Evening star., 1939-06-07
Thetis Aftermath
Brings Demand That
Stanhope Resign
Admiralty Chief Failed
To Show Leadership,
Says London Paper
BY the Associated Press.

Daily Express today called for the
resignation of Earl Stanhope, first
lord of the admiralty, in connection
with the sinking of the submarine
Thetis.
ut is the opinion of the Daily
Express that Lord Stanhope has
failed to give the leadership which
the country demands of its minis
ters," the newspaper declared.
He should have flown to the scene
OF the Thetis disaster to take COM
mand OF the situation as we'll as to
voice the sympathy of the nation"
The new submarine Thetis sank
last Thursday in Liverpool Bay with
loss OF 80 Of the 103 men aboard.
Explanation Given Lords.
Lord Stanhope told the House of
Lords yesterday the public had not
realized the difficulties of rescue
work and said fast shifting tides
made it impossible for divers to
work efficiently around the sunken
craft.
Swollen by gifts from King George
vi and others of the royal family. a
fund for relatives of the Thetis dead
reached about 100000 today. The
Kings contribution was the equiva-
lent of S468.
Stoker W. c. Arnold, one of four
men who escaped from the Thetis
through use of Davis lungs, gave
in an interview the first detailed
public account of the reaction of
the doomed crew and passengers.
They were all calm and we all
felt sure we should get to the top
ourselves within few hours
Arnold said bulkhead doors were
closed with difficulty as water poured
in from an open torpedo tube on
the fatal dive. He said all aboard,
from the highest naval experts to
the lowest civilian, joined in dis
cusslng means of delivery.
Decided to Quit Ship.
II was decided to abandon ship
after three officers and a crew
member tried to enter the flooded
compartment but could not because
OF the pressure. Arnold told how
Capt. H. P. K. Dram and 1t. G.. F..
Woods entered the escape chamber
and how the others knew they had
gone up when they saw daylight
shining in the water of the cham
Der.
Arnold and Frank Shaw, builders
representative followed.
Il am not going to talk about any
thing that happened during the
night" Arnold said. 1--WE got out
and felt sure the others would fol-
low us at frequent intervals. 1 can
not tell you how I felt when they
did not"
When he left the Thetis, some 20
hours after the dive, the air was
understandable" and, Arnold added.
mo one will ever know" whether
the condition of the air was what
prevented others from using the
escape apparatus.
Tribute Paid to 80.
The Archbishop of Canterbury in
single, solemn phrase, Their
homeland will ever remember
them" led Great Britain in a land
and sea tribute today to the SO VIC
TINS of the Thetis submarine dis
aster.
The primate spoke at St. Martin S
in the FIELDS, the admiralty church
in London.
In Liverpool Bay, over the SUBJ
marines sea grave. sobbing widows
and fatherless children cast 400
wreaths upon the water.
The minesweeper Hebe, her decks
piled high with flowers, headed a
procession OF naval ships out from
Birkenhead to the spot where the
Thetis went down on a trial run a
week ago. The submarine Cachalot
was among them.
Thousands Crowd Waterfront.
Stoker William Arnold, u, one of
the four survivors, sat stiffly in the
stern of the Hebe. In his arms was
month-old Allan Yates, the only
son of Arnold's shipmate and best
friend, who died on the Thetis.
Silent thousands, massed along
the waterfront, barred their heads as
the ships passed.
A 5-foot anchor of cornfiowers In
a frame of laurel wreaths was the
British admiralty's tribute. Large
wreaths also were sent by the United
States and Brazilian Embassies and
the French Navy
There were services also at Bir-
kenhead, where the Thetis was built
today a silent, subdued town-and
at the navy ports of Portsmouth
Devonport and Chatham.