PEISANDER Blue Funnel Line

[stan mayes]

On 17th May 1942 Peisander was homeward bound from Australia when she was torpedoed by U 653. She was about 350 miles SE of Nantucket Island.
There were no casualties and the crew abandoned ship into three lifeboats.
It was decided to steer a Westerly course toward Cape Cod.
During the night the Captains boat lost touch with the other two which stayed together.The Captains boat was seen next day by the US Costguard.
Three days later the other two boats were sighted by Hogarth's Baron Semple which stopped to pick them up.
The two lifeboat crews decided not to accept rescue.Baron Semple was bound for Capetown and if they accepted rescue it would have been a slow voyage in cramped conditions and another 43 mouths to feed.
The survivors were fit and well and the weather was very good and the possibility of being seen very soon.
They told Baron Semple - 'Thankyou but we stay where we are'..
Both boats landed on Nantucket Island on 24th May.
Baron Semple made Capetown safely but later,on 2nd November 1943 she was sunk by U 848...There were no survivors..

[sparkie2182]

Thanks for the story Stan.

There can't have been many lifeboat survivors who declined rescue........

[makko]

An intersting story Stan. Thanks!

My grandfather was sunk on Patroclus off Ireland approx 1 year prior. The war's lessons and Pyrrhus fire in the early sixties influenced deeply the BF shipboard regs and credo.

Regards,
Dave

[Hugh Ferguson]

Thanks for the story Stan.

There can't have been many lifeboat survivors who declined rescue........

There was nearly one other, also relating to a Blue Funnel ship. The Medon torpeded by the Italian submarine, Giuliani, midway betwen Freetown and Trindad. (I heard this, first hand, from Freddie Fuller who had been 2nd mate) After 35 days in No.3 boat they fell in with Ropner's, Reedpool, and they actually considered declining the offer and staying in the boat to make the coast of Brazil still some 800 miles distant.
However, it was decided to accept the offer of rescue, but unfortunately she was torpedoed and sunk a week later by U.515, 240 miles southeast of Trinidad. They were then all rescued next day by the schooner, Millie Masher, and landed at Georgetown.
Apparently, they had made a lot of southing which got them into the S.E. trades which they could rely on to get them to land-and that was the reason for their optimism to be able to make it on their own. Hearing the story from Freddie it sounded like a democratic decision was made, by a majority, wishing to be picked up by the Reedpool.

[stan mayes]

Hello Hugh,
That seems incredible to me. Depending on how many were in the boat they must have been getting short of rations and water and to think of continuing is unthinkable.
As you know I had five days in a boat and I will never forget the sight of constantly seeing sharks and barracuda.That should have been uppermost in the minds of the survivors of Medon when they had the chance of rescue.
Regards
Stan

[BillH]

On 17th May 1942 Peisander was homeward bound from Australia when she was torpedoed by U 653. She was about 350 miles SE of Nantucket Island.
There were no casualties and the crew abandoned ship into three lifeboats.
It was decided to steer a Westerly course toward Cape Cod.
During the night the Captains boat lost touch with the other two which stayed together.The Captains boat was seen next day by the US Costguard.
Three days later the other two boats were sighted by Hogarth's Baron Semple which stopped to pick them up.
The two lifeboat crews decided not to accept rescue.Baron Semple was bound for Capetown and if they accepted rescue it would have been a slow voyage in cramped conditions and another 43 mouths to feed.
The survivors were fit and well and the weather was very good and the possibility of being seen very soon.
They told Baron Semple - 'Thankyou but we stay where we are'..
Both boats landed on Nantucket Island on 24th May.
Baron Semple made Capetown safely but later,on 2nd November 1943 she was sunk by U 848...There were no survivors..
The following ship histories have been extracted from my book on CD - Alfred Holt & Company - The Blue Funnel Oddysey

PEISANDER (1) (1925 - 1942) Peisander class steel motorship.
O.N. 147304. 6,225g. 3,884n. 431.8 x 54.7 x 30.1 feet.
Two, 8-cyl. 4 S.C.S. A. (640 x 1100mm) oil engines made by Akt. Burmeister & Wains Maskin-og-Skibsbyggeri, Copenhagen, driving twin propeller shafts. 4,100 BHP. 13½ kts.
10.12.1924: Launched by the Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd., Dundee (Yard No. 287), for the Ocean Steamship Company Ltd. 1925: Completed.

