1940-12-10 — Page 9

THE CHINA MAIL, DECEMBER 10, 1940.

HAXBY SKIPPER TELLS STORY

OF RAIDER BROTHERS

Captain Cornelius Arundell, master of the 5,207-ton British car- go steamer Haxby, was a prisoner of the Nazis on the high seas for 134 days. He and his captured crew were within two days' steam- ing of the European coast-and internment-when the small British submarine Truant surfaced off Cape Finisterre and rescued them and some Norwegians from a neutral ship which had also fallen victim to the Germans. Here is Captain Arundell's story:

They had killed sixteen of my crew, but I thought, as I swam towards the Nazi pirate ship- "Don't give up hope. All Germans can't be as bad as Hitler makes them out to be."

I was right about that. There'man oiler Winnetou which had was more than one on board the come out to refuel us.

At this German ship who thought kindly time we were kept in close con- of England and treated us well. finement. We were twelve days It was about 6.30 in the morn- locked in our quarters without ing on April 24 when the Ger- exercise, and almost choked by man raider, flying Greek colours, oil fumes. suddenly opened fire on us with four Gin. guns.

We had no chance, The second salvo of shells killed and smashed the our gunner gun platform. They kept on firing after that for about half an hour with not a shot in

return.

I

My ship was shattered and on fire, and there were good men dead on the decks. We had to swim for it, and after a long time they picked us up from the planks and wooden barrels to which we were clinging.

Then we the Tropic guard.

were transferred to Sea under armed

They kept on plugging at us with their propaganda.

An of- flcer had the special duty of con- verting us into good Nazis, and they seemed to think it was only a question of time before we saw the folly of our ways and realised that Hitler was a fine fellow and Churchill a low scoundrel.

This propaganda officer said that only 3,000 British soldiers had escaped

from Dunkirk, that every British port was closed by mines, and that a woman had broadcast over the B.B.C. saying that England needed some one

They put us into canvas suits and gave us underwear and flan- nel shirts made out of wood pulp. They sent us to our prison | like Hitler. quarters, three decks down.

They gave us a plate of black bread and sausage. The bread was as hard as nails and had half an inch of wet round the bottom.

When we went on deck for exercise for one hour in the morning and one in the afternoon we saw that we were in a fine ship, one of the Hamburg liners which before

war was on the New York run.

No Milk, No Tea Furnishings and fittings were de luxe, except where alterations had been made to give the ship powerful armament.

1 sald: "You're a llar. You and your

Hitler make mc sick."

He was angry. "You must not talk like that of our beloved Fuehrer." I told him: "If you talk such-nonsense I'll fling you over the side into the sea,"

Dawn Rescue

DIED HEROES

Two broth war babies

last born far

away from the land they were one day to fight for went to the same school in the home- land.

1

Joined the R.A.F....flew to- gether ... both shot down six Nazis and damaged others.... both awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Now both are named - killed In action in Air Ministry Casualty Communique No. 46. C. A. Woods-Scawen and Flying- The brothers were Pilot-Officer Officer P. P. Woods-Scawen whose father lives at South Farnborough.

dia, and were educated at Salesian College, Fafnborough:

Both were born at Karachi, In-

C. A. Woods-Scawen vas born in 1918. His award was announc- ed on September 3, when it was stated that in June last he was shot down twenty-five miles in- side French territory, but got back to his "squadron.

Up to then he had been shot down six times, and tribute was paid to his "unabated courage and enthusiaem” and his out- standing qualities as a resource- ful and détermined leader.

Against Big Odds

· P.. P. Woods-Scawen was born in 1916. When his D:F.C. was

stated it was ive-awarded in June

that once, when heavily outnum- bered, he attacked a large forma- tion of Germans without hesita- tion and shot two down.

As we got

nearer Europe got a bit depressed. We thought there was no chance of rescue.

At 5,30 on the morning of September 3 the alarm, sounded We throughout the ship again. were told to get on deck with our lifebelts.

