Grim Battle Against Hope

Northern Advocate, 3 June 1939, Page 7

Grim Battle Against Hope

(Received 1.30 p.m.) , LONDON, June 2

A grim battle against hope is being waged hour after hour with all the resource of the Royal Navy, including divers flown from Speke (Lancashire) Airport, and thence taken in a destroyer to the scene of the Thetis sub-

mergence. Those still aboard are: Twelve officers. Forty-seven naval ratings. Twenty-five members of the staff of Cammell Laird, the builders. Three Vickers-Armstrong employees. One pilot. Two caterers.

Watchers’ Sorrowful Wait,

Relatives of those entombed waited outside Cammell Laird’s offices all day, some with babies In arms.

The outstanding figure among them was Mrs Bolus, wife of the sunken submarine’s commander, who, disdaining to utter a word about her own anxiety, continually urged the wives of the men not to abandon hope. Dense crowds, becoming more restive, thronged the roadway outside Cammell Laird’s as the night wore on. The submarine depot at Gosport telegraphed to Mrs Kathleen Hole, whose husband is Stoker Wilfred Hole, aboard the Thetis, saying: “Regret to inform you Stoker Hole is believed to have died while endeavouring to escape. The wife collapsed on receipt of the news, which, however, is subject to official confirmation. Meanwhile, warships of all varieties, and rescue craft encircle the spot where the Thetis went down. Ominous Signs, There were ominous patches of oil, indicating her whereabouts. A forlorn hope, after other resources had failed, was the employment of pontoons in an effort to lift the stern. This measure was essayed because the stern did not appear, as anticipated, when the tide slackened. It is learned that a dangerous type of tidal wave prevalent in Liverpool Bay was observed when the submarine originally submerged. The weather conditions for salvage otherwise are perfect.

The most hopeful report so far is that a valve has been fitted to the conning tower of the Thetis in order to fix an airline for pumping in compressed air.