17.5.1942: Whilst on an independent voyage from Newcastle NSW, to Liverpool was sunk with a torpedo by the German submarine U 653 in a position 37.24N., 65.38W. off Nantucket. All survivors made off in three boats.

20.5.1942: Boats No’s.4 and 6 were offered rescue by the British steamer BARON SEMPILL (4,573g./39), but because she was South Africa bound the survivors declined the offer in favour of remaining in the boats.

24.5.1942: Both boats reached Nantucket Island whereas boat No.2 was rescued next day by the U.S. Coastguard vessel GENERAL GREEN and taken to Rhode Island.

[BillH]

An intersting story Stan. Thanks!

My grandfather was sunk on Patroclus off Ireland approx 1 year prior. The war's lessons and Pyrrhus fire in the early sixties influenced deeply the BF shipboard regs and credo.

Regards,
Dave
PATROCLUS (3) (1923 - 1940) Sarpedon class steel steamship.
O.N. 147218. 11,314g. 6,910n. 498.8 x 62.3 x 36.4 feet.
Two Brown Curtis type steam turbines (engine set No. 591), made by the shipbuilder reduction geared to twin propeller shafts. 7,500 SHP. 15 kts.
14.1.1922: Keel laid by Scotts' Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd., Greenock (Yard No. 518), for the China Mutual Steam Navigation Company Ltd.

1.3.1922: Contract announced.

17.3.1923: Launched by Mrs Laurence Durning Holt..

30.5.1923: Trials.

11.6.1923: Completed at a cost of £446,430.

9.1939: Hired by The Admiralty and converted into an Armed Merchant Cruiser.

1.1940: Renamed HMS PATROCLUS.

3.11.1940: Whilst picking up survivors from the British CASANARE (5,326g./24), which had been torpedoed by the German submarine U 99 off the Bloody Foreland, N.W. Ireland was damaged with a torpedo by U 99.

4.11.1940: Sank with the loss of 76 lives.

[BillH]

There was nearly one other, also relating to a Blue Funnel ship. The Medon torpeded by the Italian submarine, Giuliani, midway betwen Freetown and Trindad. (I heard this, first hand, from Freddie Fuller who had been 2nd mate) After 35 days in No.3 boat they fell in with Ropner's, Reedpool, and they actually considered declining the offer and staying in the boat to make the coast of Brazil still some 800 miles distant.
However, it was decided to accept the offer of rescue, but unfortunately she was torpedoed and sunk a week later by U.515, 240 miles southeast of Trinidad. They were then all rescued next day by the schooner, Millie Masher, and landed at Georgetown.
Apparently, they had made a lot of southing which got them into the S.E. trades which they could rely on to get them to land-and that was the reason for their optimism to be able to make it on their own. Hearing the story from Freddie it sounded like a democratic decision was made, by a majority, wishing to be picked up by the Reedpool.
MEDON (1) (1923 - 1942) Machaon class steel motorship.
O.N. 147217. 5,915g. 3,828n. 406.5 x 52.2 x 29.3 feet.
8-cyl. 4 S.C.S. A. (740 x 1500mm) oil engine made by Akt. Burmeister & Wains Maskin-og-Skibsbyggeri, Copenhagen. 2,500 BHP. 14 kts.
2.2.1923: Launched by Palmers’ Shipbuilding & Iron Company Ltd., Newcastle (Yard No. 929), for the Ocean Steamship Company Ltd.

1923: Completed.

10.8.1942: Whilst on an independent ballast voyage from Mauritius via Table Bay and Trinidad to New York, was damaged with gunfire and torpedo by the Italian submarine REGINALDO GIULIANI in a position 09.26N., 38.28W. midway between Freetown and Trinidad. Abandoned by her crew who lay off in 4 lifeboats.

