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Merchant ship loss 1915
Posted by:
phil morgan
()
Date: September 21, 2010 01:24PM
A relative of an old acquaintance was a survivor of a sinking by a German submarine (U33?) around about September or October 1915.
The only information I have is a letter that the said survivor wrote on 14 November 1915, to his parents in Penarth, South Wales, whilst on board the SS Fabian at Malta.
He is believed to be the seaman recorded as having died on 31 January 1919, aged 18, when a member of the Merchant Marine Reserve on HMS Victory, and is buried in Penarth. A possible victim of the Influenza epidemic then raging.
Extracts from the letter are:
“First of all they stormed us with high explosive shells, which fairly ripped the plates out of us, and up to this time we had not seen the submarine. One of these shells finished the Bosun, so we stopped as we saw the game was up, and took to the boats, and when they saw us safely in the boats they came up us, patched the Bosun up the best they could, sent some of our men back for our jolly-boat, and took it on their decks.
After being four days in the lifeboats, we were picked up by HMAS LUNKA at 2 am on Sunday, and as they were not returning just then we were taken into the war zone and saw some fun.
The Mate, Captain and I were the last to get into the boats.
Tell Hilda I had her china, also silk for someone else, but it has all gone.â€
Putting two and two together, a sunken ship and repatriating ship being of the same Owner (Ellermans), I considered that the sunken vessel could be the Arabian. It could be that I am wrong, this vessel is recorded as sailing from London. The last item of the extracts could perhaps indicate a return from somewhere further East?
His letter only refers to the Bosun being wounded. BVLAS shows that within the timescale there were 10 vessels lost in the possible area by U-boat gunfire, resulting in no fatalities.
So far I have not found any accounts to support the statement about anyone being in boats for four days before being picked-up.
I gather that HMAS Lunka was not an Australian ship as first thought, but some sort of auxiliary, a former British India vessel. She is recorded as being stationed in Persian Gulf and Red Sea, but it is also known that in 1915 she served in the Mediterranean.
Can anyone confirm any of this story, and possibly identify this sunken ship?
Phil
The only information I have is a letter that the said survivor wrote on 14 November 1915, to his parents in Penarth, South Wales, whilst on board the SS Fabian at Malta.
He is believed to be the seaman recorded as having died on 31 January 1919, aged 18, when a member of the Merchant Marine Reserve on HMS Victory, and is buried in Penarth. A possible victim of the Influenza epidemic then raging.
Extracts from the letter are:
“First of all they stormed us with high explosive shells, which fairly ripped the plates out of us, and up to this time we had not seen the submarine. One of these shells finished the Bosun, so we stopped as we saw the game was up, and took to the boats, and when they saw us safely in the boats they came up us, patched the Bosun up the best they could, sent some of our men back for our jolly-boat, and took it on their decks.
After being four days in the lifeboats, we were picked up by HMAS LUNKA at 2 am on Sunday, and as they were not returning just then we were taken into the war zone and saw some fun.
The Mate, Captain and I were the last to get into the boats.
Tell Hilda I had her china, also silk for someone else, but it has all gone.â€
Putting two and two together, a sunken ship and repatriating ship being of the same Owner (Ellermans), I considered that the sunken vessel could be the Arabian. It could be that I am wrong, this vessel is recorded as sailing from London. The last item of the extracts could perhaps indicate a return from somewhere further East?
His letter only refers to the Bosun being wounded. BVLAS shows that within the timescale there were 10 vessels lost in the possible area by U-boat gunfire, resulting in no fatalities.
So far I have not found any accounts to support the statement about anyone being in boats for four days before being picked-up.
I gather that HMAS Lunka was not an Australian ship as first thought, but some sort of auxiliary, a former British India vessel. She is recorded as being stationed in Persian Gulf and Red Sea, but it is also known that in 1915 she served in the Mediterranean.
Can anyone confirm any of this story, and possibly identify this sunken ship?
Phil
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Merchant ship loss 1915
|
phil morgan | 09/21/2010 01:24PM |
|
Re: Merchant ship loss 1915
|
Oliver Lörscher | 09/27/2010 07:56PM |
|
Re: Merchant ship loss 1915
|
phil morgan | 09/27/2010 08:44PM |