SUCKED BUTTONS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 214, 18 September 1940, Page 7

SUCKED BUTTONS

NINE DAYS IN OPEN BOAT STORY OF ENDURANCE After nine days in an open boat in the Atlantic, sucking buttons to stave off thirst when their Avater ration was cut to less than a cup a day, survivors of the torpedoed motorship Atholaird reached, their homes in Britain- One of them, "Chips" Thrussell, the ship's carpenter, who is 21, described his escape. Two lifeboats got away when the ship Avas torpedoed. There were 20 men in Thrussell':s boat and all said they owed their lives to the coolness and magnificent leadership of the first officer, Mr Vincent, who was in charge. "On the second day the two lifeboats met, but we decided to sep-< arate again to avoid U-boats, and we gave three cheers as we part L ed. We rationed our condensed milk, biscuits and corn beef, but water was the problem. Four of uS held out an oilskin to catch the rain and just got enough to wet our lips. "I never believed the tales of men singing and joking to keep up their spirits in face of langer like that, but. now I know they do, for we sang everything we could think of. Our skins cracked and we were sore and tired with rowing day after day. The worst sight came when we had been adrift about a week. The weather was foul, and Uve baled for hours with cigarette tins, cans and anything we could find. Once a ship passed without seeing us but at last we sighted land and the next day a fishing vessel answered our S. O. S. flashed with a torch, and picked us up five miles from Ireland. Some of the mc*n collapsed as they reached the deck of the Irish vessel."