Refugee Ship Berths

Northern Advocate, 8 September 1947, Page 5

Refugee Ship Berths

Meantime, the first of the three British ships carrying Jewish refugees from Port de Bouc^has arrived at the quayside says Reuters Hamburg corresponaenc. The ship is the Ocean Vigour whose movements were surrounded with such secrecy that only a few people saw her arrival at the whart. As the Ocean Vigour docked, the British authorities told the Jews they •Cvould be given one hour’s grace, after the fixed time for disembarkation tomorrow. y Force would be used if they had •not bv then made up their minds to land peacefully. The Runnymede Park and the Emnire Rival have moved up the river from Cuxhaven. One of these two ships berths and dlsenlbarks Jewsat Hamburg on Soptember 9 and the other on September Temper a, anu British revenue and security officers are searching the Ocean Vigour for a large quantity of-jewellery and gold whfch 'the Jews were believed to have been taking to Palestine. The officers will confiscate any ieweflery they find. Reuters correspondent aboard the Ocean Vigour says two hot-headed

Zionists who urged the 1500 Jewish passengers to resist disembarkation tomorrow were forcibly silenced by the other passengers. .... , The Jews abandoned their 24-hour hunger strike after 12 hours, stating hunger it seemed futile to »• - “ * The spokesman for the Jew s said they would s t age a token sit-down stride tomorrow, but would not employ v j o i en ce against the soldiers. .. We h ave known these soldiers too j on g i and they have been too decent for us to feel liking having a fight with them now,” he said. British security officers boarded the three ships off Cuxhaven Harbour yesterday and sorted out inciters and possible terrorists. Reuters correspondent on the Ocean Vigour says that soon after the ship left Cuxhaven about 1500 ol the Jews informed the British commander that they intended to start a hunger strike this morning as a protest against being taken to Hamburg, Lieutenant-Colonel Gregson, commander of the escorting troops in the three ships, reported to the authorities in Hamburg that the Jews were wiUing to land quietly if they did not “lose face” through publicity at the dockside.