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Samuel Robinson (sea captain)
Encyclopedia
Commander
Sir Samuel Robinson KBE
, RNR
(1870–1958), born in Hull, England, was an early 20th century British-Canadian mariner, a Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve
established under the Naval Reserve Act of 1859, and a captain of luxury liners in the fleet of Canadian Pacific Steamship Ocean Service Ltd.
during the period spanning the first three decades of the 20th century. In addition, Samuel was the recipient of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum
, Japan's highest order. He was one of three civilians to ever have received this honor while still living (the only others being members of the Japanese Imperial family).
The Pacific fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway
tended to hire its officers from the Royal Naval Reserve
s, and much was made of their long and faithful service to the company. Although Robinson's job description was "captain," his title was "Commander" because he had earned that rank during his service in the Royal Naval Reserve. During WWI, Robinson captained the Empress of Asia which transported American troops from New York to Southampton, England.
Robinson was a junior officer on the Empress of Japan in 1895. He became the chief officer on the Empress of China in 1899, and then captain of the Empress of Japan. He was transferred in 1913 to become the captain of the Empress of Asia. In May 1914, he pushed the Empress of Asia and her crew in setting a new world's record for both a single day's steaming (473 nautical miles) and for crossing the Pacific (nine days, two hours, and fifteen minutes). In 1917, he took command of the Empress of Russia. When the Empress of Australia was added to the Canadian Pacific fleet, he was made her first captain. When the Empress of Japan was added to the fleet in 1930, Robinson was given the helm.
at a little after noon on 1 September 1923, Captain Robinson was aboard the Empress of Australia. He was finalizing routine preparations for a scheduled departure later in the day; but the greatest natural disaster in modern times was about to reorder those priorities. He would be credited with saving the ship, his crew and passengers, and more than 3,000 others during the unfolding catastrophe.
The Empress of Australia earned international acclaim and recognition for her captain because it was the ship which was able to offer the most help in evacuating the devastated metropolis of Tokyo. In the chaos which developed after the ground stopped shaking, Robinson kept his ship near the quay at Yokohama
in Tokyo Bay
for the next twelve days, providing such help as he and his crew were able to offer.
The ship remained anchored off Yokohama for several days, and then she sailed for the port of Kobe
laden with refugees.
Robinson's own contributions were minimized in the report he prepared for the Canadian Pacific home office. He displayed a seemly modesty in this summary:
A group of passengers and refugees who were aboard during the disaster commissioned a bronze
tablet and presented it to the ship in recognition of the relief efforts. When the Empress of Australia was scrapped in 1952, the bronze tablet was rescued. It was formally presented to Captain Robinson, then aged 82, in a special ceremony in Vancouver
.
Commander (Royal Navy)
Commander is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It is immediately junior to captain and immediately senior to the rank of lieutenant commander...
Sir Samuel Robinson KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, RNR
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
(1870–1958), born in Hull, England, was an early 20th century British-Canadian mariner, a Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
established under the Naval Reserve Act of 1859, and a captain of luxury liners in the fleet of Canadian Pacific Steamship Ocean Service Ltd.
CP Ships
CP Ships was a large Canadian container shipping company, prior to being taken over by Hapag Lloyd in late 2005. CP Ships had its head office in the City of Westminster in London and later in the City Place Gatwick development on the property of London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex.The...
during the period spanning the first three decades of the 20th century. In addition, Samuel was the recipient of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum
Order of the Chrysanthemum
is Japan's highest order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the collar of the Order was added on January 4, 1888. Although technically the order has only one class, it can either be awarded with collar , or with grand cordon...
, Japan's highest order. He was one of three civilians to ever have received this honor while still living (the only others being members of the Japanese Imperial family).
Royal Naval Reserve
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
tended to hire its officers from the Royal Naval Reserve
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
s, and much was made of their long and faithful service to the company. Although Robinson's job description was "captain," his title was "Commander" because he had earned that rank during his service in the Royal Naval Reserve. During WWI, Robinson captained the Empress of Asia which transported American troops from New York to Southampton, England.
