SEA ADVENTURE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 April 1940, Page 9

SEA ADVENTURE

SINKING OF DORIC STAR LIFE ABOARD GERMAN SHIPS. DRAMATIC RESCUE BY BRITISH NAVY. The following account of his experiences from the time he joined the Doric Star in New Zealand until he and 298 other seamen were rescued from the Altmarck was given by Gunner William Wheeler. of Dunedin (aged 24 years):—

"After leaving Auckland our ship, which was stacked to the hatches with produce for England, ran into what was called not too good weather. At Sydney, our first port of call, we loaded wool, which filled our ’tween decks and was loaded also on the deck hatches. After leaving Sydney we proceeded across the Indian Ocean towards Cape Town. We were ’on our own.’ without a convoy. Arriving at Cape Town we fuelled for a day and a half; and a few days out from Capo Town, as we were sitting on the poop, there was a terrific explosion on the port quarter. Swinging round we were just in time to see the water gush up in the air. Knowing at once that something of enemy nature was in the vicinity we rushed to the gun and loaded it. By that time the fourth officer had arrived and ringing up the bridge from the after platform he asked the captain whether there was any message as to what it was. Just then there was another explosion and a shell burst on the starboard side of the ship. We received word with the rest of the crew to make our way towards the boats. At ‘abandon ship’ everyone went down into the boats and waited for the officers to take over. There was no panic or confusion, and the men behaved with very, very great coolness.

GERMAN MOTOR-BOAT APPEARS. “About half-an-hour afterwards a German motorboat came alongside and we were ordered back to our ship. When we were back on our ship a German officer took our names, and told us that we had ten minutes to get a blanket, plate, and knife and fork as we were going on board the ’Graf Spee.’ The funny part about the boarding party was that though the officer said the ‘Graf Spec.’ the. men had ‘Deutschland’ on their hatbands. But the ‘Graf Spee’ was not disguised. When we were taken on board the warship we were received very well, surprisingly sb seeing it was an enemy craft. It was about half-past-three to four in the afternoon by the time all the crew had been transferred to the ’Graf Spee.’ After we had sorted out the wee bits of luggage most of us had. the Germans told us would have to go through a medical examination, so we had to go below decks and bath. Then we were taken in ones and twos to the German medical officer who was very polite. “While we were waiting to go into the doctor’s room, I counted seven shells fired at the ‘Doric Star’ to sink her, and I am sure they were from the 11-inch guns. Also we found out later than one torpedo had been fired. ACCOMMODATION BAD.

“After the medical examination we were marshalled into the fore deck of the ship. There were, between 50 and 59 of us in there and I can tell you. it wasn’t what you’d call easy to move round. We were given plenty to eat as far as German foodstuffs were concerned, but the accommodation and atmosphere were very, very bad.

“After we had had tea we retired to bed in the fore deck, where we had our meal. There were, roughly, sixteen hammocks between us, so those who ‘got, there' first, were lucky. The rest laid their blankets out and slept on the floor.

“The next morning we were awakened about half-past-five by gunfire and we thought for the moment that a British warship had picked up the message that our wireless operator had tapped out the day before. But one of the German officers told us a steamer called the ‘Tairoa’ had been captured and was being sunk. “Then after the ‘Tairoa’ crew had been brought aboard (there were 83 of them) we received an extra ten of them in our mess, which brought our quota in the fore deck up to 69. We were now worse for accommodation than before. Then the ‘Graf Spee’ made away at a high speed, heading into the west.

“About a day later we were allowed to go up on deck; and the Germans (they must have been so confident) had wireless going for us. and the railings (which are always down on board a warship when she is expecting action) were put up and the crow were sunbathing.

TRANSFERRED TO TANKER. “On the Wednesday afternoon we were informed we were being transferred to a tanker, but her nationality was not given. About two in the afternoon we were transferred from the ‘Graf Spec’ to the tanker, leaving behind us all holding a master's ticket and a chief officer’s ticket. I was placed, with 25 others from the 'Doric Star.’ in a deep tank 35 feet below water level. with the 'Trevanion’s' crew, who were already captives. There were 19 of them, which brought our quota in the tank up to about 45. We then learned that the ship was definitely a German supply ship disguised as a Norwegian tanker. We were told it was the ‘Sogne’ and it was painted neutral colours and flew the Norwegian flag. “That night we were visited by the German prison -officer and he gave us the ins-and-outs and all the rules that had to be obeyed on board the ship. He spoke perfect. English: he had been at Dartmouth Naval College and was evidently an educated man. “Conditions in the deck where we were confined were extremely bad. To sleep on we had rugs taken from the 'Huntsman.' Most of us only had the one blanket, and. believe me. when you wrap yourself in one blanket you're not what you'd call warm, especially when you are in Die Antarctic or the Arctic. “The only ventilation came from the fan-room, and in rough weather when the fan was stopped, our deck used to swim with water that dripped from Ihe deck above, the atmosphere was so leaden and heavy. There were only twelve basins amongst the lot of us for washing ourselves. "The food consisted of German black bread for breakfast and a small mug of tea in a tin; and for dinner we had some soup, and for tea bread and cheese. I suppose it was ordinary German prison fare. GRAF SPEE SUNK. “A few days later we headed south at fast speed and we kept on going south. The atmosphere become colder and colder. At. that time we were in-'

