NEWS OF THE PHILOMEL.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 78, 31 March 1916, Page 2

NEWS OF THE PHILOMEL.

A GALLANT A.B. SAVES LIFE UNDER TRYING CIRCUMSTANCES. WELLINGTON, March 29. “The inspecting officer cf the Navy has seen the ship and made some quite complimentary remarks about her,” says Captain Hall-Thompson, commanding the New Zealand cruiser Philomel, in a letter to the Minister for Defence “He said she was remarkably clean and efficient for her age. The ship’s company was clean, smart, and well dressed. They were a very fine looking body of men. The ship and her crew are a credit to .New Zealand.” Captain Hall-Thcmpson mentions in a further letter a very plucky 'act performed by a member of the crew of the Philomel —able seaman Frank Kivell, a volunteer from New Zealand. A cutter from the ship was attempting to communicate with the shore a t in heavy weather, and swamped. Kivell saved life under conditions that called for exceptional courage. “Communication with the shore was urgently necessary and the boat was to d to anchor outside the surf and endeavour to communicate by means of native canoes. Soon after the boat had anchored in fourteen feet cf water, a succession of steep waves completely swamped her, and the canoes coming off were upset. The | majority of the men were washed out of the boat, and had too swim for the shore in heavy breaking surf, A. ■B. Kivell among the number. A. B. Andersen, who was attending the anchor, is a weak swimmer, and was left in the beat. Having been severely huffetted and washed right along to the stern of the boat, he had entirely lost his head, and he states that he knew very little of what happened. Seeing this when he got ashore, Kivell at once started back. The heavy breakers made this a very hazardous proceeding, which the strongest swimmers in the crew state they would not have cared tc have undertaken. On his way to the boat. KiveT feund A.B. Castell in Difficulties, he having attempted to float ashore on a mast, and got his feet entangled in the rope gear. Kivell dived and cleared Castells’ foot, being struck by the mast on coming to thr» surface. Notwithstanding this, he proceeded tc the boat, and rescued Anderson, who was -helpless, and made things much more difficult by clutching 'KiveT by the nod; gm) ne? v T' him. e'*er. be successfully brrught him r r.> r -rv, p-if] i consider it was entirely ri-iii this nian’s pluck and nersever-T-ow fa-o-m stances r-es w’-' ’n-st, I vis iv> fopoenisefi b ,T °n nwhrd of the Humane Society's life-saVing medal.”