Carrying On
_The lofty liners in their pride
Stem every current, every tide:
At anchor in all ports they ride._
_The menace of the berg and floe,
The blindness of the fog and snow.
All these the English seamen know._
_And still they calmly jog along
By Bay and Cape, an endless throng.
As endless as some dog-watch song._
MORLEY ROBERTS.
We have confined ourselves so far to the adventures of the Cunard
vessels that were used in the early stages of the war for purely
combatant purposes. They were, as has been seen, merely a small, though
important, fraction of the whole fleet, and indeed the distinction
that we have drawn is a somewhat difficult one to maintain. Thus,
from acting, as we have shewn, as purely combatant cruisers, the
_Aquitania_, _Caronia_, _Laconia_ and _Carmania_ passed to different
and even more valuable work; and at the same time many other Cunard
vessels were upon the outbreak of war withdrawn from their usual
avocation for more or less militant purposes. We find the _Mauretania_,
for example, originally intended for employment as an armed cruiser,
converted into a Troopship in 1915, and from this into a Hospital
Ship in 1916, while in 1917 she again became a Transport, fitted with
6-in. guns. In all these capacities she did magnificent work, not
without imminent risk of destruction, and it was only by the brilliant
seamanship of Commander Dow, one of the Cunard Company’s oldest and
most trusted skippers, that she escaped being sunk while plying between
England and Mudros, in her role of Troopship. Attacked by a submarine,
Commander Dow noticed the wake of the approaching torpedo on his
starboard bow, and immediately ordering the helm to be flung hard aport
the torpedo was missed by not more than 5 feet, the _Mauretania’s_
great speed fortunately thereafter placing her beyond range of the
enemy.
[Illustration: THE “LACONIA” AT DURBAN]
[Illustration: FINAL OF THE S.A.I. HEAVY-WEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE
“LACONIA”]
The _Franconia_ and _Alaunia_ were also employed in carrying troops
from September, 1914, onwards until both of them were sunk, curiously
enough within a few days of one another in October, 1916. During
this period they carried troops not only from Canada to England, but
made several voyages to India and various parts of the Mediterranean.
It was while she was on her way from Alexandria to Salonica, though
fortunately after she had disembarked 2,700 soldiers, that the
_Franconia_ (Captain D. S. Miller), was torpedoed, about 200 miles N.E.
of Malta. Twelve of her crew were killed by the explosion. The ship
sank fifty minutes after she was hit, the survivors being picked up
by H.M. Hospital Ship _Dover Castle_, whose R.A.M.C. Surgeon, Dr. J.
D. Doherty chanced himself to be one of the Cunard Company’s Medical
Officers. The _Alaunia_, again, as it happened, having landed her
passengers and mails at Falmouth, after a voyage from New York, was
torpedoed on her way to London, about two miles south of the Royal
Sovereign Light Vessel. Captain H. M. Benison, in command, hoped to
beach the ship, but unfortunately the water gained too rapidly, and the
necessary tugs did not arrive in time. Two members of the crew were
found to be missing, probably as the result of the explosion, the rest
being saved by patrol boats and destroyers and the _Alaunia’s_ own
lifeboats.
[Illustration: THE NELSON PLATE PRESENTED TO THE “CARMANIA”]
The _Andania_, _Ascania_, _Ivernia_, and _Saxonia_, were all for
several months used as prison ships in 1915, each of them providing
accommodation for nearly 2,000 German prisoners. They were afterwards
employed as Transports, both to India and the Mediterranean, the
_Ivernia_, _Ascania_ and _Andania_, in the end, all being sunk by enemy
submarines. These losses represented a heavy sacrifice by the Company,
particularly in view of the post-war needs of navigation.
