Tragedies at sea, in this case on the SS West Cumberland, took their toll on loved ones at home.<\/p>\n
Charles Dickens described the room, in Great Expectations<\/em>, where poor Miss Havisham\u2019s wedding feast sits on the table, mouldering and crumbling from the day she was jilted at the altar by the swindling Compeyson:<\/p>\n \u2018The most prominent object was a long table with a tablecloth spread on it, as if a feast had been in preparation when the house and the clocks all stopped together.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n It came to mind when I stumbled on a tragedy that broke a young Cumbrian woman\u2019s heart, in 1890. Though in her case, her fianc\u00e9 was no rogue, but rather a \u2018promising young man,\u2019 and it was his death that left her alone with her wedding cake and dress on what should have been a joyous day.<\/p>\n On June 11, 1890, the SS West Cumberland, of Maryport, sank after being in collision with the barque Minero, about 60 miles north of Cape Finisterre.<\/p>\n The SS West Cumberland was on her way from Cathagena to Mostyn, on the River Mersey.<\/p>\n The Minero rescued the mate and four of the crew, and turned round for Cardiff. The SS West Cumberland\u2019s captain and 12 of the crew were rescued by the steamer Mounts Bay, which was heading for London.<\/p>\n The only casualty was the Cumberland\u2019s second engineer, W Albert Thornber<\/strong>, who drowned.<\/p>\n Poor Albert was actually a good swimmer, well known in is home town of Whitehaven and the surrounding district for his swimming feats. Sadly, all the competition prizes he\u2019d won did him no good in the waters of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n The death notice in the Cumberland Pacquet reads: William Albert Thornber\u2026 was fatally injured and went down with the SS West Cumberland in the Bay of Biscay, aged 26 years<\/em>.<\/p>\n Albert was the son of Mark Thornber<\/strong>, a draper (employed by Mr Taggart<\/strong>, of Ling-street Whitehaven) and his wife Sarah Highmore<\/strong>. In 1881, the census shows the family living at 20 Tangier Street. Albert (born Workington) is 16 and listed as an apprentice draper \u2013 if only he\u2019d stayed in that trade.<\/p>\n The West Cumberland, built in 1879 by Messrs Joseph L Thompson and Son of Sunderland, was owned by Hine Brothers of Maryport.<\/p>\n Other Cumbrians on board were listed as George Brown<\/strong>, of Hilton-terrace, Whitehaven, the first mate; the second mate, Mr Wallis<\/strong>, son of WG Wallis<\/strong> of Maryport, and; the chief engineer, Mr Miller<\/strong>, also of Maryport. Among the rest of the crew, one of the firemen, Hugh Flynn<\/strong>, was from Carter-lane Whitehaven.<\/p>\nThe Cumbrians on board<\/h2>\n
Bereaved just before her big day<\/h2>\n