Andrew and Kathleen Ritchie, Lightkeepers 1933-1940

In the 1921 Canadian Census, Andrew Ritchie (21)  is listed as living in West Vancouver with his parents David and Christina,  and two sisters, Helen (15) and Annie (23) . They had migrated from Scotland in 1911 as passengers aboard the *”Saturnia”.  On November 11 of 1931 Andrew married Mary Kathleen Neave in West Vancouver. They had no children.

Joan Booth - c1948

Joan Booth, niece of Andrew and Kathleen Ritchie at East Point light station on Saturna island, 1948.

In January 2014 I received a letter from Mark Knudson, a great nephew of the Ritchies.  He said: “Andrew was my mother’s Uncle and was a lighthouse keeper.

She used to visit him in summer. I have attached a photo from about 1948 showing her in front of the foghorn tower at East Point (Saturna Island.)

Andrew Ritchie and his wife moved to Saturna Island in the fall of 1940, after being at Race Rocks Light station for 7 years. They retired on Saturna Island and were still living there as of the 1963 voters list.

 

Andrew Ritchie - c1912

 

Also attached is a photo of Andrew Ritchie as a 12 year old. He was born in Scotland in 1900 and immigrated with his family around 1911 . He was married to Mary Kathleen Neeve, He died in Saanichton (Victoria)  Aug.26, 1988.

 

ritchie

 

During the Second World War, Andrew and Mary Kathleen Ritchie (on the left) were photographed by Francis Clements at Race Rocks with some visitors from Vancouver Island (perhaps parents? ) .

 

I received the following  letter and the pictures  from Francis Clements of Calgary, Alberta in about 2003.  Francis tells of his posting to Race Rocks in 1939 when he was stationed with five other sailors at the “War Signal Station”. Our sincere thanks to Francis for this wonderful piece of history! Click on his pictures below.

fclementsletter*

Saturnia

This ship was  built by Charles Connell & Company, Glasgow, Scotland, 1910. 8611 gross tons; 456 (bp) feet long; 55 feet wide. Steam triple expansion engines, twin screw.  Service speed 14 knots.  1250 passengers ( 50 first class, 1200 third class ).

Built for Donaldson Line, British flag, in 1910 and named Saturnia. Glasgow-Montreal service. Scrapped in Italy in 1928.

Rain and wind

It started raining in the evening and continued throughout the day.  This was the first significant rain here in a few weeks.  The wind picked up late in the day and was gusting over 45 NMPH West in the evening.

1 ecotour and 1 recreational vessel were in the reserve.  A coast guard helicopter flew over coming from the West.

There were 3 small ducks in the NE puddle, I believe they were Green Winged Teals.  I counted 15 canada geese on the island today, the most I have seen lately.

-worked on month end report
-entered salinity data into spreadsheet and submitted to DFO
-checked on drainage from roofs and downspouts around basements
-collected drift wood
-contacted wood stove contractor