The Crew Members in Lifeboat Six
This page gives more details about lifeboat 6 mentioned in Adrift for Days .
When the men in lifeboat 6 decided to write a signed message of thanks to Ross Whitemarsh they produced a valuable record of just who was actually in that particular lifeboat. I was so excited to find the message in a book originally published in 1921 and now available online. Books like A history of the transport service: adventures and experiences of United States transports and cruisers in the World War by A Gleaves are wonderful resources which can be used alongside documents to confirm facts and add detail to our ancestors’ stories. I just love reading them. They are such a valuable source. On this occasion I used hathitrust.org to access Gleaves’ book, but I also use archive.org to find books about people and places I am researching. Both sites are well worth exploring.
Gleaves, who appointed Ross Whitemarsh to his role on the Dwinsk, also included the young officer’s full report of the sinking of the ship and the men’s time in the lifeboat in his book. I was amazed by a number of observations Whitemarsh made about the men in the lifeboat and conversations he repeated.[1]
Charles Gregory, the sailor who spoke to the Liverpool Echo on behalf of the others, thought the storm was the worst he had ever encountered and declared:
“If, by having to endure the storm of that night again, the world would give him every luxury known to men for the rest of his life he would refuse. ”
The men in lifeboat were:
T J Richards: seaman USN.
R J Pritchard: first officer.
J J Skilling: chief steward.
E Griffiths: boiler maker.
J J Martin: bar keeper.
C Gregory: linen keeper.
John Jones: greaser.
John Wainwright: donkeyman.
M Keough: fireman.
H Spooner: fireman.
W E Soper: storekeeper.
J Sammut: assistant cook.
J E Mouellec: seaman.
James Pattison: second engineer officer.
James Downie: fourth engineer.
George Fallon: seaman.
Harry Collins: fireman.
James Wright: barkeeper.[2]
References
[1] Gleaves, A. (1921). A history of the transport service: adventures and experiences of United States transports and cruisers in the World War. New York: George H. Doran Company. P.202- 215 https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000403928 : accessed 5 December 2020.
[2] ibid.