HUNGERFORD ARCADE – “A FISHERSMAN’S SAINT”

Hello Again

 

One of the joys about visiting the Arcade is you do not know what you might find.  I have often found things that I never knew existed.

 

That was the case today when I found a small book called The Fisherman’s Saint which was an account of an address given by Sir Wilfred Grenfell at St Andrews University in November 1929 and whilst researching this article, I also discovered details of the greatest accidental loss of life in film production history.

 

To be honest, the reason that I purchased the book was that it was signed by Wilfred Grenfell (it might have been his own copy).  I knew nothing about this memorable man and that is what made this all the more interesting.

 

Wilfred was born in Parkgate in Cheshire on the 28th February 1865 and moved to London in 1882.

 

He enrolled at the London Hospital Medical College to study medicine and graduated in 1888.

Four years later in 1892, he was sent as a missionary by The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen to try to improve the lot of the coastal inhabitants and fishermen in Newfoundland.

 

He soon recruited two doctors and two nurses to help him in the hospital at Indian Harbour and soon after, more cottage hospitals were being opened along the coast of Labrador.  The whole venture was a success and soon exceeded its initial mandate.

 

Interestingly, one the children that was helped was an Inuit girl called Kirkina Mucko (1890-1970) a double amputee who later in 1908 worked at the Grenfell Mission and after losing family members in the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, trained to be a nurse and a midwife.  She was much loved and served her community for many years.

 

In 1908, Wilfred was travelling to a medical emergency in a Newfoundland village when he was caught on a slob (soft ice) and was forced to sacrifice some of his dogs to enable him to make a warm fur coat for himself.

 

He drifted for some days without fresh food or water before being rescued by some villagers.

 

Wilfred was so grateful to the dogs that died that he raised a plaque in their memory.

 

Wilfred was subsequently knighted in 1927 for all his good work in Canada.

 

In 1931, Wilfred accepted a small speaking role in the movie, The Viking as the narrator and also summarised in a brief statement the tragic circumstances of the worst known accident in film production history.

 

The films producer was a chap named Varick Frissell (1903-1931) and the movie was essentially an adventure film about sealing in Newfoundland.

 

It might have been forgotten as many films of the era were, but for an horrific accident caused by the dynamite that was being carried on board igniting (it was used to break the ship clear of ice pans and the like).

 

The explosion destroyed the stern of the ship causing it to sink killing Varick and twenty-seven other poor souls.  There were survivors who were subsequently rescued, but the number of people killed during this single incident has thankfully never been surpassed in the history of movies.

 

A documentary about Varick’s life called White Thunder was released in 2002.

 

After a lifetime of good work, Wilfred retired to Charlotte in Vermont and it was here that he died on the 9th of October 1940.

 

Yet, I had not heard of him or his missionary work in Canada and as I have noted.  I only purchased the book as it looked interesting and it was signed.

 

But what an iceberg (forgive the pun) I pulled up when I researched the life of this remarkable man.

 

You occasionally find books and pamphlets that have recorded lectures at universities and other institutions at the Arcade and initially, this one looked no different.

 

Yet, I was wrong and I have had the pleasure of writing this short article about Wilfred’s life.

 

Happy Hunting

 

Stuart Miller-Osborne