Evening star., 1940-04-22

locked to port, so for over a mile
we carried on the way we had on the
ship. We were going at practically
full speed, over 80 knots, when a
shell hit us and we made for the
beach, sticking fast in mud. We
wanted to fight, but could do
nothing indeed. The after guns con-
tinued firing after we grounded. We
struck shore very gently. 1t was
about then that the Hunter was
hit. She had lost our smoke screen
as We slowed to the beach and a
salvo got her. She sank.
Only then did we get orders to
abandon ship. Our second in COM
mand, 1t. Comdr. Mansell, who had
been below, issued the order. 1t.
Heppell, who became the hero of
the Hardy for his exploits, trained
our last torpedo to sea and fired it,
but am afraid it went wide because
of our position in shallow water.
We had to swim SO yards in ice
cold water to get to shore, and I
was preparing to leave when I saw
a movement on the bridge, where
Paymaster Staining had been. He
called for help and I sent four men
up to put life belt on him and float
him ashore. He died on the beach
We got the captain ashore after the
surgeon, who had been hit himself,
had been up on the bridge to give
him morphia. The surgeon swan
with him in water as we floated him
in a life belt and as he lay on the
beach his last words were, Swim,
lads. swim"
We had been fighting two hours
when at Sis am. we abandoned
ship. was finally leaving and was,
in fact, going over the side when I
saw the navigator whom we had
thought dead struggling from the
bridge. Later I brought q party
back for him.
When I did leave I was pretty
weak. I Skinned down q rope. The
cold water revived me and I just
made the beach. Plain to see in the
snow was trail of blood and I fol-
lowed it to Norwegian wooden
house occupied by woman and her
young daughter.
100 Crammed Into House.
When I got there 100 men were
crammed into house. 1t was an
astounding sight. Then the men
took off their clothing and while it
was being dried, an alarm came
that strong force OF Germans were
on the way to trap us.
Ne one knows where the alarm
came from. 1t is a mystery. We
were wearing bits of carpet, cur
tains, sheets, women's clothing and
even womens underwear, but we had
to leave.
I shall never forget the generosity
of those two women. They stripped
every stitch of clothing from their
own backs save their outside dresses
SO we might have something to pro-
tect us from the terrible cold after
our icy swim. So it was with all we
met. Girls gave us their stockings,
CVSAA tAAGA COA oCOoy w AAClP No OlA Jul
way. We had lost our boots when
we went over side, so those whose
feet were frostbitten had to make
impromptu sandals out of life belts.
So we got to Ballenger on the
other side of the bay, where we
were joined by SO Of the merchant
men who had escaped when the
attack opened.
They forced their tea upon US
and gave us hot soup, little Nor
wegian girls looking like angels as
they waited on us. Our boys did
not wish to take tea because it is so
expensive there and asked for coffee,
but tea they had to have.
On Thursday after q nights sleep
1t. Heppell tried to find out if
Trondheim was in French or Ger
man hands. He got through and
was told the French were thsrs.