Greetings from Naples … another story from Tony Goulding

On the surface this looks like another run-of-the-mill postcard sent by a holiday maker from the Bay of Naples. However, the message on the back makes it a little more intriguing. 

It was dated 27th November 1917 and was sent to a Master Willie Metcalfe of Fairfield, Liverpool by his “Daddy”. 

 Now as the card was posted from a Mediterranean port during the First World War, I was curious to discover whether Mr. Metcalfe was a sailor in the Royal Navy or alternatively a British soldier attached to a unit sent to assist their Italian allies in their battles against the Austro-Hungarian army in the North of the country.

After some research I found “Willie” and his “Daddy” in the 1911 census which confirmed my suspicion that Mr. Metcalfe was indeed a sailor, albeit a Captain in the Merchant Marine, and a Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (R.N.V.R.) officer (1), employed by the White Star Line. 

In November 1917 George Robert Metcalfe was in command of the 12,268 ton “Canopic”. which had been requisitioned for war service earlier in the year. 

S.S. Canopic

Its Captain was given the rank of Lieutenant-Commander in the R.N.V.R. It is likely that this passenger liner was being used as a troop ship to carry British troops to Italy. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Website, Commonwealth troops served on the Italian front from November 1917 until the armistice the following November and lists 3,809 who did not return.

George Robert Metcalfe was born in Potter Gate, Helmsley in Yorkshire’s North Riding on 28th September 1870, the son of an agricultural labourer, William Metcalfe and his wife Elizabeth (2)

George Robert had at least 3 older brothers, William, Charles, and Joseph plus two older sisters, Elizabeth Ann, and Sarah Frances. In the early summer of 1878, there was a further addition to the household when Elizabeth Ann gave birth to a son, Harold, presumably “out of wedlock” as no father’s name is included in the baptismal record of 6th October 1878.

At the young age of fifteen George Robert left home to, no doubt, seek adventure by pursuing a career on the high seas. 

Initially, he served a four-year apprenticeship under sail with Davis & Co., a shipping line based in Swansea, South Wales which operated between the ports of the Bristol Channel and those of South America’s west coast. 

Obviously, an accomplished sailor he rapidly moved through the ranks, eventually serving as a second and first mate for three years and eleven months with the Gwynedd Shipping Company of Caernarfon, North Wales before, after ten years at sea, joining the White Star Line, on 12th December 1896, as a junior officer, firstly in the cargo fleet. 

Captain Metcalfe remained with the White Star Line for more than thirty years, he was given command of several different liners of their fleet but fortunately for him he was not appointed as an officer on the “Titanic”. 

Fortune also favoured his ship the 20,470 ton “Megantic” (3) in 1915 while it was engaged in trans-Atlantic crossings in the face of threats from German submarines. 

On occasion the “Megantic” was even known to set sail from New York in company with the ill-fated Cunard liner the “Lusitania”. On 30th May 1915, less than a month after the latter was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of County Cork on7th May, Captain Metcalfe’s ship was also confronted by a U-boat but managed to outrun it. 

Earlier in 1915 on 22nd March the “Megantic” took part in a dramatic sea rescue when it went to the aid of an American liner the “Denver” which had sent a distress signal that it was sinking in heavy seas. 

For his involvement in the incident, Captain Metcalfe was presented with a gold medal and chain by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool (Mr. A. S. Mather) on behalf of the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, as a sign of appreciation of his efforts. This was the fifth award of its kind he had been given.

 George Robert Metcalfe, who was made the commadore of the White Star Line fleet in January 1925, retired from sea duty due to declining health in September 1928 but remained with the company until its mandatory retirement age on 60th birthday in 1930.

In retirement, Captain Metcalfe settled in Anglesey, North Wales. In the 1939 Register he is shown residing at “Culfor”, Cambria Road, Menai Bridge, where he remained until his death on 2nd February 1945. His estate was valued for probate at £2,396-14s-6d. (equivalent to £85,470 today)

The “Master Willie” to whom the postcard was addressed, was William George Metcalfe who, as stated above, was the son of Captain George Robert Metcalfe. He was born on 8th October 1907 to Elizabeth Metcalfe (née Williams) the captain’s wife whom he had married in the March quarter of 1905 at the church of Our Lady, and St. Nicholas; facing the river Mersey close to the Pier Head it is the parish church of Liverpool but is also known as the “Sailor’s Church”.

 

Church of Our Lady and St. Nicholas, Pier Head, Liverpool

William George’s mother sadly passed away during the December quarter of 1918 aged just 39 when her son had only just reached his 11th birthday. 

Following this tragic event and with their father away at sea, the Metcalfe children (William George had a younger sister, also Elizabeth, who was born in October 1910) were put in the care of Captain Metcalfe’s niece Florence Ethel, the unmarried daughter of his older brother, William. The 1921 census records them living, with one servant, at 103, Newsham Drive, Fairfield, West Derby, Liverpool.

In the 1939 Register, William George is recorded at 56, Mulgrave Street, Liverpool. 

He was unmarried and his occupation is shown as a motor driver, however the notes next to his entry indicate that he had some experience as a Merchant Mariner. He died in Liverpool during January 1988. (4)

Pictures: - Naples postcard from the collection of Tony Goulding, S.S. Canopic by White Star Line - http://www.esseximages.com/images/steamships/21542Canopic1900.JPG, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8534024, Church of Our Lady and St. Nicholas, Pier Head, Liverpool by Man vyi - Self-photographed, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4643779

Notes: -

1) Captain Metcalfe first joined the Royal Navy Reserve on 24th April 1900 and by the time he retired from the service in July 1922 he had risen to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander.

2) I have not included Elizabeth’s maiden name as the entry on her marriage record was altered with “Cook” crossed through and “Mennel” substituted. Also, there was no entry made for the name and occupation of the bride’s father. A possible explanation of this may be provided by a record in the 1851 census; an unmarried Elizabeth Mennel is shown as residing with her widowed grandmother, Elizabeth Cook in the nearby town of Thirsk, Yorkshire (North Riding).

3) The “Megantic” already had a famous connection as it was in August 1910 the ship in which the fleeing alleged poisoner Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen was brought back to the U.K. to stand trial at the Old Bailey.

4) There is a record of a William George Metcalfe marrying a Constance Elsie Johnstone at St. Agnes Church, Toxteth, Liverpool in November 1940.  This couple had at least one and possibly two daughters.