Spare a thought, too, for those who succumbed to the perils of the sea
FOLKS will gather on Saturday in remembrance of those who died during various conflicts, notably the two world wars. Although the trenches of Flanders and France in World War I and Stalingrad, Normandy and other battles two decades later yielded extremely brutal exchanges amid appalling conditions, the war at sea was relentless, and perhaps more horrific.
Significant loss of life often accompanied dramatic sinkings as bulkheads collapsed, boilers exploded, oil gushed from ruptured tanks and fires raged.
Having survived an initial attack, many seamen, troops and passengers were subsequently lost as lifeboats capsized in heavy weather, or the boats were never recovered, and the tragic demise of their occupants – dying in freezing conditions or slipping into thirst-induced dementia after weeks at sea under the tropical sun – would never be told.
The fortunate few survived the perils wrought by torpedo, mine, bomb or gunfire. Saturday also marks the 75th anniversary of the loss of three British troopships engaged in the North Africa landings.
In happier times, P&O’s Viceroy of India carried 415 first class and 258 tourist class passengers between Britain and India. Homeward from India in September 1935, she was off Cape Finisterre, and among those passengers particularly keen to see the British coast were members of the colonial service and British army officers returning to their homeland after tours of duty in India.
Suddenly, frenetic activity shattered the peacefulness of the voyage. Officers shouted orders, crewmembers doubled to the rescue boat, and others stood by to launch other lifeboats as the liner altered course. Ahead lay the badly damaged White Star liner Doric that had collided with the French freighter Formigny. Within a short time, the crew of Viceroy of India had rescued 241 of Doric’s passengers.
Later, Doric managed to enter Vigo, Spain, for emergency repairs. However, when she returned to Britain, her damage was deemed to be so severe that she was declared a total loss and was scrapped in Wales.
Within a year of the outbreak of World War II, many of Viceroy of India’s crewmembers were again rescuing distressed passengers and crewmembers, this time following the collision between Shaw Savill’s Ceramic and Bank Line’s Testbank in the South Atlantic. This time they brought 279 people aboard the P&O liner.
While off Oran in November 1942, Viceroy of India encountered U-407 on the surface while recharging batteries. The U-boat fired torpedoes, sinking the liner. Her entire complement, apart from two officers and two firemen, was rescued by the destroyer HMS Boadicea.
In India at the outbreak of World War II, another P&O liner, Cathay, was converted to an armed merchant cruiser. Later she was refitted as a troopship in Brooklyn, and immediately began ferrying troops to various hot spots.
While landing troops at Bougie, Algeria, she was bombed by German aircraft. A delayed-action incendiary bomb exploded in the galley, starting an enormous fire that reached her ammunition that exploded, ripping off her stern, and she sank quickly.
The commander of U-413 knew that ships passing Gibraltar en route for Britain would pass the south-western corner of Portugal. Through the submarine’s periscope he saw a convoy, singled out a troopship and fired a spread of torpedoes. A mighty explosion followed, and Union-Castle’s mailship Warwick Castle, returning to Britain to embark more troops for the Allied North African campaign, sank with the loss of her master and 62 others.
Those are three of the 4 780 British ships lost during World War II – but the real tragedy lies in the loss of about 30 000 British seamen in that awful conflict.
And that is why folks still gather at cenotaphs to salute those who defended liberty.