11.8.1942: Some crew re-boarded the vessel to gather supplies before the submarine recommenced to shell and sink her with another torpedo. Of the lifeboats No.4, was rescued after 7 days by the Norwegian TAMERLANE (6,778g./36); No.1, after 8 days by the Panamanian steamer ROSEMOUNT (4,956g./38); No.2, after 35 days by the Portuguese steamer LUSO (6,207g./12). No.3, was rescued, after 36 days, by the British steamer REEDPOOL (4,838g./24).

20.9.1942: REEDPOOL was herself sunk by the German submarine U 515 in a position 08.58N., 57.34W., 150 miles north of Georgetown, British Guyana. Her crew of 34, plus the 16 from MEDON, took to the one remaining lifeboat being rescued next day by the British schooner MILLIE M. MASHER.

[Hugh Ferguson]

Hello Hugh,
That seems incredible to me. Depending on how many were in the boat they must have been getting short of rations and water and to think of continuing is unthinkable.
As you know I had five days in a boat and I will never forget the sight of constantly seeing sharks and barracuda.That should have been uppermost in the minds of the survivors of Medon when they had the chance of rescue.
Regards
Stan

Yes, Stan, I agree it does seem incredible that such a course would even have been given a second thought, but I can assure you that, whether jokingly or not, Freddie Fuller (2nd mate) frequently made mention of it during the four or five months I spent at Outward Bound, Aberdovey where he was Principal. It is possible that he was the only one who harboured such a thought, and no other, not surprisingly, shared it. He was no doubt very pleased with the way they had come through those 35 days-there were just sixteen in the boat, they had had plenty of rain to refill the barricoes and they had just, for the second time, reduced rations to last a further fifty days! When rescued by the Reedpool he found that they were only seven miles from where his calculations had placed them-his was the only boat to have had one of the Medon's chronometers on board. Freddie also had a rifle and on the 31st day he managed to shoot a fish but the sharks got to it first, and shooting one of them only brought others which persuaded him to give up on shooting something to augment the rations.
The success of Blue Funnel people making long boat voyages has been noted by me in another thread in which mention was made of Blue Funnel loss of life during the war being virtually a half of the 17.5% loss of life rate for the M.N. as a whole.

[makko]

PATROCLUS (3) (1923 - 1940) Sarpedon class steel steamship.

9.1939: Hired by The Admiralty and converted into an Armed Merchant Cruiser.

1.1940: Renamed HMS PATROCLUS.

3.11.1940: Whilst picking up survivors from the British CASANARE (5,326g./24), which had been torpedoed by the German submarine U 99 off the Bloody Foreland, N.W. Ireland was damaged with a torpedo by U 99.

4.11.1940: Sank with the loss of 76 lives.
Thanks BillH.
I am always asking my father to send me a copy of a photo from when he was but a boy. In the picture are my grandfather, grandmother, aunt and father. My father must be 4 yrs old. He is wearing my grandfather's matelot cape on which can be seen the cape band "Patroclus". It was always a bit of a mystery why it was RN style unril I read up on her history! My grandfather was bombed at Crete and captured, being sent to Milag Nord where he spent the rest of the war.
Regards,
Dave

[Pat Kennedy]

PATROCLUS (3) (1923 - 1940) Sarpedon class steel steamship.
O.N. 147218. 11,314g. 6,910n. 498.8 x 62.3 x 36.4 feet.
Two Brown Curtis type steam turbines (engine set No. 591), made by the shipbuilder reduction geared to twin propeller shafts. 7,500 SHP. 15 kts.
14.1.1922: Keel laid by Scotts' Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd., Greenock (Yard No. 518), for the China Mutual Steam Navigation Company Ltd.

1.3.1922: Contract announced.

17.3.1923: Launched by Mrs Laurence Durning Holt..

30.5.1923: Trials.

11.6.1923: Completed at a cost of £446,430.

9.1939: Hired by The Admiralty and converted into an Armed Merchant Cruiser.

1.1940: Renamed HMS PATROCLUS.

3.11.1940: Whilst picking up survivors from the British CASANARE (5,326g./24), which had been torpedoed by the German submarine U 99 off the Bloody Foreland, N.W. Ireland was damaged with a torpedo by U 99.

