Torpedoed! by Cheryl Mullenbach

Author:Cheryl Mullenbach
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Published: 2017-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Survivors were wrapped in blankets. ©Imperial War Museums (HU 51010)

Everyone in Florence’s boat made it safely onto the Escort. “Oh, it was wonderful. They were so good to us,” Florence said. “They were so pleased that they had rescued us.”

Florence and Russell both happened to be picked up by the Escort; however, they didn’t meet at the time. Russell’s boat had waited for quite some time as others unloaded. Finally, as his boat drifted among the other empty lifeboats, Russell’s turn came a few hours after daybreak. He was transferred up the ladder “into many helping hands.”

Other passengers were not as lucky as Florence and Russell. Some lifeboats overturned as they tried to ease alongside the rescue ships. “Frenzied screams” could be heard across the waves as boats capsized, spilling people into the rough waters. The swells carried victims away from the ships. Some people slipped below the surface, never to return. The crashing waves drowned out their calls for help. A woman cried out for her child, but her screams were drowned as a wave closed over her. A baby dressed in a “brief night shirt” shot to the surface and was grabbed by a man, who pulled it to safety. A young girl fell between her lifeboat and the rescue ship she was trying to board. She never was seen again.

A mother watched in horror as her son toppled into the water from an overturned boat.

“Geoffrey! Geoffrey!” she screamed.

“Here I am, Mom,” a voice came across the waves. The lucky boy was pulled to safety, and the two were happily reunited.

As several lifeboats clustered around the Knute Nelson a horrendous disaster occurred. One of the boats floated toward the stern of the freighter, where the large propellers sat. Suddenly the captain, unaware of the smaller boat’s location, started the engine, and the propellers began to turn, churning the water. The propeller blades sliced through the lifeboat, instantly killing some of the passengers. Others were thrust into the swirling waters. Some were saved.

Not long after this, another mishap occurred. This time it involved the Southern Cross. As several lifeboats gathered around the Swedish yacht waiting to be rescued, the waves thrust one under the stern of the Southern Cross. About 50 men, women, and children were tossed into the sea. The crew of the yacht quickly climbed into empty lifeboats and tried to pick up the people who were scattered around the surface. Many were saved, but others drowned.

One very lucky boy was picked up by the Swedish sailors from the Southern Cross after being on four different lifeboats throughout the night. His first encounter occurred when the boat he was on capsized as it was being lowered from the Athenia. The boy survived the fall and swam to another nearby boat, which he occupied for most of the night. When the rescue ships arrived, the boy’s lifeboat headed toward the Knute Nelson but capsized before reaching it. He was forced to swim to another lifeboat. When the Southern Cross appeared on the scene, the boy’s lifeboat made way for it.

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