Hia plane was hit and he was slightly wounded, but baled out and rejoined his unit,

It was added that he had shown "great courage, endur-

ance and leadership.

The communique, which con- tains the names of 319 officers and

All the German officers seemned Our diet did not improve: in a daze. When they first There was no milk, no sugar, sighted the submarine they were no tea. They gave us imita convinced that it was a German tion coffee. made from burned which had come to escort them corn and an Imitation Jam, into port. They hadn't bargain-airmen, gives a total of forty-nine Our staple diet was soup made ed for it being British. from peas, beans or lentils. The Germans in my lifeboat We saw little of our captors, refused to take us to the sub- The captain, a grim-faced. Prus-marine, so I pushed the officer the tiller and told sian, never spoke until the day away from

officers and airmen killed in action, and forty-eight wounded or injured. Those missing total eighty-eight.

The number killed on active service is forty-eight. Or ten previously I knew that

reported missing three are now safe and seven are prisoners, ^»

I left his ship to be transferred my men to row towards it for all to the Tropic Sea, a Norwegian they were worth. ship which

they had captured there were time bombs in the He then asked me if I had ship due to explode in a matter been treated. well I said I had of minutes. We drew alongside no complaints, and added: "But the submarine and a young lleu- I shall never forget the murder tenant pulled me aboard and of my sixteen men, with you fir- said: "Welcome home.” ing at us while we were help- less,"

He said: "Forget it, captain, there's a war on." I said "I shall never forget and never forgive it." He shrugged his shoulders.

It was true that we hadn't been badly treated. The officers and men with whom we had dealings were like strangely deluded children.

They believed that the war would be over in a matter of weeks, and they even had daily

the ship could be represented in

A sergeant of the Royal New Zealand Air Force is reported missing, and two pilot officers were killed on active service.

He had one of these Navy. The names of nine D.F.C.s, one- voices. It sounded like music | AF.C, and one D.F.M. are includ- in my ears. .

cd in the list.

FINDS £300-'NO' TO £150 GIFT

FOR THREE DAYS £300

wrapped

sacks, lay

band practice on board so that unnoticed on a greengrocer's stall. When the the victory march through Bergreengrocer looked inside, he was astonished to And Un" which they thought was the money, in El notes. But he was even more sur-

soon to take place”

They believed that the Brprised when he found the owners... 'tish Navy-had been-swept front

the seas, that South East Eng That "£300 was the life-sav-"I"always" carried it-abour witis, me wherever I went I was: land wood desert of destruc-1'ings of a man and wife... tion, that the Port of London And they offered Kim E150 "afraid to bank it. was shattered and useless, and reward! that all England was starving, and continuing the Bght in Edwards, of Webster's Cottages, desperat

Yaxham Road, East Dereham, One morning alarms sounded, had taken to save it. and we wer

locked. In:, our

quarters Th was a lot of scampering. goi on above our beads. Then the guns bred three times:

Refuelled At Sea

More than an hour later wel saw through little peepholes in

il "l: nearly went mad when Twenty years Mr. and Mrs. Jost it. How It came to be;

* found where

mystery:"

Twenty-years of self-denial. Twenty years of looking forward- to buying a home of their own,

Offer of a small reward might have been made with every justi fication

* Yet the finder,.......Mr. Robert Ellie, of East Dereham,, refusad to take a big-foward.. Five pounds was all he would

Went Out Working

Mrs. Edwards added that she and her husband, who is a store keeper, had saved hard and deni ed themselves for twenty years to get the money together. - “Our life's ambition is to have a little bungalow of our own,” she said. "To help to save the money I have regularly been out working." Sm

To-day the precious savings will be paid into a Dereham Survey left my handbag containing | bank,^, Soon afterwards another ship the £300 behind me. That came alongside.It was the Gor-I money was our life savings » | gow," said Mr. Edw

the wall of our prison room that take... PORN some seamon were being brought Mrs. Edwards told a reporter on board. They were from the that she was shopping in Dereham captured. Norwegian ship Tropic market place,

Sea,

"I don't belleve in homo banks

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