APPALLING TRAGEDY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23769, 24 September 1940, Page 7

APPALLING TRAGEDY

UNER TORPEDOED IN ATLANTIC ORDEAL IN BOATS AND RAFTS / deaths from exposure in storm \ By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received September 23, 9.50 p.m.) LONDON. Sept. 23 As the result of one of the most appalling sea tragedies i ejnee the outbreak of the war, 89 children aged between five and I |6 years were drowned when the ship in which they were going to Canada from Britain was torpedoed in the Atlantic, from land at about 10 o'clock last Tuesday night and sank in 20 minutes. Of the total complement of 406, 294 perished. A British destroyer rescued the survivors, who were adrift in lifeboats or on rafts in stormy weather for as long as 1 8 hours. There were heart-rending scenes when the bodies of those who died from exposure had to be dropped into the sea. The raging sea defeated many attempts at rescue. The child victims in several cases represented entire families. The ship carried, besides 96 children, all of whom came from England and Wales, 101 other passengers and a crew of 209. Twelve privately-evacuated children were accompanied by their mothers, and of these children six perished. Seven of the nine adult escorts on board were lost, as were also a doctor and nurse. ! Many Killed Outright by Explosion j Most the children on board were in bed when the torpedo struck the ship in the part allotted to them, killing many outright. Th,e' remainder were bundled to the deck, scantily clothed for the ordeal of many hours on rafts or in lifeboats, some of v/hich were waterlogged, with high seas raging. Many children, separated from their parents or escorts, slipped to death from .the arms of strangers who vainly sought to shield them from the storm. Only seven of the children survived the „ ordeal. The last woman to leave the sinking ship actually stepped off the deck! into the sea, where fellow-passengers helped her to a raft. j Terrible Sights for Children's Eyes ; A little boy whose heroism was praised by all in the boat i from which he was rescued was Colin Richardson, from Monmouthi shire, whose cheery voice was always audible above the moaning iof those suffering from exposure. A passenger said that the boy had had to watch women and babies die, and the others had been | obliged to drop the bodies overboard. He had stood with water ■ up to his waist and had not once complained, f A Londoner, Mr. W. B. Forsyth, referring to the deaths in his ! boat, said: "I did my utmost, as each body was dropped over- | board, to give a Christian burial by conducting a short committal service over the water." Many Deaths in the Lifeboats One lifeboat, in which 32 occupants left the ship, had only eight left alive when it was picked up. Another had only 14 Burvivors out of 38 persons. Mr. Roderick, Maher, of Dublin, said he was on an upturned boat from 10.30 p.m. until he was picked up about 4.30 p.m. next day. All the\ survivors paid tribute to the Navy. "When we were taken on board," said one, "they took off our shoes and gave us their own warm socks, after which we were given a hot bath and brandy, and dressed in the naval men's clothes while our own were dried." N