Remembering Lt. Col. Thomas Howard MacDonald—Perished At Sea June 27, 1918

Thomas Howard MacDonald was born at Mulgrave, NS, on December 15, 1877, the second of Dr. Patrick Alexander and Annie Bridget (Condon) MacDonald’s four children. Patrick later established a family medical practice at nearby Port Hawkesbury. The family ensured that Howard and his younger brother, Harry, obtained a thorough education. Howard graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in 1896 and proceeded to Georgetown University, Washington, DC, where he obtained a Master of Arts degree in 1897.

Howard subsequently completed medical studies at New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY. In 1901, he returned to Nova Scotia and established a medical practice at Port Hawkesbury. Howard also enlisted with a local militia unit as its Medical Officer, initially receiving the commissioned rank of Lieutenant and rising to the rank of Major in 1911.

On February 11, 1911, Howard married Catherine Connolly, a native of New Glasgow, NS, in a ceremony held at Ipswich, MA. The couple established residence at Port Hawkesbury and welcomed two daughters—Isabelle and Eileen—during the pre-war years. While Howard’s family obligations may have delayed his enlistment, he eventually made his services available to the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and departed for England on December 30, 1915.

Howard was initially attached to the Canadian Convalescent Hospital, Bear Wood, Wokingham, where he formally attested with the CAMC on April 15, 1916. At the time of his enlistment, he received the commissioned rank of Major. The following month, Howard commenced service with Moore Barracks Hospital, Shorncliffe, which tended to the medical needs of Canadian soldiers at nearby military camps.

On August 6, Howard was appointed Assistant Director of Medical Services (ADMS) Embarkation, Bath, England. His duties involved overseeing the operation of the medical boards that determined sick and wounded soldiers’ fitness for duty. Howard was attached to the Claims and Pension Board, London, for the last two months of the year, but returned to his ADMS duties on January 1, 1917.

After almost one year of administrative duties, Howard received a transfer to the Canadian Military Hospital, Kirkdale, Liverpool, on June 29. The facility provided medical treatment to Canadian soldiers arriving overseas, and processed sick and wounded soldiers invalided to Canada, prior to their departure. Virtually every soldier in England longed to serve on the continent, and Howard, despite the fact that he was almost 40 years old, was no different. On August 15, he proceeded across the English Channel to No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Outreau, France, where he assumed administrative duties.

All CAMC personnel also pursued the opportunity to serve at the front. On November 7, Howard was appointed the 4th Canadian Labour Battalion’s Medical Officer. He followed the unit to Ypres, Belgium, where its soldiers worked in the forward area for five weeks before relocating to Souchez, France. Howard tended to the men’s health and medical needs, and assessed the physical fitness of reinforcements as they joined the unit.

After almost four months’ service in the forward area, Howard returned to England on February 28, 1918. Following several weeks’ rest, he was appointed Commanding Officer of HMHS Llandovery Castle’s CAMC staff on March 19, 1918. The assignment included a promotion to the rank of “temporary Lieutenant Colonel.”

The Llandovery Castle was part of a fleet of hospital ships that transported sick and wounded Canadian soldiers to Canada. For two months, Howard served aboard the vessel without incident. On June 17, the Llandovery Castle docked at Halifax and its 644 sick and wounded passengers were transferred to onshore facilities. Howard may have travelled home by train for a short visit, while the vessel obtained fuel and supplies for the return journey. Three days later, the ship sailed out of Halifax harbour, with only 97 CAMC personnel and the vessel’s crew aboard.

The passengers enjoyed comfortable summer weather for much of the return trip. By early evening June 27, 1918, the Llandovery Castle was approximately 190 kilometres west of Fastnet Rock, which lies off the coast of Ireland’s southern tip. At 9:30 p.m., an undetected German U-boat surfaced and fired a torpedo at the hospital ship. The weapon struck “abaft” its No. 4 engines, causing a massive explosion.

Its engines disabled, the vessel lurched forward and began to list badly. Lt. Col. MacDonald directed CAMC personnel into the lifeboats as all aboard abandoned ship. Several boats capsized as they reached the water. While the boat containing the 14 Nursing Sisters remained afloat, it was drawn into a whirlpool created by sinking debris and all were thrown into the sea. In total, only two lifeboats containing 24 survivors—six CAMC staff and 18 crew—managed to escape the debris field as the Llandovery Castle slipped beneath the surface.

Contemporary Illustration Depicting the Llandovery Castle's Sinking

A total of 234 passengers perished at sea. Amongst CAMC personnel, Lt. Col. Howard MacDonald, five other Officers, all 14 Nursing Sisters and 71 “other ranks” lost their lives in the incident. The remaining fatalities were members of the vessel’s crew. The details surrounding Howard’s death remain a mystery. The 24 survivors drifted at sea for 36 hours before encountering a navy destroyer that transported them to Queensport, near Cork, Ireland. News of the hospital ship’s sinking evoked unprecedented condemnation of Germany and was widely used in Allied war propaganda.

Lt. Col Thomas Howard MacDonald and his CAMC comrades are among the individuals commemorated on a Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial erected in Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, in November 1967. The monument honours “the Men and Women of the Navy, Army, and Merchant Navy of Canada” who perished at sea during the two world wars.

Howard’s story is one of 64 profiles contained in Bantry Publishing’s First World War Honour Roll of Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, Volume II: 1918 - 1937, available for purchase online at bantrypublishing.ca .