Laurence Sydney Brodribb Irving (1871-1914)

Laurence Sydney Brodribb Irving

Born 21 Dec 1871 in London, England

Ancestors

Son of John (Brodribb) Irving and Florence (O'Callahan) Irving

Brother of Harry Brodribb Irving

Husband of Mabel Lucy Hackney — married 1903 in Kensington, London, England

[children unknown]

Died 29 May 1914 at age 42 in St-Lawrence river, Canada

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Profile last modified 29 Mar 2015 | Created 20 Jan 2015

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Laurence Irving was a passenger on the RMS Empress of Ireland.
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Biographie

Ce profil est un passager de l'Empress of Ireland qui a sombré le 29 mai 1914, où il périt. Son corps ne fut pas retrouvé.

Le couple Mabel Hackney et Laurence Irving

Mabel Hackney et Laurence Irving sont, sans aucun doute, les passagers les plus célèbres de l’Empress of Ireland. À l’époque, M. Irving est un homme de théâtre dont la réputation n’est plus à faire. Mabel Hackney est sa partenaire, tant sur les planches que dans la vie. La troupe de Laurence Irving est en tournée canadienne et la dernière représentation à lieu au théâtre Walker de Winnipeg, le 23 mai. Le délai est trop court pour que la troupe ne boucle ses valises à temps pour le départ de Québec, le 28 mai. Seuls Mme Hackney, M. Irving, accompagés de Mr Harold Neville South et Mrs Elsie Roberts South, tous pressés de rentrer en Angleterre, réussissent à prendre place sur l’Empress of Ireland. Les autres membres de la troupe embarqueront sur le Teutonic, un navire de la White Star Line.

Le couple Hackney-Irving ne survivra pas au naufrage.

Biography

This profile is a passenger of the Empress of Ireland, which sank on May 29th 1914, where he perished. His body was not recovered.

Laurence Sydney Brodribb was the son of the great Victorian actor manager, Sir Henry Irving and his wife Florence (née O'Callaghan), and brother to actor manager Harry Brodribb Irving. He was born on December 21, 1871, in London, England.^[1]

For further information, see the article on [Widipedia].

Winnipeg commemoration plaque

http://www.theempressofireland.com/#!laurence-irving-and-mabel-hack/c1h4e

Gayle Mann locate a plaque in a theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, commemorating a noted English actor who had died in the Empress of Ireland sinking.

In the lobby of the Walker Theater Gayle had found a rather large copper plaque, which stated in part:

"This tablet was erected by the citizens of Winnipeg to perpetuate the memory of Laurence Irving and his wife Mabel Hackney who made their last appearance on the stage of this theater on the 23rd of May 1914 and were drowned in the St. Lawrence River on the 29th May, 1914 with 1014 others when the RMS Empress of Ireland was sunk in collision with the collier Storstad: Unveiled on the 1st of March 1915." My curiosity was piqued. Who was Laurence Irving, and what had he and his wife performed in Winnipeg?

A search of several encyclopaedias revealed that Laurence Sidney Irving was born in 1871, the younger son of Sir Henry Irving and Florence O'Callaghan. Sir Henry, whose original name was John Henry Brodribb, was a famous English actor and the first of his profession to be knighted.

An article in the Winnipeg Free Press of May 24, 1994 revealed more details about Laurence's life. He embarked on a career in the diplomatic corps, and served at the British Embassy in St. Petersburg (Russia); acting was his first love, and he changed careers, making his first appearance in 1891. In 1898 he wrote an epic poem, Peter the Great, for his father to perform at the Lyceum Theater in London (this apparently was a financial disaster). He must have written other plays, because it is stated one of his later plays was The Unwritten Law, written in 1910, which was based on Dostoyevsky's novel Crime and Punishment.

In 1913 Irving was at the height of his career, successfully acting in plays by Ibsen. The following year, Laurence Irving and his wife Mabel Hackney, who was a renowned actress, left on a theatrical tour of Canada and the United States. During their week in Winnipeg, the company performed four plays: Typhoon, the Unwritten Law, the Lily and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, which was shown for the first time as a full performance in Winnipeg, with tickets selling from $0.25-2.00 for evening performances and $0.25-1.50 for afternoon matinees.

On May 25, 1914, the Irving’s left Winnipeg by train for Quebec City, where they boarded the Empress of Ireland on May 28.

After the collision, passenger F.E. Abbott reported that he had seen the Irving’s in the corridor; Irving asked Abbott if he thought the boat was going down. Suddenly the Empress lurched to starboard, throwing Laurence against his cabin door. His face bloody, he reached for his lifebelt, trying to calm his frantic wife as they headed to the open deck. Abbott followed and offered his help to the Irving’s; Laurence insisted that Abbott look after himself.

The last time Abbott saw the couple they were clasped in each others arms, with Laurence trying to soothe his wife as the Empress disappeared beneath the water. Laurence was identify by his signet ring which had the initials’ "L.S.I." his wife, Mabel's body was never found. Lawrence Irvin, the famous actor who was drowned in the Empress of Ireland wreck, left an estate valued at £1000.

Submitted by: Gayle Mann Fifteen years later... When historian like us try to dig into the past there is often so many conflicting reports of the truth it is hard to determine what is real or not. When this story was written about fifteen years ago certain information had not been known to me at the time. A question had come up whether Laurence Irving actually had been identified by his signet ring which was found on his finger with the initials' "L.S.I."?

According to another historian who contacted me he wasn't sure about the last part of the story about Laurence Irving being identified by his ring. According to Laurence Irving (nephew of L.S.I. who authored books: Precarious Trust and The Successors), Laurence lost his signet L.S.I. ring, while vacationing and swimming in Folkstone (Kent, UK) a few earlier.

In the book, Laurence Irving (nephew) alludes to a mention by Mabel that Laurence lost the ring while swimming, and in response L.S.I. said: "Oh well, we now are wedded to the sea". Which was a quote from a play in which Laurence & Mabel performed.