It was on January 27th, 1918, that the _Andania_ was torpedoed without
warning, having sailed the day previously from Liverpool, _via_ the
North of Ireland, with 51 passengers and mails. Captain J. Marshall,
in command, immediately ordered her boats to be lowered with the
result that within a quarter of an hour all the passengers and crew
were clear of the ship, except the Captain himself, the Chief, First,
Second and Third Officers, who made a special request to the Captain
to be allowed to remain on board. The manner in which the boats were
thus speedily lowered and filled and navigated to positions of safety
was an evolution which reflected favourably on the organisation of the
ship. Captain Marshall then made an examination of the ship and called
for volunteers from the nearest boat. The response was immediate and
unanimous, and the Chief Engineer, Purser, Wireless Operator, and two
Stewards, with two Able Seamen at once returned on board with a fine
carelessness to their own safety and rendered valuable assistance in
getting out hawsers forward and aft. At half-past two, these men were
again ordered to leave the vessel, and, with the occupants of the
other boats, were picked up by patrols. Captain Marshall himself and
his Chief Officer (Mr. Murdoch) boarded a drifter and stood by the
_Andania_ until 4 o’clock in the evening, when they again returned
on board to make her fast to a tug which had just arrived, still
entertaining the hope that it might be possible to save her. Unhappily
their efforts were of no avail, the vessel sinking about half-past
seven. Seven lives were unfortunately lost, probably as the result of
the explosion.
[Illustration: CREW LEAVING THE “FRANCONIA” AFTER SHE WAS TORPEDOED]
On the morning of the 28th December, 1916, the _Ivernia_ left
Marseilles with a crew of 213, 94 officers and 1,950 troops. Shortly
after her departure from Marseilles Captain Turner received orders to
proceed 11 miles south of Damietta (Malta), but prior to altering
course he received further orders to proceed north of Gozo Island
(Malta), where the _Ivernia’s_ escort, _H.M.S. Camelia_ (Destroyer),
was relieved by _H.M.S. Rifleman_ (Destroyer). On approaching the
Adriatic, Captain Turner was instructed not to pass through the danger
zone in daylight. As the _Ivernia_ was proceeding she received a signal
from the escort that permission had been requested and granted from the
Admiralty at Malta to proceed through the danger zone at daybreak.
There was a fresh breeze which accounted for a heavy swell, the morning
sun was shining brightly on the starboard side, when Captain Turner
observed the wake of a torpedo approaching his vessel, too late to
enable him to do anything to avoid it. The torpedo struck the _Ivernia_
on the starboard side, abreast the funnel, and consequently rendered
the engines out of commission, owing to the bursting of the steam pipe,
by the explosion. This explosion accounted for the loss of 13 stewards
and 9 firemen.
Fortunately, at the time, all troops were mustered on deck and were
standing by boat stations. The boats were immediately lowered clear of
the water.
The destroyer _Rifleman_ immediately manœuvred for the purpose of
locating the submarine, by which time several of the _Ivernia’s_ boats
were in the water. At this juncture an unfortunate incident occurred.
The destroyer dashed by the port quarter at full speed without having
an opportunity of avoiding a collision with the ship’s lifeboat,
containing Chief Engineer Wilson and Dr. Parker, among other members of
the crew, the boat sinking immediately. Dr. Parker was picked up but
died almost immediately from injuries received. Chief Engineer Wilson
was not seen.
Two steam trawlers came alongside the _Ivernia_, after the destroyer
had left with 600 survivors on board, which took the remainder of the
Military and Crew, which apparently left only Captain Turner and Second
Officer Leggett remaining on board. The Second Officer, however, went
round the decks and discovered a soldier on the after deck who had
sustained a broken thigh. Two soldiers were immediately ordered aboard
for the purpose of assisting in strapping a board to the man’s damaged
thigh, he being eventually lowered on to one of the trawlers by means
of a bowline, where he was placed in charge of the R.A.M.C.
[Illustration: TORPEDOING OF THE “AUSONIA”]
The Second Officer then went aboard the trawler, later followed by
Captain Turner, who first of all made sure that the vessel was sinking.
The trawlers then cruised around among the boats and wreckage picking
up survivors.
One of the trawlers unfortunately became disabled owing to the ropes
fouling her propellers, which necessitated her being towed by the other.
The trawlers proceeded to Crete, where the survivors were billeted for
14 days, after which time they were taken on board the P. & O. S.S.
_Kalyan_ and conveyed to Marseilles, from which port they were sent
overland to England.