4.11.1940: Sank with the loss of 76 lives.
Bill,
According to Duncan Haws,in his Merchant Fleets; Blue Funnel Line, Patroclus had stopped to pick up survivors from the White Star liner Laurentic, which was torpedoed while picking up survivors from Casanare. U99 sank all three of them.
Pat

[BillH]

Bill,
According to Duncan Haws,in his Merchant Fleets; Blue Funnel Line, Patroclus had stopped to pick up survivors from the White Star liner Laurentic, which was torpedoed while picking up survivors from Casanare. U99 sank all three of them.
Pat
Pat,

The information I presented came word of mouth from a survivor from PATROCLUS as well as official sources as accurate as they can be with available info.

In 1980, retired Lt. Cdr Tom Jobling RN gave our branch of WSS a talk on his war experiences on PATROCLUS and he stated they were picking up from CASANARE.

No reason to doubt him although could it have been that both vessels had stopped to pick up. Who knows ?

Bill

[Pat Kennedy]

Bill,
There is an excellent account of this incident at this link;
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/annemariepurnell/patroclus.html
which seems to indicate that we are both correct. It was a very confused scenario.
Best regards,
Pat

[makko]

Bill & Pat,
I seem to remember that the U-Boot was following the liner. Patroclus was shadowing the U-Boot. There was a destroyer nearby also. When the sub surfaced to attack the disabled liner, Patroclus raced in to put herself in the line of fire to allow the liner complement to take to the boats. The U-boot sank Patroclus.
Rgds.
Dave

[Trident]

Bill,
There is an excellent account of this incident at this link;
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/annemariepurnell/patroclus.html
which seems to indicate that we are both correct. It was a very confused scenario.
Best regards,
Pat

Thanks for that link Pat, I found it most interesting plus the other link that was mentioned at the end "The WW2 Royal Navy Career of Alfred Miles".
I don't think the Merchant Navy would have been so appealing to many of us in those times................Al

[Hugh Ferguson]

Hello Hugh,
That seems incredible to me. Depending on how many were in the boat they must have been getting short of rations and water and to think of continuing is unthinkable.
As you know I had five days in a boat and I will never forget the sight of constantly seeing sharks and barracuda.That should have been uppermost in the minds of the survivors of Medon when they had the chance of rescue.
Regards
Stan

Regarding prolonged passages of Blue Funnel people in life-boats-I happen to have known two of them; Freddie Fuller, 2nd mate of the Medon and Steve Covell, 3rd mate of the Rhexenor.
Steve had one death in his boat and made it to land in 20 days without any undue suffering which one might imagine as unavoidable in such circumstances.

Roskill writes:- 'Thus ended four more long boat voyages by Holt men, all conducted with admirable skill and resolution............Though they were perhaps lucky to start their voyages right in the zone of the N.E. trade winds, one may again remark how, as with boats from the Memnon, the Calchas and the Medon, it was chiefly the seamanship and strength of character of the officers and senior ratings that brought them through. But the care and foresight shown in victualling and equipping the Rhexenor's boats undoubtedly mitigated the hardships of the voyages.'

And I'm sure that was the reason the losses of life suffered by Blue Funnel personnel was about 9% as compared to 17.5% for the M.N. as a whole.

[Hugh Ferguson]

Regarding prolonged passages of Blue Funnel people in life-boats-I happen to have known two of them; Freddie Fuller, 2nd mate of the Medon and Steve Covell, 3rd mate of the Rhexenor.
Steve had one death in his boat and made it to land in 20 days without any undue suffering which one might imagine as unavoidable in such circumstances.

Roskill writes:- 'Thus ended four more long boat voyages by Holt men, all conducted with admirable skill and resolution............Though they were perhaps lucky to start their voyages right in the zone of the N.E. trade winds, one may again remark how, as with boats from the Memnon, the Calchas and the Medon, it was chiefly the seamanship and strength of character of the officers and senior ratings that brought them through. But the care and foresight shown in victualling and equipping the Rhexenor's boats undoubtedly mitigated the hardships of the voyages.'

And I'm sure that was the reason the losses of life suffered by Blue Funnel personnel was about 9% as compared to 17.5% for the M.N. as a whole.

Steve Covell's account-as given to Captain Roskill-of a long life-boat voyage.