STEWARD’S “HOODOO”

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 171, 10 October 1927, Page 13

STEWARD’S “HOODOO”

FIVE FIRES AT SEA Chief Steward E. E. Wake, of the British freighter Otterpool, which arrived at Sydney after being badly damaged by fire in the Indian Ocean, has had an adventurous career at sea. On four other vessels on which he has served, fires have broken out among the cargo. He tells of a' thrilling encounter with a German submarine while he was serving on the steamer Thirlby during the war. While the vessel was crossing the Bay of Biscay, the submarine came into view and. gave chase. A stern fight lasted for about four and a-half hours. Tho submarine fired 150 shells, as well as throe torpedoes. Owing to clover steering, however, the Thirlby was hit only once, a shell striking one: of her 'hatches and exploding in tho cargo, doing little damage. The Thirlby was armed with a 12pounder Vickers gun, and her gunners managed to hit the submarine on the conning tower. This apparently made her powerless to submerge, for she immediately stopped firing and left the scene of the figlu at high speed.