The _Ausonia_ was another of the fine Cunard vessels which the enemy
succeeded in destroying. In February, 1915, she had taken over 2,000
refugees from Belgium to La Pallice, being afterwards employed as a
Troopship from February to May, 1916, working to Mediterranean and
Indian ports. She was then returned to the Cunard Company’s service,
and was sunk on the 30th of May, 1918. Once before, this ship had
been struck by a torpedo, off the south coast of Ireland, in June,
1917, while on a voyage from Montreal to Avonmouth. In this case she
was fortunately salved, and her valuable cargo of food stuffs safely
discharged. On the second occasion, while sailing from Liverpool,
she was less fortunate. The _Ausonia_ was some 600 miles west of the
Irish coast at 5 p.m. on May 30th, when a torpedo struck her, causing
a terrific explosion. As her Commander, Captain R. Capper, afterwards
said, he saw rafts, ventilators, ladders, and all kinds of wreckage
coming down as if from the sky, falling round the after part of the
ship. Captain Capper who, at the moment, was at the entrance of his
cabin, at once went to the bridge, put the telegraph to ‘Stop’--‘Full
Speed Astern’ but received no reply from the Engine Room. All hands
were at once ordered to their boat stations, and the wireless operator
tapped out the ship’s position on his auxiliary gear. Ten boats were
lowered, and, within a quarter of an hour after the ship was struck,
they had safely left her. When about a quarter of a mile astern,
Captain Capper mustered them together and called the roll. It was then
discovered that eight stewards were missing, having been at tea in a
room immediately above the part of the ship struck by the torpedo.
[Illustration: SCENE ON BOARD AFTER THE TORPEDOING OF THE “IVERNIA”
(i)]
Half an hour after the vessel was torpedoed, a periscope was sighted
on the port bow, and an enemy submarine came to the surface and fired
about 40 shells at the ship, some of these dropping within fifty yards
of the boats. After the _Ausonia_ had sunk, the submarine approached
the boats, and Captain Capper, who was at the oars was ordered to come
alongside. Upon the submarine’s deck several of her crew were lounging,
laughing and jeering at the shipwrecked survivors. After enquiring as
to the _Ausonia’s_ cargo, the submarine commander ordered the boats to
steer in a north-easterly direction; in callous disregard of the peril
which confronted the _Ausonia’s_ crew the submarine herself then made
off northwards.
Captain Capper gave orders to the officers in charge of the boats that
they were to keep together, and endeavour to get into the track of
convoys, the weather being fine at the time. Until midnight the boats
were successful in remaining in each other’s company, but the wind,
having risen in the night, two boats, one of them in charge of the
first officer, and the other in charge of the boatswain were, on the
following morning, not to be seen. Captain Capper had assembled the
survivors in seven boats, and he now gave orders to the remaining five
that they should make themselves fast together. In this formation, they
continued throughout the following day and night, when the ropes began
to part. They were also retarding progress and were therefore cast off,
the boats, however, still continuing to remain pretty well together.
On Sunday, January 2nd, to add to the misery of their occupants, the
weather became bad, heavy rain falling and soaking them all to the
skin. On Monday and Tuesday, conditions improved a little, but on
Wednesday a storm broke, and by mid-day a heavy sea was running, and
a gale blowing from the north-west. The boats were now running before
this, with great seas breaking over them and saturating everybody on
board. These conditions continued until Friday the 7th, when land
was at last sighted, turning out to be Bull Rock. A wise and strict
rationing had been enforced, only two biscuits a day and one ounce
of water having been allowed for the first two days, and one biscuit
and a half and four tablespoons of water the subsequent ration. The
crew were approaching the extremities of exhaustion when hope of
deliverance was awakened in them. Fortunately, on sighting land, the
wind fell a little, but it was another fifteen hours before the unhappy
survivors were picked up by H.M.S. _Zennia_, an American Destroyer also
assisting. Captain Capper’s boat had only 25 biscuits left together
with half a bucketful of water--but one day’s meagre supply when the
terrible ordeal ended. The little boats, it was calculated, had covered
900 miles since the _Ausonia_ disappeared before their eyes. Under
these conditions the conduct of the Cunarder’s crew was of the highest
order, that of the stewardess, Mrs. Edgar, of Orrell Park, Aintree, the
only woman on board the vessel, being particularly courageous.
