HEROIC YOUNG SAILOR HONOURED

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 65, 17 March 1934, Page 19

HEROIC YOUNG SAILOR HONOURED

An amazing story of a young man's] heroism and fortitude in the face of danger lies behind an interview which the Prince of Wales gave at York House to Mr. J. G. Timms, formerly midshipman of the Blue Funnel liner Phemius. The' young man was received by the Prince in his capacity as Master of the j Company of Master Mariners. This is the first time that a member of the Merchant Navy has been honoured for gallantry in this way. He was presented by Sir Burton Chadwick, Deputy Master, and for half an hour he recounted his adventures, when, in November, 1932, the Phemius lay at the mercy of ,a terrific hurricane for five days in the Caribbean Sea. Mr. Laurence Holt, representing the owners of the Phemius, gave a graphic description to a representative of "The Daily Telegraph" of the behaviour of Mr. Timms on the occasion, as it was presented in a special report to the Prince, together with the captain's report to the owners. "At the very outset of the storm,"! Mr. Holt said, "Timms was struck down by a heavy wave which swept

across the after-deck, and his head was cut open. "There was nobody to attend to him, so he crept into a temporary refuge for a while until he felt able to carry on. He worked on through the storm by day and night, and never failed to carry out an order." Hatch covers and the funnel were ripped away by the 200-mile-an-hour gale, and 1200 tons of water poured into the hull. * During the last 23 hours of the ordeal Timms was^siationed alone in the scuppers, to pour • oil in * a steady volume on the water beneath the bows. Failure would have meant almost certain disaster. "He carried on alone, wifh little food, no sleep, and in complete darkness, for the whole of that time. It was magnificent. " In his own report the captain-said: "I cannot find words to express the grand example of courageous endurance shown by Timms, to a point even beyond exhaustion." Timms is a native of Lancaster, and he has returned there to prepare for his next voyage. .