Andrew Townsley Docherty (1916-1966)

Andrew Townsley Docherty , son of Patrick Docherty (1884-1956) and Jeanie Townsley Docherty (1884-1947), was born during the 1st World War on the 10th February 1916 at 80 High Street Renfrew. Jeanie and Patrick were married in Renfrew on the 2nd January 1905. Andrew's parents were still living at 80 High Street Renfrew when their last child Jeanie was born in 1923.

Andrew was one of at least 7 children, with his identified siblings noted below:


Andrew's grandfather John Docherty (1862-1916) moved to the Dumbarton area from Donegal, Ireland in the period following the Irish Potato Famine. John Docherty's profile in this site provides more background on this subject.

Andrew married Mary McKelvie Porter on 5 December 1938 from his address of 5 Ferguson Street in Renfrew. Mary was living at 3 Orchard Street in Renfrew. The witnesses were Mary's sister Margaret and a James Barr who resided nearby at 26 Hairst Street in Renfrew.

Andrew worked as a ship caulker, possibly in the Lobnitz shipyard at Renfrew which closed in the early 1960's. Caulking is the term to describe the process used to make riveted iron or steel ships and boilers watertight or steamtight. With the advent of electric-arc welding for ship construction, steel ship caulking is now a lost art.

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      Ferguson Street and Inchinnan Road Corner in Renfrew. Later to become the Copper Kettle tearoom.       A Renfrew Ship Caulker at work.       Hairst Street in Renfrew - Home to James Barr, a marriage witness for Andrew and Mary.
 
The Empress of Scotland Steamship passenger record noted below is certainly associated with Andrew, given the correlation with his reported age as 36 at the time and his occupation of 'caulker'. The Empress of Scotland ocean liner was originally built as the Empress of Japan in 1929 at Govan and the ship traversed the route between Vancouver and Hong Kong until 1942, when she was renamed RMS Empress of Scotland. This decision was of course necessary due to the state of war which now existed between Japan and Great Britain.

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      Andrew's Tourist Class (2nd Class) Passenger Details - Returning from Montreal Canada on 14th November 1952.
 


The Empress of Scotland was one of a select few Pacific passenger ships to survive the war and after this time the service was discontinued and she was transferred to the Atlantic. After a refit to achieve luxury standards in Glasgow, the ship sailed on her first post-war voyage from Liverpool to Quebec on the 9th May 1950.

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      Empress of Scotland's arrival at Montreal - the scene which Andrew would have witnessed.       Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh aboard the Empress in November 1951.       Captain Duggan's Log for the Royal Trip.
 


In November 1952, Andrew was sailing across the Atlantic in the Empress to meet his wife Mary and daughters Irene and Margaret in the hope of resuming family life following a period of time spent looking for work and potential emigration opportunities to Canada.

Sadly, Mary had by this time determined that there was no future in the marriage and was not waiting at home in Renfrew when Andrew returned.

Andrew and Mary were later to divorce on 24 January 1958. The marital break-up deeply affected Andrew and after an ensuing period of ill-health, he passed away due to heart failure aged 50 in 1966. He had lived latterly at 18 Clark Street in Renfrew. His daughter Irene Hart was the Informant.

The Empress of Scotland liner which carried Andrew back to Greenock, Scotland in 1952 was destroyed by fire at New York in 1966.

 

     Family Tree Summary

ForenameSurnameBornDiedCause of Death
AndrewTownsley Docherty1916, Renfrew1966, PaisleyHeart Failure