MARQUETTE TRAGEDY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2655, 29 December 1915, Page 2

MARQUETTE TRAGEDY

ALL DAY ON A RAFT A NURSE TELLS HER STORY ■ "It would seem worse to vou than it did to us," was Sister Elizabeth Wilson's modest comment on her experience in the Marquette tragedy, when interviewed at the Town Hall by a Dominion reporter yesterday morning. And to judge by the sprightly manner and merry humour of this little woman one would think that was the case —until she tolls her story, ever so modestly and with never a hint of dramatic elaboration. "We were-only'thirty nrles from Salonika when we were submarined," said Sister Wilson. "Another three hours and we would have reached port. The morning was grey and dull, with a light choppy sea, when at about 9 a.m. the periscope of a submarine was seen. One of. the sisters saw it, and another saw the torpedo coining, and asked one of tho girls to come and watch tho pretty blue tiling .in the water. But hardly had we grasped the fact that it was u torpedo than it struck the ship amidships on the starboard side." ' What did it feel like ? "There was just ii dull heavy thud, and then a creaking and a cracking sound. Wo were at 'once called to quarters—lS sisters oil each side, with the boys standing by their boats. Slowly the ship began to cant. I was on the sido that went up. Lifebelts had been served out and fastened on. Than when.we had to save ourselves I went down 1 a rope over , the side and fell into the sea. When I came up I felt that my lifebelt was slip-, ping oft. The Her. Mr. Eurridge, the Presbyterian, chaplain, of Wanganui, who was swimming near me,' .asked me how I was getting on, and I told him that I was all right, but I thought'that my lifebelt was slipping off. He had his greatcoat on, andjsaid that he would help me as soon as he got it off, and it was I*llll his aid that I was able .to reach one of the ship's tank rafts. There were a. lot of people on the raft, and hanging on to it. Mr. Bttrridge thought there were too many, and he swam away to a spar not very far off ill the water. Including myself there were twenty on, and hanging on to the raft at first. Every now and again we would be pitched into the water through the overturning of the raft, duo to extra pressure on one side or tho other, and gradually some became exhausted and numbed with the cold, and fell off to return no more." And you were very exhausted? "No, I was not very exhausted. I was bruised and cold, but I was not a bit exhausted. • "At last we were picked up at about , 5.30 p.m. by a Frenoh patrol boat, but by that time there were only five left out of tho twenty. At i o'clock tho next morning we were all transferred to the Gleji Tullooh Castle. I arrived on board dressed in man's clothes. ' We were on that steamer -until the following Tuesday week —a fortnight after the incident—and at last landed back at Alexandria." "What we all wanted to know," said a . lady's voice, "is if you lost your garnet brooch?" "Yes," said Sister, Wilson, "the garnet brooch is gone, and I lost my glasses too. Most of tho men who were not. drowned saved their glasses by putting tlieiu in their pockets More the Marquette went down. Little Dr. Isaacs, of Wellington, saved his that way. He acted like a man —a brother," added Sister Wilson enthu- . siastically. "Indeed, everyone behaved splendidly, but loss of life was inevitable, as the Marquette down in from seven to fifteen minutes, after she had been struck." . . "That is ii wide range of time." "Oh, the .watches all differed, and there was no tolling what the exact time i was,. - but it was between the two. Some of our boatsVwere smashed up in lowering, and others had holes knocked in them." And what are you going to do now ? "Oh,. I'm going back to Egypt early next month. I like Egypt very muchlove every inch of it, and I feel the cold in New Zealand rather more than. I thought I sHould. Oh, yes, I'm going back, and will be glad .to get - away again!" .