A flood of people

On November 11, victims’ bodies began to wash ashore on both the Canadian and American sides of Lake Huron. The first body to be recovered belonged to James Glenn, a sailor on the Wexford. Bodies continued to drift ashore for over a week up and down the Lake Huron coast. Many were wearing life jackets, whereas others came ashore in lifeboats.

The mayor of Goderich had to order police patrols along the shoreline to prevent looting of the bodies. The body of Mrs. William Walker, second cook on one of the sunken ships, surfaced in the days following the storm. She was wrapped in a heavy coat belonging to the ship’s engineer. She was also wearing the captain’s life preserver. Paul Hutch, the captain, was later found without a life jacket.

A funeral procession to bury the bodies of five unknown sailors was held on November 27,1913. The procession began outside the Brophy Funeral Home went around the Square and out to the Maitland Cemetery.