A SEAMAN'S NARRATIVE OF THE THUNDERER DISASTER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 3417, 24 March 1879, Page 3

A SEAMAN'S NARRATIVE OF THE THUNDERER DISASTER.

A London paper publishes a private letter written by one who was on board the Thunderer at the time of the recent terrible exploBion, giving an account of the disaster. He saye :— " They had fired all three guns by electricity for the first round as a broadside, and we were expecting the next when we heard a strong report, although not much louder, if uny, than a broadsi'le makes, but the 6ound was altogether Different, and we knew directly something was wrong. All of our party were knocked down by the shock ; in fnct, I do not think there could have been six men in the ship who kept Uieir feet ; the smoke and fire came down the ladder almost enough to choke us. Now, just fancy our position j a narrow passage way about two feet wide on euoh side — all the amidships portion is occupied by the engine at work, steaming eight knots or thereabouts ; the torpedo party have got a Whitehead torpedo half-way up our only access to the upper deck, and the water-tight doors all shut, with smoke, flame, and the stonch of powder enveloping the torpedo, driving you from the hatchway, and knocking you eiliy with the shook. For three or four

minutes there we were like rats in a trap— could hear the poor fellows groaning, and not able to help them ; for, remember, no one could tell at first what was the matter, and if her bottom had been damaged the whole of the party in that compartment must die for the rest. Well, they opened one door, and I was sent to sound all the wells and find if she made any water at all. To do this I had to go along the Hats ; and to see the poor fellows I met as soon as the door was opened, was heartrending— the poor fellows blackened, disfigured aud unrecognisable, and still struggling and saying, " Look out for poor so-and-so ; ho is worse than me! " One of my messmates passed me, leading another man with all his hair burnt off his head by the fire. "I am all right, Jack," he said, " and I am glad you are." He now gits opposite me, with both hands skinned and bound up with cotton wool and oil, his head, all bandaged up, and his sight so weak he cannot bear the light of a purser's dip. This is called a slight case ; not in the list of injured, you will see. To hear one poor fellow saying, 'My poor dear mother !' another, ' What will my wife do now ?' would have made anyone's blood run cold. But still, stern duty stares you in the face. ' Stop for nothing till you report the ships wells ! ' were my orders, and ' Stop for nothing ' was what I had to obey, if I could any way jump over or get through it. At last, much to my relief, I got to the last well, and found her making water nowhere. Then I went on deck, and for the first time found what the cause of this was. At independent firing tho left gun in the fore turret missed fire, and by some means the gun— a 38-ton one— burst' into fragments, killing the whole of the men in tho I urret with the exception of two. who are both given up by the doctors. Well, we bad to go to work eoflinmaking, and afc 10 o'clock, when the captain walked round at the head of those who wished to take a last look at their messmates before we screwed them down, the tears ran down his cheeks aud of many others who a few hours before were joking, skylarking, or working comfortably together with what in every case but two looked now like charred masses mixed with cotton wool. Such a sight I never wish— or rather, I trust I may never see ugain. We sent eight or nine of the worst cases to the flagship in cots, and we have one poor fellow on board who is just lingering out his last few hours. He belongs to the next mess to me, a> d to give you a specimen of how it comes home— there are three messes ; take about 15 feet of the lower deck, Nos. 1, .3, 5. In No. 1, one dying j .\o. 3, two hurt; No. 5, one gone to flagship, thigh fractured, one in his hammock, over my head, and two killed ; the brother of one, sitting nnt to me, writing to his wife übout hi* things. Ti-day (Jan. 3) we bified them. T(e procession ' wa« as follows :— Buul ; it firing i»i-ty of about ldO mnrines ; then len field pieces, each with v coffin with a Union Ja-.-k ; our cuptsiin as chief mourner. lolL.weil by every mm that could he spare.il from tile ship ; and a funeral party from the others in the Jleet— in all, I should say, about 1000 men. lhe. Admiral lums.-lf followed. The service was rea't all through by thp "raves, in torrents of rain, and in presence of a number of the inhabitants, and a ' Turkish guard of honour.' The d.miage done is very serious , and you would never believe 851 b of powder co!ild do the work ; pieces of the gun weighing hundredweights were blown in the air in all directions."