[Illustration: SCENE ON BOARD AFTER THE TORPEDOING OF THE “IVERNIA”
(ii)]
Special mention must also be made of the butcher’s boy, Robinson. At
the moment of the explosion, together with the pantry boy, Lister,
he was in one of the cooling chambers, and the explosion made it
impossible for the two boys to get out. Robinson had several wounds
on his hips and thighs, and his left arm was lacerated. Both boys, in
addition, had both legs broken above the ankle. Robinson, however,
managed to crawl out on both his hands and knees and secure a board
and place it across the gaping hole in the deck, thus enabling Lister
also to reach a place of comparative safety. The two boys then crawled
on hands and knees up two sets of ladders to the boat deck, and
were placed in the boats. The doctor attended to the boy Robinson’s
injuries, as far as was possible, but it was not for 30 hours that
Captain Capper was able to transfer him to the boat in which Lister
was lying, so that he also might receive medical aid. In spite of
their experiences and injuries, both boys remained calm and cheerful,
and indeed in high spirits, but it is sad to record that Robinson
subsequently succumbed in hospital, as the result of his injuries.
More, however, to Captain Capper than to any one man, was the salvation
of the five boat loads due, and it was in recognition of his dogged
determination and splendid seamanship that his Majesty the King
afterwards bestowed upon him the Distinguished Service Cross.
[Illustration: THE TORPEDOING OF THE “IVERNIA”: SURVIVORS AFLOAT ON
RAFT]
The _Ultonia_, in August, 1914, was the means by which some of the
old “Contemptibles” were brought from Malta to England, and she then
proceeded to India with Territorial troops. She was subsequently
returned to the Company’s Service and was finally sunk in June, 1917.
She was at this time eastward bound, and about 350 miles west from
Land’s End. She disappeared in ten minutes, so deadly was the blow she
received. Fortunately, she was at the time, being escorted by one of
the “Q” boats, by whom her crew was picked up and safely landed the
next day at Falmouth, one man unfortunately being killed during the
operation of leaving the ship. Captain J. Marshall was in command.
Meanwhile, with their ordinary carrying power thus depleted, the Cunard
management had been looking about for reinforcements, and had entered
into negotiations with certain other lines for additional vessels.
Thus they took over from the Canadian Northern Steamship Company (The
Royal Line and The Uranium Steamship Company), the _Royal George_,
and three other vessels, which they re-christened respectively the
_Folia_, _Feltria_, and _Flavia_. They also purchased five additional
vessels which they re-christened the _Vinovia_, _Valeria_, _Volodia_,
_Valacia_, and _Vandalia_.
Now during the years 1915 and 1916, merchant shipping, apart from
those ships especially chartered by the Government, continued under
the direction of its various owners. In 1917, however, the Liner
Requisitioning Scheme, came into being, and a Shipping Controller was
appointed.
Under this scheme all British shipping came under the control of the
Government, the object being, in view of the shortage of tonnage caused
by the depredations of the submarines, to confine steamers to those
trades necessary for providing the Allies with the essential foodstuffs
and munitions of war. The greatest percentage of these had, of course,
to be obtained from America, and in consequence many steamers which had
been trading to other parts of the world, were diverted to the North
Atlantic, and placed under the management of the Companies already
established on these particular routes. The owners of these transferred
steamers were given permission to allot their ships to any of the
lines so established, and it came about that the Cunard Company, in
addition to their own ships, had the management of a large number of
vessels thus diverted. It is estimated, in fact, that the number of
additional steamers so handled by the Company, amounted to more than
400. In addition to this, the Company managed several prize steamers
captured from the enemy and neutral steamers that had been placed
at the disposal of the Allies, and it thus happened that the Cunard
management found itself in charge of vessels from the Indian, China,
South African, and Australian trades, assembled from the ends of the
earth in this vital emergency.
[Illustration: TORPEDOING OF THE “LUSITANIA”]
Some idea of the magnitude of the work thus carried upon the shoulders
of the Cunard management may be gathered from the facts that in one
year alone not less than 200 sailings were made from American and
Canadian ports, and that over 10,000 tons of cargo were often carried
in one steamer.
