot pin point a date for you.
There has been talk of him having a lady in Canada that had one child and was expecting another and she had a Haberdashery shop. Again I would not know where to look for any of this.
I do not have any medals, or any information on his regiment and have looked for many years for a medal card at the archives here in UK., but without that it has been at a loss to find him. I know a lot of WW1 records were destroyed by the bombing in London and it is a possibility that his was in there. He was very well spoken my Mum said, and could speak many languages.

I have one side of him being born in Nairn, to the parents I mentioned and then going onto being a Solicitor in Edinburgh and going to Innisfail in Canada around 1911 on a ships passenger list. His Sister Margaret Alice went there in about 1901. He was married to a Jessie Smith Shand, then on another note we have this story of him being in the RAMC., and he must have been as he had a number of medical books in his home, and he was in receipt of an Army Disability pension, as he suffered shell shock,so sometimes I am not sure what to believe.

I do not have an answer to when he used  the name of Holden, only that it was on his death certificate.

Thanks for helping.

Faith

[aligator1234]

Sorry but I meant to say that someone told me it had SS Manchester on the side of the ship he was on.

Faith

[BradfordPal]

Hi Faith

Don't you just love those passed down family tales? I have heard a few in my time including from my own family but that has got to be up there with the best of them. Lots of different elements to it.

So there is no suggestion of where he might have been going to or from on the ship when it was sunk?

I note there is a family tree on Ancestry which includes your Grandfather James and a story about him.  He died in Norfolk. Is that your tree? If not it would be worth a look.

Being born in 1877 would have made him 37 in 1914. I suspect he was already a solicitor at that point, is that correct do you know? I only point this out because I would have thought that fact would make him prime Officer material. Any suggestion made that he was an officer at any time?

I don't have much access to Scottish records but hopefully someone will come along and assist.

Good luck

Martin

[aligator1234]

Yes so many stories and never knowing which ones are relevant. My Aunt who has just passed away said to me he was an Officer. He was already a Solicitor working in Edinburgh, which I have details of. The family tree is my family tree that I put on Ancestry.

A very elusive Grandfather, and when you go down one line it does not match so I battle on. No records of his Army career. The one thing that does not fit is that he signed his Brother's death certificate in Edinburgh in 1942 and he had been dead himself from 1939 in the February.
At least I now know that he was not on this ship as a RAMC person, but civilian, as I did not know they carried passengers as well as other things.

I have him on a ships passenger list when he was in his 30's going to Innisfail to his Sister's in Canada and that read he was a Solicitor and that was in 1911 according to Ancestry. I have no record of him coming back, so the plot thickens.

Will have to plod on for another 20 years I suppose.

Thanks for your help.

Faith

[sarah]

Hi Faith,

Manchester liners had about 10 ships, all prefixed by the word "Manchester" quite a few of them travelled to Canada.

Manchester Regiment
Manchester Progress
Manchester commerce
Manchester Trader
Manchester Brigade
Manchester Merchant
Manchester Division
Manchester Citizen
Manchester Spinner
Manchester Port

Regards

Sarah