The great nephew of the only Titanic victim buried in western Canada, made the trip from Scotland to Neepawa's Riverside Cemetery last week to pay his respects.
Ian Hickman, great-nephew to Lewis, Leonard and Stanley Hickman, had visited the grave once before in September 1987, but to this day, can't believe both the tragic, confusing and even fortunate circumstances that tied his family to the ill-fated voyage.
"The funny thing is that I wouldn't be alive today if these men didn't board the Titanic," said Hickman. "Had they made the trip safely... the rest of their family was going to come to Canada later. Which would mean my grandpa would have come to Canada and never met my gran,, so my father would have never been born."
In 1911, Leonard Hickman was working just north of Neepawa at the Honeyman Farm. He loved it in Canada so much that he returned to England in December to convince two of his brothers and their friends to immigrate and settle in Canada.
The men agreed and started making travel arrangements.
Unfortunately, the ship they had arranged to board to Canada was grounded due to a coal shortage brought on by a miner's strike and the massive amount of coal needed to fuel the Titanic, so the Hickman brothers and their friends joined the 3,547 person crew in one of the 162 second class rooms aboard the ill-fated ship.
None survived the April 14, 1912 tragedy, and only one body was ever recovered.
That recoverd body was first thought to be Leonard, due to an Eden Forester's Lodge card found in the overcoat on the body with Leonard's name on it..
Because they believed the recovered victim to be Leonard Hickman, the body was transported to Neepawa. No one discovered that it was actually the body of Lewis Hickman until the day of the funeral.
The Knox Presbyterian Church was informed after already seating the full-capacity crowd for the service, and after some deliberation with the family, it was decided that the service would carry on as planning, with Lewis being buried as Leonard.
It wasn't until roughly a week later that the church and family corrected the misconception.
In September 1987, Ian made his first trip to Neepawa to retrace his family's history.
"It was hard to find this grave, no one in the family ever talked about it," said Hickman. "I suppose the tragic deaths of three young men in the family is a bit taboo at the dinner table."