James Hamet Dunn - Max Aitken and England

Max Aitken and England

Dunn's close friendship with Max Aitken continued after the wealthy New Brunswicker also chose to live in England. Still very much in touch with his roots, after a 1911 fire destroyed the bells of Christ Church Cathedral in Fredericton, James Dunn donated the replacements for the original 1849 five-ton bells. A few years later, after a number of successful ventures together, he received a severe setback when his friend and business mentor, Frederick Stark Pearson, was one of the passengers who went down on the RMS Lusitania on May 7, 1915, when the ship was sunk by a German submarine. The war did however provide great business opportunities and to serve the nation. For his wartime efforts, he was created a baronet in the 1921 New Year Honours. During his lifetime Dunn became a major industry leader rivaling even the Rothschilds as a central figure in British finance. Although he lived primarily in England and maintained a villa in France, Dunn frequently traveled to Canada to spend time at his fishing camp on the Nigadoo River not far from his birthplace.