WWI forum
World War One discussions.
Hospital ship Braemar castle and UC 52
Posted by:
Alan Wakefield
()
Date: February 21, 2009 08:46AM
I have the following account in a WWI diary relating a letter sent to the diarist from a friend serving with the RAMC on a Hospital Ship in the Med during 1918. The vessel in question is reported to be the Braemar Castle. However, I can find no evidence of this incident only that the BC was mined in the Mykoni Channel on 23 November 1917. Could it be that the RAMC chap was serving on a different hospital ship or was he just spinning a line?
25th July (Thursday):
Received letter dated 20th July from Eddie Rogers who is spending his leave at my home at Port Talbot. He writes that in June his hospital ship, the Braemar Castle, was stopped in the Mediterranean by a German submarine. The following is his account of the incident:- ‘On this particular day we had left Malta at 8am and about sunset were not far from the island of Pantellaria, when the siren sounded the alarm and we rushed on deck with our lifebelts. Personally I thought it was merely boat-drill, but we soon found out that a submarine had fired a shot across our bow. We were lined up on deck and could see the submarine in the distance, a tiny speck approaching us. At a range of about a hundred yards it fired again and at first we imagined the ship to be sinking, but it was the signal commanding us to lower a boat. This was done by two officers and two stokers, the latter doing the rowing. They brought back the German Commander and two armed men who lined the officers in the saloon and questioned them. They also questioned some of the patients and they searched the stores. When asked where they had left their arms the patients said, ‘Salonika’. During this procedure the submarine encircled the ship and its crew peered at us through binoculars. The German flag flew on its mast. Finally, after satisfying himself the Commander bade goodbye to our officers, whilst some of the crew shouted across the submarine, ‘Cheerio.’ Hope the war will soon be over.’
I have been told this was UC52 Oberleutnant zur See Hellmuth von Doemming) on the evening of 29.06.1918.
Any additional info will be much appreciated.
ALAN
25th July (Thursday):
Received letter dated 20th July from Eddie Rogers who is spending his leave at my home at Port Talbot. He writes that in June his hospital ship, the Braemar Castle, was stopped in the Mediterranean by a German submarine. The following is his account of the incident:- ‘On this particular day we had left Malta at 8am and about sunset were not far from the island of Pantellaria, when the siren sounded the alarm and we rushed on deck with our lifebelts. Personally I thought it was merely boat-drill, but we soon found out that a submarine had fired a shot across our bow. We were lined up on deck and could see the submarine in the distance, a tiny speck approaching us. At a range of about a hundred yards it fired again and at first we imagined the ship to be sinking, but it was the signal commanding us to lower a boat. This was done by two officers and two stokers, the latter doing the rowing. They brought back the German Commander and two armed men who lined the officers in the saloon and questioned them. They also questioned some of the patients and they searched the stores. When asked where they had left their arms the patients said, ‘Salonika’. During this procedure the submarine encircled the ship and its crew peered at us through binoculars. The German flag flew on its mast. Finally, after satisfying himself the Commander bade goodbye to our officers, whilst some of the crew shouted across the submarine, ‘Cheerio.’ Hope the war will soon be over.’
I have been told this was UC52 Oberleutnant zur See Hellmuth von Doemming) on the evening of 29.06.1918.
Any additional info will be much appreciated.
ALAN
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Hospital ship Braemar castle and UC 52
|
Alan Wakefield | 02/21/2009 08:46AM |
|
Re: Hospital ship Braemar castle and UC 52
|
Tony Finlayson | 07/10/2009 11:31AM |