Edwin George Ferber
Edwin George Ferber (c1856-1918)
c1856 Born in Clare, Ireland
1918 October 10th. Died at sea and registered in Dublin
1919 Obituary [1]
EDWIN GEORGE FERBER joined the City of Dublin Company's service as an engineer, and served in the steamers from 1878 to 1883. In the latter year he was appointed Assistant to the late Mr. John Nicholson, the Company's Superintendent Engineer, and on Mr. Nicholson's death in 1891, Mr. Ferber was appointed to succeed' hint.
Not long after this the Company embarked on a new policy and decided to reconstruct their fleet, and to substitute screws for paddles ; concurrently with this change the Company obtained a new contract for the carriage of the Mails between Holyhead and Kingstown, and had four new twin-screw steamers built by Messrs. Laird, which were very successful. The construction of these was supervised by Mr. Ferber, and in all this work his services were invaluable.
In the course of his duty he had to cross the Channel constantly, and when the submarine menace began the risk in so doing was considerable, but Mr. Ferber never flinched from the path of duty. The Holyhead and Kingstown Mail Packets were in a unique position, as although neither Naval nor requisitioned vessels, they were under Government orders and obliged to go to sea, as if they were requisitioned vessels, yet the Government were not responsible for their safety and did not provide protection for them.
On the 10th October, 1918, the "Leinster" was torpedoed in St. George's Channel, and the Captain, 36 Officers and Crew, 328 Naval and Military Officers and ratings, and 135 civilians perished, together with Mr. Ferber, who was crossing on this boat. His death was a serious loss to the Company, and he was greatly regretted by all who knew him. He was twice married— first to Miss Margaret Middlebrook, daughter of Stephen Middlebrook, Surveyor of Dalton, Liverpool, and second, to Mrs. Ellen Jane, widow of George Edward Winstanley.
Mr. Ferber was elected a Member of the Liverpool Engineering Society on 11th March, 1885, and was also a Member of the Institution of Naval Architects.