Honouring the Men who gave their lives whilst serving in the Merchant Navy
and whose names are on the Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll
and whose names are on the Australian War Memorial Commemorative Roll
S.S. CONCH
WW1
WW1
S.S. Conch was sunk on 8 December 1916 by torpedo fired by German submarine UB -23 was enroute from Calcutta and Rangoon to the Thames with a cargo of benzene.
The Journal (Adelaide, S.A.) 26-12-1916
BRAVE NAVY MEN.
Rescues From Blazing Oil Ship
LONDON, December 23.
A thrilling story of naval heroism has been revealed in connection with the sinking, early in the present month, of the steamer Conch, by a German submarine. The Conch, which was of 5620 tons, was an oil tank steamer belonging to the Anglo- Saxon Petroleum Company, Limited, and was on the London registry. The ship was struck by the torpedo at 11 p.m-, and the explosion set on fire its cargo of 8,000 tons of benzine. There was a huge conflagration by 3 a.m.., when a British destroyer sighted the blaze. The war craft full speed to the relief, and discovered the petrol ship on fire fore and aft, but with its engines still going at the rate of eight knots an hour. There were 30 men on board, all huddled together, and seemingly doomed. Three large steamers from a quarter of a mile off were watching the terrifying spectacle. They had been there for two hours, and were powerless to help, for benzine was welling out of the hole in the side of the Conch, and the spirit had caused lakes of fire on the sea all around.
Realizing the impossibility of getting alongside, the captain of the destroyer resolved upon a daring expedient, and thrice' placed his vessel right across the bows of the doomed ship. He threw overboard his rafts, lifebelts, buoys, and finally his boats, and shouted to the crew of the Conch to jump for their lives. Many did so, and were saved. Nine men, however, were still left on the blazing ship after two hours of the efforts to rescue them. The flames were now only a few feet off them, and the ship was continuing to lurch along without any one to direct its path in the sea. The destroyer had now not a single bit of life-saving . apparatus left. The warship's captain had a wife and hi first baby boy, two days old, at home; but he went on the bridge and determined to put his ship right alongside the blazing tank vessel even at the risk of his life and the lives of the crew. After 48 -minutes of nerve-racking seamanship. he placed the destroyer gently alongside the Conch, and took off all who remained of the apparently, doomed creatures.
Then tie destroyer safely cleared the derelict, which 10 minutes later disappeared beneath the waves. The chief engineer of the Conch says that the explosion of the torpedo flung an enormous stream of burning benzine from end to end of the ship drenching the bridge with the flaming spirit. The engineers kept the engines running in the hope that some means of escape would be found. The burning oil ran out on to the surface of the sea, and it was three hours before the engineers were able to reach the deck. Meanwhile the engines, which were automatically fed with oil, kept going, and the ship moved on like a mass of raging flame, leaving a trail of flame behind it. The Murex, a tank steamer of 3,564 tons, belonging to the same owners as the Conch, is believed to have been sunk on Friday; also the Norwegian steamer Avona (2,895 tons).
BRAVE NAVY MEN.
Rescues From Blazing Oil Ship
LONDON, December 23.
A thrilling story of naval heroism has been revealed in connection with the sinking, early in the present month, of the steamer Conch, by a German submarine. The Conch, which was of 5620 tons, was an oil tank steamer belonging to the Anglo- Saxon Petroleum Company, Limited, and was on the London registry. The ship was struck by the torpedo at 11 p.m-, and the explosion set on fire its cargo of 8,000 tons of benzine. There was a huge conflagration by 3 a.m.., when a British destroyer sighted the blaze. The war craft full speed to the relief, and discovered the petrol ship on fire fore and aft, but with its engines still going at the rate of eight knots an hour. There were 30 men on board, all huddled together, and seemingly doomed. Three large steamers from a quarter of a mile off were watching the terrifying spectacle. They had been there for two hours, and were powerless to help, for benzine was welling out of the hole in the side of the Conch, and the spirit had caused lakes of fire on the sea all around.
Realizing the impossibility of getting alongside, the captain of the destroyer resolved upon a daring expedient, and thrice' placed his vessel right across the bows of the doomed ship. He threw overboard his rafts, lifebelts, buoys, and finally his boats, and shouted to the crew of the Conch to jump for their lives. Many did so, and were saved. Nine men, however, were still left on the blazing ship after two hours of the efforts to rescue them. The flames were now only a few feet off them, and the ship was continuing to lurch along without any one to direct its path in the sea. The destroyer had now not a single bit of life-saving . apparatus left. The warship's captain had a wife and hi first baby boy, two days old, at home; but he went on the bridge and determined to put his ship right alongside the blazing tank vessel even at the risk of his life and the lives of the crew. After 48 -minutes of nerve-racking seamanship. he placed the destroyer gently alongside the Conch, and took off all who remained of the apparently, doomed creatures.
Then tie destroyer safely cleared the derelict, which 10 minutes later disappeared beneath the waves. The chief engineer of the Conch says that the explosion of the torpedo flung an enormous stream of burning benzine from end to end of the ship drenching the bridge with the flaming spirit. The engineers kept the engines running in the hope that some means of escape would be found. The burning oil ran out on to the surface of the sea, and it was three hours before the engineers were able to reach the deck. Meanwhile the engines, which were automatically fed with oil, kept going, and the ship moved on like a mass of raging flame, leaving a trail of flame behind it. The Murex, a tank steamer of 3,564 tons, belonging to the same owners as the Conch, is believed to have been sunk on Friday; also the Norwegian steamer Avona (2,895 tons).
The Herald (Melbourne, Vic) 14-12-1916
WILLIAMSTOWN ENGINEER WAS ON TORPEDOED VESSEL
Ross Stevens, eldest son or Senior- constable I. N. Stevens, or the Williamstown police was fourth engineer on the S.S. Conch (5620 tons), which was recently sunk by a German submarine. The vessel was owned by the British Imperial Oil Company. A cablegram from Constable Stevens to the London agents of the company brought a reply holding out no hope that any of the crew had been saved. Ross Stevens was 23 years old, and held a diploma from the Workingmen's College, Melbourne.
WILLIAMSTOWN ENGINEER WAS ON TORPEDOED VESSEL
Ross Stevens, eldest son or Senior- constable I. N. Stevens, or the Williamstown police was fourth engineer on the S.S. Conch (5620 tons), which was recently sunk by a German submarine. The vessel was owned by the British Imperial Oil Company. A cablegram from Constable Stevens to the London agents of the company brought a reply holding out no hope that any of the crew had been saved. Ross Stevens was 23 years old, and held a diploma from the Workingmen's College, Melbourne.