Story #6 Elinor talks about the British Pearl rescue

Story # 6 Elinor talks about the British Pearl rescue
Story #6 in our heritage interview series. David Weale interviewed Elinor Murchison Gillis at her son Gilbert Gillis’s home in Point Prim PEI on Dec 14, 2019.

Elinor Murchison Gillis: You know, it came close to the shore though, fairly close by the look of that. There’s the Point Prim, and he’s got people there looking.

David Weale: Ok yeah, oh yes, all the people watching, and this is the Princess of Wales, that was a steamer.

Elinor: Yeah it was, but it had room for sails.

David: Sails as well, yes. And it came to the rescue. Were there

Elinor: They sent this boat out to rescue them.

David: Were there any lives lost off the Pearl?

Elinor: No, they got them. You can see them up there.

David: Oh look at them. And who was it now that painted this?

Elinor: We call him *indiscernible* Jimmy MacDonald a fellow that lived in Point Prim.

David: And he just, it’s a beautiful primitive kind of painting. It is very lovely.

Elinor: Yeah, but that is really good, but this is primitive, yeah. But still, it’s wonderful how he did it. No lessons or nothing.

David: Oh really, and he’s got the white caps on the waves.

Elinor: And I guess this kind of faded, made this kind of stick out. I don’t know how that went that way. And what else. Oh, so this lady got it from her mother, and I was there one day, house up the road and she said, look I’ll show you what I got. She knew I painted you know, so she took it out and it was all rolled up in a newspaper, and she kept it under her bed. So I said, if you’re ever having a sale or want to get rid of that, I’d love to get it.

David: Well, well. So you unrolled it and framed it .

Elinor: Yeah, the sale came along and her daughter came in to my house and gave it to me. I was awful proud to get that.

David: Well, well. Lovely. No, that’s a real gem.

Elinor: It is, and nobody has that. Only, that’s one and only.

David: So there was a vessel that went down, but I understand that there was also an airplane that went down.

Elinor: Yeah, yeah. Gilbert was telling you about.

David: So that was during the war?

Elinor: Yeah, the last, the latter part of the war. That was exciting for here.

David: Yes, that would create a sensation.

Elinor: Oh yes, we kids would go down there where they were searching, stick around there at the shore, right at the shore.

David: Hoping that you would see something, or find something.

Elinor: Oh yeah, see something.

David: And nobody saw anything for quite awhile.

Elinor: No, and the glass still comes in. Thick, right thick glass.

David: So the pilot of course, died in the crash.

Elinor: Oh yeah. Sad, wasn’t it.

David: I wonder where he was headed.

Elinor: Yeah, that’s what off that there.

David: And this is salvaged off.

Elinor: He can tell you what it is, what part of the plane it is.