The Man who Caught Crippen
The amazing but true life of Captain Henry Kendall
Henry Kendall went to sea as a cabin boy at the age of 15. By the time he was 32, he was the captain of an Atlantic liner, and in 1910 shot to fame went he sent a celebrated wireless transmission from the SS Montrose, as she headed out in the Atlantic ocean: "Have strong suspicions that Crippen, London cellar murder and apprentice, are among saloon passengers." The message sparked off an extraordinary chase as Inspecteur Walter Dew from Scotland Yard raced by train to Liverpool, boarded a fast ship to Canada, aiming to arrive before the Montrose, to arrest Dr Crippen.
The world watched the drama unfold as the power of wireless communication in law enforcement was proved for the first time.
Four years later, Kendall was the commander of the RMS Empress of Ireland when she was hit and sunk by a Norwegian coal freighter in the St Lawrence estuary. There were 1,012 lives lost but, by a quirk of fate, Kendall survived.
During his life, Kendall survived attempted murder, shipwrecks, torpedoes, icebergs, scorpion bites, cannibals, sharks, fevers, flying bombs and even a marauding leopard.