With the entrance of America into the war, the carrying problem became
at once more complicated and greater in bulk; and in its solution the
Cunard Company may once more justly be said to have played a major
part. Let us consider first its work in the carriage of troops. The
Cunard organisation was responsible for the transport during the war of
over 900,000 officers and men. This excludes the big total repatriated
after the Armistice was signed. When it is remembered that this
aggregate is greater than the total population of either Liverpool,
Manchester or Birmingham; that 900,000 men, marching in column of route
in sections of fours would take, without halting, nearly six days to
pass a single point, it becomes possible to visualise the immensity
of the task represented by these bald figures. When it is further
remembered that the total British Expeditionary Force first thrown
across the English Channel in August, 1914, was only 80,000; that this
was less than one-tenth of the number carried during the war by the
Cunard Company; and that the number so carried was equal to not less
than one-eighth of the whole British Army at its greatest strength, the
nation’s debt to this great Company can be estimated.
Nor was the mere provisioning of these troops while _en route_ a
negligible feat of transport. Taking an average voyage as ten days,
the food required to feed this number of men amounted to no less than
9,750,000 pounds of meat, 11,250,000 pounds of potatoes, 4,500,000
pounds of vegetables, 9,575,000 loaves of bread, 1,275,000 pounds of
jam, 900,000 pounds of tea and coffee, and among other things 900,000
pounds of oatmeal, 600,000 pounds of butter and 127,000 gallons of
milk.
[Illustration: THE TORPEDOING OF THE “IVERNIA”: SURVIVORS BEING TAKEN
IN ONE OF THE BOATS]
Vast as these figures are, however, they are dwarfed when we begin to
consider what was accomplished during the five years of war in the
way of cargo carrying--in the humdrum performance of an unadvertised
and often little appreciated service, upon which, fundamentally, our
whole war structure rested. Between August, 1914, and November, 1918,
7,314,000 tons of foodstuffs, munitions of war, and general cargo were
carried from America and Canada to the British Isles; over 340,000 tons
from the British Isles to Italy and the Adriatic; over 500,000 tons
from the British Isles to other Mediterranean Ports; nearly 320,000
tons from this country to France; and nearly 60,000 tons from France to
this country. In addition to this, huge quantities were also carried
westwards from this country, amounting to a total, in the same period,
of more than 1,000,000 tons.
Not the least important service rendered in this way was connected
with the supply of oil fuel, of which the stocks in this country
were seriously depleted--so seriously that at one time they were
insufficient to supply the needs of the Navy for more than a few
weeks ahead. In this predicament the Admiralty, realizing the
danger, approached Sir Alfred Booth, Chairman of the Cunard Company,
and asked him to put the matter before other leading ship-owners.
He readily consented to do so, and all owners running ships in the
North Atlantic, at once agreed to take the necessary steps to allow
of oil being carried in the double bottoms of their ships, the Cunard
Company themselves adapting for this purpose the double bottoms of the
_Andania_, _Carmania_, _Carpathia_, _Pannonia_, _Saxonia_, _Valacia_,
_Vandalia_, _Valeria_, and _Vinovia_, each of which brought on each
voyage to this country, about 2,000 tons of oil. The Cunard Company
alone, in a little over a year, thus brought over 100,000 tons of oil
across the Atlantic.
[Illustration: THE “LUSITANIA”]
During all this time, of course, it must be remembered that the Cunard
Company, as throughout the war, plied in a zone particularly exposed
to hostile attack by enemy raiders and submarines; and as we have
already shown, and shall show again, a very heavy toll of their vessels
was taken by hostile torpedoes. How greatly the Cunard steamers were
concentrated upon dangerous routes will be seen on reference to the
map,[B] which indicates the most important services of Cunard Steamers
during the war. Finally, let it be stated that from August, 1914 to
November, 1918, without taking into account such outside steamers as
were working under the Cunard Company’s direction, its own steamers
steamed not less than 3,313,576 miles, with a consumption of 1,785,000
tons of coal. This distance is equivalent to the circum-navigation of
the world no less than 132 times.
[B] This map will be found in the inside front cover of the
book.