by William Lafferty » June 1, 2023, 1:01 pm
Captain Walter Melshop Bowen was the son of Benjamin Bowen, longtime Hall master and inventor of the "landing boom" he installed on the mainmast of the F. E. Hall's newly acquired freighter Compton in 1913 to land more safely crew to handle lines when mooring and traversing the canals. That invention became very popular very quickly. Walter was the first person to use the boom as his father experimented with its construction and operation during the winter of 1912-1913 while the vessel wintered at Trenton, Ontario. Walter Bowen began his career as a master for Hall in 1933 and took over those duties on the Leecliffe Hall for the 1962 season. Bowen was recommended for a 12-month license suspension by the Department of Transport that was later reduced to six months. He and his wife retired to Trenton, Ontario, following the Leecliffe Hall debacle and he never sailed again. The Canadian board of inquiry could deduce no culpability for the loss of life, but did laud the engineers who died for their "courage." First mate Sidney Palmer and third mate John Bermingham were censured by the board while the two pilots abroad the Apollonia, Yves Pouliot and his uncle, Joseph-Emile Pouliot, were also recommended for year-long suspensions, later reduced to five months. The Augsbury family was aboard at the time of the collision, including the woman who christened the vessel at its launching at Govan on 18 May 1961, Mrs. Frank A. Augsbury, Jr., the former Lavinia ("Lee") Andrews.
Captain Walter Melshop Bowen was the son of Benjamin Bowen, longtime Hall master and inventor of the "landing boom" he installed on the mainmast of the F. E. Hall's newly acquired freighter [I]Compton[/I] in 1913 to land more safely crew to handle lines when mooring and traversing the canals. That invention became very popular very quickly. Walter was the first person to use the boom as his father experimented with its construction and operation during the winter of 1912-1913 while the vessel wintered at Trenton, Ontario. Walter Bowen began his career as a master for Hall in 1933 and took over those duties on the [I]Leecliffe Hall[/I] for the 1962 season. Bowen was recommended for a 12-month license suspension by the Department of Transport that was later reduced to six months. He and his wife retired to Trenton, Ontario, following the [I]Leecliffe Hall[/I] debacle and he never sailed again. The Canadian board of inquiry could deduce no culpability for the loss of life, but did laud the engineers who died for their "courage." First mate Sidney Palmer and third mate John Bermingham were censured by the board while the two pilots abroad the [I]Apollonia[/I], Yves Pouliot and his uncle, Joseph-Emile Pouliot, were also recommended for year-long suspensions, later reduced to five months. The Augsbury family was aboard at the time of the collision, including the woman who christened the vessel at its launching at Govan on 18 May 1961, Mrs. Frank A. Augsbury, Jr., the former Lavinia ("Lee") Andrews.