CAPTAIN W. S. MASON
The hero of an encounter between a merchantman and a U-boat during the 1914-18 war, Captain William Surman Mason, D.S.C., a Port Line commander well known in New Zealand, died in Southbourne, England, recently, aged 69. He is survived by his widow. His first command was the 4710-ton steamer Port Curtis, and on a voyage from South America to France his ship fought an action with a German submarine. The submarine's guns outranged the one weapon carried on the Port Curtis and Captain Mason and many of his crew were wounded before they had to take to the boats, the steamer then being blown up by 'he Germans. The survivors managed to reach a French port, and Captain Mason was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross after being in hospital for two months. Born at Stockport, he commanded Port Line ships from 1915 until 1933, when he retired. His commands during that period were the Port Curtis, Port Lincoln, Port Pirie, Port Hardy, Port Campbell, and Port Dunedin. After his retirement he became an A.R.P. warden in Southbourne.
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Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 2, 2 July 1940, Page 9
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181CAPTAIN W. S. MASON Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 2, 2 July 1940, Page 9
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