SEA HEROES

Evening Star, Issue 23376, 20 September 1939, Page 9

SEA HEROES

SINKING OF THE COURAGEOUS STORIES OF GALLANTRY AND VALOUR LONDON, September 19. (Received September 20, at 12.10 p.m.) Survivors of the Courageous brought home stories such as England expected of her seamen. William Britten, of Glasgow, a stoker and pensioner, aged 45, said: “I saw a young able seaman go overboard and twice save shipmates. Officers in boats carried on after the Courageous sank. There was no panic. About 7.60 p.m. I was playing rummy on the messdeck. Others were yarning and writing letters, when there was an explosion. In complete darkness 1 groped my way to the top deck, but only 12 of 50 in the messdeck thus escaped.” A seaman named Andrew Logue, of Dumbarton, said he felt the suction of the Courageous as she went down while he was swimming. A whaler took him to a destroyer. He passed a float on which all tho men were singing. Another lad of 17 described how a boatful of 30 men sank, forcing the occupants to swim as the stern of the Courageous went aloft and she plunged to the bottom. A gunnery officer declared that the weather conditions and everything else favoured the submarine. Many of those aboard the Courageous, owing to the vessel listing, failed to jump clear of the side, and for this reason many were killed. “ I was torpedoed in the last war and have seen 25 years’ service,” he said, “ but I have never seen anything finer than a sergeant of the Royal Marines swimming enormous distances from man to man, exclaiming: ‘ Keep going, my lad; keep your heart and head npl ’ There were heroes in plenty, but he was the greatest of them all. Before that I saw two seamen lash a frightened little drummer boy to a raft and heave the raft into the sea. I hope the poor little devil came through, A man appealed for help while 1 was swimming. I grabbed his hair and kept him afloat. His long absence from the barber saved his life.” A 16-year-old Exeter lad told how swimmers cheered when destroyers attacked the submarine. “ I don’t think anyone aboard her survived,” he said. “ They dropped depth charges and blew her straight out of the water, then she disappeared. When I last saw the captain of the Courageous he was standing on the bridge.” Another survivor said there was no doubt that the submarine was blown up. The conning tower went one way and the stern another. Oil shot up from the water after a destroyer dropped depth charges. Another told similar stories which varied in individual particulars, but were alike in establishing the absence of panic. A typical sentence was: “ There were a number of men aboard ns the ship went down. It was amazing how composed they were.” NOT ALLOWED TO SAIL PASSENGERS FOR GERMANY ON ITALIAN SHIP NEW YORK, September 19. (Received September 20, at 9.10 a.m.) The Italian Line refused to permit holders of German or Czecho-Slovak passports to sail on the Rex. Such passengers were put ashore j -»st prior to sailing. Officials said orders came from Genoa, but declined to explain the action, which has closed the only entry to the Reich from the United States due to the blockade. GERMAN BUSINESS BRANCHES ABROAD BEING TAKEN OVER BY GOVERNMENT THE HAGUE, September 19. (Received September 20, at 1 p.m.) The Reich Government has informed German business hpuses that their branches abroad, especially in neutral countries, are shortly being taken over by the Government. MINISTRY OF INFORMATION PRESS COMMITTEE MEMBER'S RESIGNATION LONDON, September 19. (Received September 20, at 12.5 p.m.) The Hon. Esmond Harmsworth’s resignation from the directorship of the Press Relations Committee of the Ministry of Information has been accepted. He becomes a member of the AdvisoryCouncil of the Ministry. ON WAR FOOTING BRITISH CIVIL AVIATION LONDON, September 19. (Received September 20, at 1.30 p.m.) It is announced that civil aviation is now on a war footing under the new organisation, National Air Communication, of which aircraft have already conveyed important officials overseas. NO FOOTBALL ON SATURDAY CLARIFYING STATEMENT AWAITED LONDON, September 19. (Received September 20. at 11 a.m.) There will be no competitive football on Saturday. The clubs are awaiting a clarifying statement from the Football Association. The biggest difficulty is restricting the crowds.