大象传媒

This story by courtesy of Captain C.J.Harris, historical correspondent for South African Newspapers

Happy reunion with warship stowaway

Mention in this column (April 4) of a Union-Castle reunion brought me in touch with a Mr Einon Edwards Rees,
holidaying here with his wife from their home in Essex.

Mr Rees joined his first ship, the freighter Roxburgh Castle in 1941 as a deck boy aged 16 and a half.
Sailing for Rio de Janeiro, his first three days were marked by chronic seasickness. In the early morning of
the fourth day his ship was torpedoed. Four boats were successfully launched and the ship sank half a hour
later, bows first, in an almost perpendicular dive.

A little later the U-boat four aces painted on her conning tower - surfaced and came among the boats. Her
commander apologised for sinking them, -- "It's the war you know" - asked if anyone had been hurt (there
were no casualties), dispensed food and water and told them they were about three days sail from Ponta
Delgada in the Azores. He then wished them luck and made off. Whilst in the boats it was the turn of the
rest of the crew to become violently seasick while, much to his surprise, young Rees remained totally
immune even to the extent of adding their meagre rations to his own.

The boats made it safely to shore and landing on shaky legs, The crew were welcomed and treated hospitably
by the Portuguese.

Their stay promised to be a long one, but in the third week HMS Berwell, one of the 50 old four stacker
American destroyers handed to Britain in exchange for naval bases, arrived in port and the survivors
fraternised with her ship's company to the extent of being invited to take passage home with her. This,
however, was against international law.

This fact meant nothing to young Rees and his fellow deck-boy and they stowed away in the destroyer. In this
they were aided and abetted by the crew, although they steadfastly denied any connivance when eventually
hauled before the destroyer's captain a day after sailing. They were put to work and a few days later having
encountered heavy weather, Berwell put in to Londonderry with a heavy list. There followed the usual
immigration formalities and the lads were issued with survivor's certificates and sent home on leave.

His next ship was the Dunottar Castle and on joining her in Liverpool he, quite by chance, encountered the
Roxburgh Castle's crew only then arriving home. From them he learned that his former captain had been hauled
over the coals and severely reprimanded by the Portuguese Governor for allowing the boys to escape.

Einon Rees spent an adventurous period in the Llangibby Castle during the invasion of Sicily. He recalls, as
an Oerlikon gunner, having no proper sleep for months, and nothing at all during the two days they spent off
Sicily. He remained with Union-Castle until 1952 as an able-seaman in the mail ships Winchester Castle and
Stirling Castle along with his brother Evan whose story I hope to tell another time. .

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