News and Updates

Dan BlackEmpress of Asia

Wartime Life Jackets Donated by Author to Maritime Museum of British Columbia

More than eighty years after the Second World War, two life jackets worn by the late Maurice Atkins have been donated to the Maritime Museum of British Columbia in Victoria, B.C.

One of the life jackets worn by Maurice Atkins during the Second World War. Copyright Dan Black, 2026

Both artifacts were originally gifted to author Dan Black who conducted several interviews with Mr. Atkins during the research phase of his 2025 book Oceans of Fate: Peace and Peril Aboard the Steamship Empress of Asia. “I’ve carried them all my life,” he told the author. “I’m 96. It’s time to get rid of them.”

While Mr. Black was grateful to be entrusted with such a gift, he suggested that perhaps both life jackets should one day be placed in a museum. That has now happened thanks to the interest shown by the MMBC, which was also the location of the 2025 book launch for Oceans of Fate.

Maurice Atkins was a young officer cadet on the Empress of Asia when she was destroyed within sight of Singapore by Japanese aircraft, February 5, 1942. Mr. Atkins wore one of the life jackets while escaping the burning troopship with other crew and British soldiers. The second life jacket donated to the MMBC was worn by Mr. Atkins when he escaped the Empress of Canada, torpedoed and sunk off the west coast of Africa, March 13-14, 1943, by an Italian submarine. At the time, Mr. Atkins was the ship’s Third Officer.

The inside of one of Maurice Atkins’ life jackets, showing his name. Copyright Dan Black, 2026

Once the MMBC exhibit is established, visitors will have the opportunity to view the life jackets and reflect on how they helped save the life of a wartime merchant seaman. Oceans of Fate is available at bookstores and online.

Dan BlackEmpress of Asia

A Supported Effort Coast to Coast

As the year closes out, I want to thank the folks who supported the various book talks and signings for Oceans of Fate.

From the book’s initial launch at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia in Victoria to the more recent talk at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, the work would not have been successful without local engagement and logistical support from good friends. With every event, the hosts were fantastic and emphasized once again the underlying interest in Canadian history. So thank you very much.

Media–from print to television to radio and a history podcast–also helped shed light on the book. And, of course, I am grateful to Dundurn Press, a traditional Canadian publisher, for publishing the book and assisting with promotional efforts.

Finally, I am very grateful for the patience and support from family, with a special nod to my daughter Katy who with her amazing creative energy assisted with events and promotion.

Happy New Year! Happy Reading!

Dan BlackEmpress of Asia

A Successful Book Talk at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax

Big, big thanks to the staff at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, in particular Jenny Nodelman and Andrew Aulenback. Also kudos to my good friend and fellow author John Boileau, Global TV Halifax Morning Show host Paul Brothers, CityNews Radio Morning Anchor Dan Ahlstrant, and my publisher Dundurn Press. The Global TV interview is easily found online as is the CityNews Radio interview, part of the Todd Veinotte Show, aired live October 6. Overall, a fantastic week and I’m very grateful for all the support.

Photo: Andrew Aulenback, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

Dan BlackEmpress of Asia

Poem For A Father’s Journey to Gold Mountain

Dr. Raymond Chong recently visited Vancouver, where–with “tremendous melancholy”–he stood on the bustling waterfront trying to picture his father’s arrival on the Empress of Asia in April 1932. His father, Gim Suey Chong, was just a boy when he set foot in Canada. His long and risky voyage across the Pacific and into Canada and the United States is captured in Oceans of Fate: Peace and Peril Aboard the Steamship Empress of Asia.

In the days after Raymond Chong’s visit to Vancouver, he composed a poem for his father, and he has granted me permission to include it here. I am very grateful to Raymond for sharing his poem as it serves to bridge our understanding of past events and the impact they have today. For reference, I’ve included a photo of Gim Suey Chong, along with an image of the big, gleaming passenger liner.

Young Gim Suey Chong. Source: Dr. Raymond Chong
The sparkling Empress of Asia. Source: Vancouver City Archives

Saltwater City

In the Year of the Water Monkey

After a transpacific voyage

From the Pearl of the Orient–Hong Kong,

On a spring dawn,

The RMS Empress of Asia, the Greyhound of the Pacific,

Steams into Burrard Inlet,

Surrounded by an emerald rainforest,

To arrive at Canadian Pacific Railway Pier B-C,

In the Saltwater City–Vancouver,

Of the Great White North–Canada.

Aboard the steerage,

Gim Suey Chong, a young boy from Hoyping,

Watches in awe and fear

As he observes the bustling passenger terminal.

Amidst the silhouette of Edwardian skyscrapers,

He tepidly wanders to the grand Canadian Pacific Railway Waterfront Station,

With its Chateauesque style,

Red brick facade, iconic columns, and scenic murals.

There, he embarks

On the Canadian Pacific Railway Imperial Limited train,

Heading to Beantown–Boston,

To pursue his American Dream

On Gold Mountain.

In the Year of the Wood Snake

Ninety-three years later,

I eerily retrace my father’s sojourn

In Saltwater City.

Amid the sheeny towers

Of Modernist Downtown,

Surrounded by the majestic North Shore Mountains,

I hauntingly observe Canada Place

With its iconic sails.

As I walk along the Waterfront,

Teeming with hustle,

I edgily reflect on The Station,

With its neoclassical grandeur.

This spring Aurora,

I poignantly remember my dear father–Gim Suey Chong.

Copyright: 2025 Raymond Douglas Chong

Dan BlackEmpress of Asia

Postcard from 1932

Dated December 6, 1932, this postcard showing the Empress of Asia was addressed to a Mr. A.Y. Brown of Acton, Ontario. The initials of the sender appear to be A.S.

A 1932 postcard of the Empress of Asia. First published by the Coast Publishing Co., Vancouver.

Friend and researcher Glenn Wright was attending a postcard show in Merrickville, Ontario, when he made the find while “browsing ships.” The postcard didn’t make it into Oceans of Fate, and so I thought I should share it on the website, with a big thank you to Glenn.

A variety of postcards of the Empress of Asia and her sister ship the Empress of Russia were produced during the 1920s and 1930s. This one published by the Coast Publishing Co. of Vancouver.

The reverse side of the 1932 Empress of Asia postcard.

The handwritten message on the reverse side states the sender was “Just leaving to have lunch with Aunt Lizzie and Mrs. Fatheringham. We went over Saturday partly to see this “awfully big” boat go out at eleven–a great thing to see….”

The postcard was post marked three days after the Empress of Asia commenced her outbound transpacific crossing from Vancouver on December 3, 1932. The ship’s master was Captain A.V.R. Lovegrove.