And now for something completely different...

We've had a lot of pretty intense 'medical' posts recently.

Here is something completely different:

Above is the ship's manifest from when my grandfather Elmore Eicher and his brother Albert arrived in the US on March 25th 1911 along with their parents Christian and Susan Eicher.

They are listed as Canadians and have as their home address: Alliance Mission, Grant Road, Bombay, India.

This is the ship they sailed on across the Atlantic. The HMS Campania, which left from Liverpool and deposited them in New York.

The Campania was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Glasgow, Scotland in 1893. She weighed 12,950 gross tons; was 622 feet long and 65 feet wide. Her service speed was 21 knots. She carried 2,000 passengers (600 first class, 400 second class, 1,000 third class). I would assume that the missionary Eichers travelled third class.

Campania was built for Cunard Line, British flag, in 1893 and ran the Liverpool-New York service. She was sold to the British Admiralty in 1914 and renamed HMS Campania. The royal navy rebuilt her as an aircraft carrier. She sunk following a collision in the Firth of Forth in Scotland on November 5, 1918.

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a humble donkey. Spare a thought for the many different craft we have been on over the years. The next generation of Eichers have yet to leave Indian shores (though young Ashish has had a hop over to Thailand already). When will their first cross-border experience be? Stay tuned!