Canadian Pacific
In his 48 years at sea, 37 with Canadian Pacific steamships, Robinson served on a number of vessels. He was captain of two ships with the same name—the 1891 Empress of Japan and the 1930 Empress of Japan—and he was captain of the first of three ships to be named Empress of Canada. His career at sea included sailing on the following:- RMS Empress of JapanRMS Empress of Japan (1891)RMS Empress of Japan, also known as the "Queen of the Pacific", was an ocean liner built in 1890-1891 by Naval Construction & Armament Co., Barrow, England for Canadian Pacific Steamships...
, junior officer (1895), captain - RMS Empress of ChinaRMS Empress of China (1891)RMS Empress of China was an ocean liner built in 1890-1891 by Naval Construction & Armament Co., Barrow, England for Canadian Pacific Steamships...
, chief officer (1899) - RMS Empress of Asia, captain (1913)
- RMS Empress of Russia, captain (1917)
- RMS Empress of Australia, captain (1922)
- RMS Empress of CanadaRMS Empress of Canada (1922)RMS Empress of Canada was an ocean liner built in 1920 for the Canadian Pacific Steamships by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland. This ship -- the first of two CP vessels to be named Empress of Canada -- regularly traversed the trans-Pacific route...
, captain (1924) - RMS Empress of JapanRMS Empress of Japan (1930)RMS Empress of Japan was an ocean liner built in 1929-1930 by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland for Canadian Pacific Steamships . This ship -- the second of two CP vessels to be named Empress of Japan -- regularly traversed the trans-Pacific route...
, captain (1930)
Robinson was a junior officer on the Empress of Japan in 1895. He became the chief officer on the Empress of China in 1899, and then captain of the Empress of Japan. He was transferred in 1913 to become the captain of the Empress of Asia. In May 1914, he pushed the Empress of Asia and her crew in setting a new world's record for both a single day's steaming (473 nautical miles) and for crossing the Pacific (nine days, two hours, and fifteen minutes). In 1917, he took command of the Empress of Russia. When the Empress of Australia was added to the Canadian Pacific fleet, he was made her first captain. When the Empress of Japan was added to the fleet in 1930, Robinson was given the helm.
Great Kanto Earthquake
When the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 struck YokohamaYokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
at a little after noon on 1 September 1923, Captain Robinson was aboard the Empress of Australia. He was finalizing routine preparations for a scheduled departure later in the day; but the greatest natural disaster in modern times was about to reorder those priorities. He would be credited with saving the ship, his crew and passengers, and more than 3,000 others during the unfolding catastrophe.
The Empress of Australia earned international acclaim and recognition for her captain because it was the ship which was able to offer the most help in evacuating the devastated metropolis of Tokyo. In the chaos which developed after the ground stopped shaking, Robinson kept his ship near the quay at Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
in Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
for the next twelve days, providing such help as he and his crew were able to offer.
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
laden with refugees.
Robinson's own contributions were minimized in the report he prepared for the Canadian Pacific home office. He displayed a seemly modesty in this summary:
- "One of the most gratifying things, and the dominant factor in the whole proceedings is that everyone with whom we have had to deal on board has worked together without friction, disagreement, or complaint during this terrible catastrophe ... some of the hardest workers having lost families or homes or business possessions, and in some cases all of these."
A group of passengers and refugees who were aboard during the disaster commissioned a bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
tablet and presented it to the ship in recognition of the relief efforts. When the Empress of Australia was scrapped in 1952, the bronze tablet was rescued. It was formally presented to Captain Robinson, then aged 82, in a special ceremony in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
.
Honours
- Commander of the British Empire (CBECBECBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
). - Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
). - Order of the ChrysanthemumOrder of the Chrysanthemumis Japan's highest order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the collar of the Order was added on January 4, 1888. Although technically the order has only one class, it can either be awarded with collar , or with grand cordon...
(Japan). - Order of St John of Jerusalem, the Silver Medal (UK).
- Lloyd's Medal for Meritorious Service (UK).
- Medal of Honour, Red Ribbon Medal (Japan).
- Order of the White ElephantOrder of the White ElephantThe Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant is the most awarded order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Rama IV of the Kingdom of Siam.The Order consists of eight classes:...
(Siam). - Cross of the Second Class of the Order of Naval Merit (with white badge) (Spain)