An Irish Courtship in 1905. And The Torpedoing of the SS Parana.

            The Postcard

A postcard that was published by Lawrence of Dublin. The card was printed in Saxony.

The card was posted in Dublin on Tuesday the 3rd. October 1905 to:

Miss Mildred Evans,
7, Rock Terrace,
Newquay,
Cardiganshire,
South Wales.

The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:

"Hope you received letter.
Sailing tomorrow evening
for Cardiff.
Kindest wishes to all
from J. Evans".

The SS Parana

Note the reference on the front of the card to the SS Parana.

The Parana was a steam-driven cargo ship of 4,461 tons that was built in 1893 by Thompson W. B. & Co. Ltd. of Dundee. She first was owned by the Clyde Shipping Co. Ltd. of Glasgow, and then sold in 1911 to Cia de Comercio e Navegacao of Rio De Janeiro.

She was torpedoed and sunk at night by German submarine UB-32 on the 4th. April 1917 five miles north of the Barfleur lighthouse in Normandy. She was on a voyage from Rio de Janeiro to Le Havre at the time. The position of the wreck is well documented.

The sinking triggered Brazil's entry into the Great War. The Brazilian Minister to France stated:

"The torpedoing of the Parana is Germany's 
declaration of war against Brazil. Proud and 
patriotic Brazil will avenge the outrage. The 
time for diplomatic protest is past. 
War is necessary and inevitable. Brazil will 
be happy to be associated with the Allies 
in defence of the liberties of civilisation." 

The Wrestler Robert Cook

So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?

Well, the 3rd. October 1905 marked the birth in Islington, London of Robert Cook. 

Robert Herbert Cook was a British wrestler. He competed in the men's freestyle welterweight category at the 1928 Summer Olympics, were he finished in fifth place. 

He lost on points to the eventual Silver medal winner Lloyd Appleton (U.S.A) in the opening round, then went on to meet Maurice Letchford (Canada) in the bronze medal round, again losing on points.

Robert died in 1963 in Stoke Newington, London. 

Elizabeth Mounsey

The 3rd. October 1905 was not a good day for Elizabeth Mounsey, because she died at the age of 85 on that day. 

Elizabeth, who was born in London on the 8th. October 1819, was a British organist, guitarist, and composer. She became the organist of St. Peter upon Cornhill Church in London when she was 14 years old, and remained in the post until 1882.

Mounsey also composed works with her sister Ann Mounsey, and Elizabeth also had a short career as a guitarist.

Elizabeth was born at Old Compton Street in London. Her parents were Mary and Thomas Mounsey, and her father was a licensed victualler.

Elizabeth Mounsey's Professional Career

After the death of the prior organist of St Peter upon Cornhill, William Adams, Mounsey competed for the position when she was 14 years old. The voting was by the vestry and the parish, with Mounsey receiving 36 votes from the vestry, and 52 votes from the parish. 

Prior to the competition, Elizabeth had nine testimonials, with the oldest one dated 30th. May 1834. A performance was later held by Mounsey and organist Henry Gauntlett in 1840. 

In the autumn of 1840, Gauntlett invited German composer Felix Mendelssohn to St. Peter to play the organ, where Mendelssohn played a Johann Sebastian Bach composition and two of his own. During the performance, Mounsey and Gauntlett stood on each side of the organist. 

When Mendelssohn asked Mounsey to perform for him, she declined and asked for his autograph. Mendelssohn presented Mounsey with the opening bars of Bach's passacaglia which was then preserved in the vestry of the church. 

In 1842, Elizabeth was elected to the Royal Philharmonic Society.

Elizabeth resigned from her position in the church in 1882 because of deafness.

Other than her work with the church, Mounsey also composed works for organ, piano, guitar, and hymns with her sister as well as playing the guitar. 

She was the pupil of the German guitarist Ferdinand Pelzer, and gave her first public performance on the guitar on the 11th. April 1833 at the London Tavern. 

Her career as a guitarist was, however, only brief, although she published some of her compositions in the "Giulianiad" journal.

Taken on: November 16, 2021

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