SANK MOST IMMEDIATELY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 226, 23 September 1940, Page 7

SANK MOST IMMEDIATELY.

SURVIVOR'S STORY. No Notice Given Before Ship Was Struck. LONDON, Sept. 22. Amid a raging storm in the darkness of Tuesday night, the vessel carrying passengers and refugee children to Canada was attacked. It sank almost immediately. One survivor said that no warning was given and, following the attack, the vessel listed heavily. "We had 20 minutes to get the lifeboats lowered," he said, and went on to pay tribute to the heroism of those aboard, especially the women and children, who behaved splendidly. Most of the children came from the London, Middlesex and Liverpool areas. The majority of the children aboard were travelling independently with their mothers, but there were 90 under the Government evacuation scheme. A woman passenger, a Mrs. Hudson, described how happy the children had been on board and how they had looked forward to a life in a new land. Rough Weather Conditions. Later accounts of the disaster state that conditions became rougher after the linking of the ship and there were hailstones. The survivors on on© of the boats were rescued when some one put up a piece of cloth on an oar and naval men saw it. "It was wonderful how the Navy looked after us," said the woman. Other survivors, who were on a raft before thev were picked up, said it was impossible to stand up in the storm. They all had to lie down.

An 11-year-old girl and her nine-year-old brother, who were rescued, were stmong the last to get away when the ship was torpedoed and the first to be picked up. They had scrambled on a ] aft. When the warship appeared they all cheered "for the good old British Navy."

The Children's Overseas Reception Hoard, in announcing the disaster, said that the children had been embarked at a West Coast port during the second week of September and were well on the way to itheir destination when the ship was struck. For every 15 children there was a skilled and experienced escort an board and there were many other adults.

A number of children were believed to have been killed by the explosion and many others lost their lives when the boats were swamped.

In some instances complete families v ere rescued. Five children came from a London family whose home was shattered by a bomb." The father was 42 years of age and had fought in the last war. He had recently joined up again to fight against what he described as "this cold-blooded murder."