King and Queen Sail For England After A Hearty Send-Off

Northern Advocate, 19 June 1939, Page 6

King and Queen Sail For England After A Hearty Send-Off

(Received 11.30 a.m.) ST. JOHNS (Newfoundland), Jure 18,

rrHE KING AND QUEEN LEFT ST. JOHNS (NEWFOUNDLAND) AT 4.05 P.M. ON SATURDAY ABOARD THE LINER EMPRESS OF BRITAIN, CONCLUDING THEIR 30 DAY VISIT TO THE NEW WORLD, AFTER WITNESSING THE GREATEST CELEBRATION IN THIS CITY’S HISTORY.

Following a drive through the city, Their Majesties attended the Governor’s garden party, and shook hands with war veterans.

As the King and Queen left to board the liner, miners from the iron pits of Bell Island gathered at Portugal Cove, and sent up the last cheers to reach the Royal ears in North America.

The King and Queen wore conveyed to the Empress of Britain aboard the cruiser Glasgow, heavy seas preventing their return aboard j the Royal barge. The First Fatality. The departure was somewhat marred by the first fatality of the tour. A seaman, Samuel Batts, 23, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, a member of the crew of the Empress of Britain, was killed when he fell into the ocean from the deck, where he had been repairing the cover of a lifeboat. The Empress of Britain anchored for the night in Conception Bay, on the east coast of Newfoundland. The escorting cruisers, Glasgow and Southampton, and the flagship Berwick, of the Royal Navy’s American and West Indies Squadron, anchored nearby. Riding in an open car along a public highway lined by cheering thousands, Their Majesties arrived at Government House. The Mayor and others had welcomed them at the city entrance. There an address of loyalty was presented, and the King broadcast a message. Through The Iceberg Zone. The Empress of Britain reports being safely through the iceberg zone. While Their Majesties were visiting the escorting cruisers last night in a choppy sea, the propeller of their motor launch fouled a fishing net. A substitute launch quickly took off the Royal party, who were soaked with spray.