Mathias, John, 1870-1916

Commander John Mathias, RD, RNR, a native of Youghal, Ireland, was known in Montreal as captain of the Laurentic, a ship which regularly ran the Montreal-to-Liverpool route. First launched in 1909, Laurentic was a ship of the White Star Line, which had taken over the Dominion Line Canadian Service for which Mathias had earlier commanded a vessel named Vancouver. In 1914, H.M.S. Laurentic was commissioned by the Canadian Expeditionary Force for troop transport; she was painted grey and joined a convoy of 32 ships that brought 35,000 Canadian soldiers to Europe that October. With Acting Commander Mathias in charge, she was then converted to an Armed Merchant Cruiser (AMC) with eight 6-inch and two 6-pounder naval guns. For the first 27 months of the war, she was on patrol duty in the East. In late November 1916 she left Halifax for Liverpool carrying officers and volunteer reserves of the Royal Canadian Navy. Two days before reaching port, a coal fire broke out in the hold not far from the munitions, trapping some of the men. Commander Mathias rushed to try to save them but a fire-warped iron beam fell on him, fracturing his skull and injuring some of his fellow rescuers. He died Dec. 4 but because of military regulations, the message was not relayed to Liverpool; Mrs. Mathias and her children met the ship expecting a happy reunion after her husband’s two-year absence, only to be told of his death. Mathias received the Royal Naval Reserve Officer’s Decoration.