SIX WOMEN KILLED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 January 1941, Page 6

SIX WOMEN KILLED

ABOARD fill: RANGITANE ANOTHER FATALLY WOUNDED. DESCRIPTION OF TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 115 a.m.) SYDNEY This Day Six women were killed aboard the Rangitane when she was attacked by the raider w’hich sank ■ her. Another woman died of wounds later and was buried at sea. This was revealed by the survivors who landed at an Australian port today. The rescue ship also brought nearly j ■ five hundred from other ships sunk in! . the Pacific. Among the survivors are; . women whose faces are disfigured by ! j shell splinters, children with legs! 1 shattered by shrapnel and men with; ,dl manner of injuries. Grim stories: ! were told of the fire. confusion and! i death when shells made a .shambles ; of the Rangitane Miss Mundie. a British Red Cross! . nurse returning to England .'.board the: -Rtmgitane. said there were 46 women 1 i aboard the ship. The raider was en- j j countered early in the morning of No-1 i vember 26. about '320 miles off Eas'd • Cape. j "1 was in the centre she vessel i ’ which was blown away." Miss Mundic j (said. "I was trapped like a rat. with; (flames all around. Then another ex-: j plosidh occurred below. Heavy fumes j ■filled my cabin. My clothes begun t->; -sizzle and eventually burnt oil. I tried i

•J to find a place to escape through the > | ship's side. Two other women and a ■ | mam on cither side of my cabin, were i killed. I resigned myself to my fate. I Suddenly I heard another woman's I feeble cry for help. Then a man ap-! ; pea red through the flames* in a section., ! of the cabin which was not aflame. He! I spoke in calm tones and told me to! walk to him. How he got me away I j do not know. He saved my life.” j Miss Mundic received terrible facial! | injuries and a heavy bump on the head.; | but is bearing up satisfactorily. Miss P. Matthews, a passenger to! England and another Rangitane survi-j ( vor. whose face is severely pitted with*, shell splinters, said: "We give thanks’ that we are alive. There was so much; misery and suffering aboard and I am; afraid some will not survive.” ; Mr. A. C. Millar, of Invercargill, said; a shell from the raider, apparently in-! tended to pass over the bow of the! Rangitane. fell on the forecastle. An-1 other blasted the stern gun off its base. ’ i Within an hour, a tender from the ' raider emerged from the darkness, j with a full complement of self-import-i ant Nazis. They wore light automatics | around their waists and the tender j carried a machine-gun. i Mr. Miller said that on the third day | aboard the raider its commander sum- j moned all the members of the Fleet I Air Arm contingent. They had visions! of a shooting squad, but, after taking j I possession- of their personal belongings , | and especially photographic materials,: /their captors turned discussion to the! ( war. The German otliccrs were tin- I j able to understand why England want- j j ed to continue a war which ‘‘England i had provoked.” They worked the! ! propaganda "good and solid." but it ’ j ran off like water oil a duck’s back, i The Germans conducted a daily bul-j I letin over the raider which was relay-; ed to the various parts of the ship. They issued coloured versions of Nazi successes ( and the same relay .supplied music lat meal times, the highlight t.f I which was a good recording of "Adolf"! ( -—the rag which tells how Adolf has I : bitten off more than he can chew. This(piece was played right through, to the: ! amusement of the New Zealanders <

- who were convinced that the raider! [ < hirers and ewn Gestapo oH'ieiaG im f . > agined that it eulogised Hitler. i An officer of the Komata. after em-p :! phasising the generally courteous) , | treatment the Germans extended to; -1 their captives, st.id they discussed the i- -; war, about which their fixed idea w;rq 1 11 that Germany was in the right. Ne-| 1 > ■ vertheless i’ll were very anxious for! - ! the war to end. if only on account of i ) the appalling loss of lift 1 and deslruc-p ; lion of property it entailed. Most of fhhe German otlieers spoke good Eng*! ijhsh. The captain uf one raider spoke) • I broken English. The latter had intend-j i i-d b- shell Nauru indiscriminately, but; ■ 1 when he was told by the Komahfs men i A Ilia! heavy loss of life would ensue, heJ readily agreed in concentrate on the! ' phosphate plant and building' One ; ’! German officer apologised fur tie.-; 'shelling of ’die Komata and added:;. ' ; "You would have done the same";' ! When asked whether V«>n buck: <-i , : was in charge of one <>f the raiders, ’ ■ a German first lieutenant replied. | Ihe jus! a bag <»f wind ” | f | Among tluj.se interviewed today uas : Slew e d Gunner Hart, who had W i previously beer, in action r.t the Nar i ','£!< vVU VI i iilt 4 ■ !'i Gilts \VGtK U 130*11X1 Its I • i LXodfFt s\.r v.• >he was sunk -he ’ / Ml; ■ t-o LISI OF SURVIVORS V FR 0 .» RAI D E R ATTACKS IN PACIFIC. NEW ZEAt ANU I'ASSEN< IERS AND SEAMEN, i.f'!-. A ; ,jii - C- ; ‘ , ■ I;.-. . ,'.vo -J." 1 .,., I 2-1 m • ! “ S Vi.) NEV I'!;.-. Da;. i EMGwmp a-. Iw- of y.-a Zeaku 1 . . i vseue< 1 fn«m Emiraii Island Ko fti.lt a. C.. W F. '. < U’i > • ;; ?/<'( Il < ,• r E : , . MI ■. ■ . in tie \ : I r'.' -*,.r.-n. * F S- ' W I F Sho «Gh W Jvrk.Ms 3 - • ••.’> •! •: - v' F- ? H D-'A :: , IF.iiiaicL S Hay. C. B W f V\ i - : '* Furl t. hahre • e F -Bov Hol tn oo d. k • . ■ ■ ... v i FijiF k'b';’V ’,M i- ; \ i. ’: r■ G ; v ■ ,-. > • • ! " Vs >■; ■

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