formed by a German on board that the 'Graf Spee’ had been sunk; and for lolling us this he received a sentence of twenty-one days' broad and water' “While wo were steaming south I every one of the German crew, those that were off duty included, set to work to paint the tanker a silver grey, and they put up a name that we could not distinguish at the lime. The.v put I ’New York’ as the port of registration ; on her boats. After we had been on the ship about a month we found that she was called ’Chiripo,’ or ‘Chiriqui.’ or ‘Chiqui ' but we couldn't quite make out the name. “Before the 'Graf Spee’ had been sunk we had been allowed to go on deck all together and we used to spend roughly an hour on deck each clay, but once the 'Graf Spee’ was sunk, this time was cut down. One day the German captain mustered us all on the fo'c’slc head of the ship and gave us a speech which was meant to impress us, but didn’t. He told us that Britain was trying to make Germany a slave state, and he- also said that he had no sym-’ pathy whatsoever with the British people and that he hated the British Government. He said that at the present time Germany had no colonies but soon would have, and he hoped to be able to land us in one of them soon. After that our ’deck’ was cut down to" fifty minutes every second day and only fifteen men were allowed on deci; at one time. This continued until we were rescued.

A WEARY TIME. "We made many games to amuse ourselves. We used to wrestle and fight amongst ourselves to keep fit. but after we had been on there a while we felt so weak that it became an effort and a strain. So we made games out of bits of wood and also made small models of ships that we had been on, as well as shoes to wear. “There were New Zealanders on board from the ‘Ashlca,’ a ship that, had been captured. Noel Bevan, of Wellington, was on the ’Altmarck.' Others from the ‘Tairoa’ and the ‘DoricStar' were: Colin Watt (Wellington). R. Pittan (Auckland), P. G. Bowie (Wellington), G. C. Lynch (Onehunga). P. J. Craig (Auckland), David Nicholas (Auckland). Jack Blythe (Auckland), and N. K. Brown (Auckland). "After we had been in southern latitudes the best part of a month and a bit the 'Altmarck' (for that was the real name of the ship) one day turned north and began to race at full steam. We went from the cold into the Tropics and out of the Tropics into the Arctic. What course she followed no one can actually say, but it would be a safe surmise that we went almost up the centre of the Atlantic. No one knew where we were or what was happening. Owing to bad weather many were never on dock, and it. wasn’t until we had been steaming full speed for a fortnight or three weeks that one morning a chap came down from the deck, after getting the tea, and told us that there was land on each side of us. We were all excited and climbed the scuttleway one at a time to see what it was and where we might be. “We recognised at once, even the most untravelled of us, that we were in a fiord of some description. It looked just like pictures that I have seen of parts of Lake Manapouri. That night the same chap camo down again and told us there were Neon signs and

i ignis on Liie cocisiuno 8 net surmised the place was Tronso. “That night the 'Altmarck’ stopped and we did not know whether she was in port or not; but the winches on the fo’c'sle and on the deck wore running at high speed and we now know, the noise was to drown any calls of the prisoners. I suppose wo might then have been at Bergen. THOUGHTS OF MUTINY. Next morning we wore all filled with thoughts of mutiny and escape, but we were watched far too closely for any attempt to be made. The lid on top of the lank had been screwed down tight and a grating was placed over the top of the scuttleway. "That afternoon one of the men from the top deck came rushing down and told us that there was a ship off the port beam. It was hard to believe at the time, but after we had climbed up the scuttleway and looked we knew it was right. We threw everything that we possibly could out from the grating and waved improvised flags to try and attract attention, but it seemed to be of no use.

“Unknown to us, there had been a mutiny in the fore part of the ship and the prisoners there had nearly escaped. Next morning we were notified by the captain that we were to be put on broad and water. Well, it was not broad, but biscuits that an average person would feed to a dog. We lived on it for that day, with a pint of water. “In the forenoon the ship stopped and we never knew whether we were at anchor or tied up alongside a wharf owing to the fact that we were battened down. That night about eleven o’clock two of the chaps who were holding watches (we had been dividing watches between ten of us) were playing cards when the ship suddenly went full speed ahead, and then after shaking and shivering she went full speed astern. There was another scries of jars, and then a big jar. and we at once knew that she had either run aground or had banked into something or other. We were down there in thei tank ready and waiting to be called up by German officers in case she had begun to sink, when the tanje top wa v dragged back and a Naval rating of some description yelled out 'Any British down there? It's the Navy up here.’ There was a Cockney on the top deck and he said. 'Gosh! Blimey! It’s the Navy!'

RESCUED BY DESTROYER. “Al. first we could not believe it and when we knew it to be true we at once made our way up on to the deck. It was a beautiful sight; there were mountains about twenty-five yards away. We were aground astern on the rocks.-and we then saw a small ship and a few houses and a warehouse of some description. Lying over at Die jetty was a Norwegian gunboat. "After we were all mustered on the deck a British Naval officer spoke from the 'cat-walk' and told us that the Germans had mined the ship and that she was timed to blow up in fifty minutes. He told us to go forward on to the fo’c’sle head and prepare to embark on board the destroyer which was coming up alongside with its searchlight, showing. All the chaps on Die fo’c’sle head, as H.M.S. Cossack’ ran alongside threw their bags and what little gear they had. on board and then jumped on board themselves. Some were very eager and jumped the best part of seven feet. The ‘Cossack’ was alongside for only a matter of minutes and the British captain then ordered her away; and we sailed out of the fiord in triumph. We were very happy, and were thinking of home and our people and of what we were going to see once we got ashore. "When we wore transferred below

decks the crew of H.M.S ‘Cossack’ gave us every thing possible. They brought cigarettes and chocolate from their canteens and gave us a very, very enjoyable meal, so different from the German food wo had been eating. "So we made for Leith whore at the wharf we were received by a crowd such as greet few groat famous personages. We were treated with the utmost hospitality and earc by the people of Leith and surrounding districts."