The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1953-09-22
Gales From Hurricane Edna
Cause Damage In Britain

I LONDON w-Gales up 10 q
milsa 81 hour kept TIE eastern
Atlantic boiling today and spread
q tran oi damage across the
British Isles.
H0meb0und American tourists
aboard the liner lie De France saw
. thrll.paeked reseue Of "A seamen
from the stricken e.sZ3 ton Liber.
ian freiEhter Creenville. one man
was lost and the body Of another
vas left aboard the sinking ship
In British waters. Q lifsboal
plncked seven men 10 safety from
a sinking lightship. And = one
legged yaehtsman swan four miles
10 safety. pushing his artificial leg
before him on q mattress.
The ue de France. bound for
New YORK.. reported she had %
issue an abandon ship or NE
leave you" ultimatum 20 The skip
per Of the I1berian freighser 100
niles of the West Coast Of Ems
lard.
Radio messages 10 The Coast
Guard built up this picture Of the
rescue:
The GFesnyills lay practically on
her side, wall0wiAg out Of control
In waves 600 feet high.
Her liieboass were smashed and
her superstructuro crushed.
Despite angry protests from his
crew, the captain al first refused
10 abandon ship.
Then came the ultimatum from
the lie de France.
Volunteers from the liners crew
manned lifeboats 10 ferry the
GFeenvllle men 10 safety. one Of
the latter slipped - be vas being
hauled aboard and disappeared In
The swlFling seas.
The liners doctors rushed the
"a survivors 10 the les infirmary.
Three we're injured.
The GFeenville. the French ship
reported. looked certain 10 sink
within hours. sun lashed 10 her
wheel was the body Of an officer
killed Sunday In trying 10 repair
tie steering gear.
The liner vas the waterlogged
'lightship off 81. Gowans Head. In
southern Wales al the entrance 10
the Bristol Channel. Her light,
warning against q sandbank. still
glared into the night as . lifeboat
rescued her seven exhausted crew
men.
The eldest survivor story came
from ai-year.old Douglas Prealand,
whose lstoOs sIoop Sweet Witch"
eapsised In the Thames Estuary.
presland lost q les as q war.
time bomber plot This was his
tale:
Il take the LEG off when I'm
sailing because Il gets in the way.
When the boat went over, I got an
air mattress from the locker and
tied the LEG TO II. Then ! started
10 swim for shore.
1T took three hours. Next I
had 10 DRAG the mattress over a
mile Of mud fats. After the mud
was another mile Of saltings tide.
flooded landsl. I tried putting the
LEG on but Il kept coming of. So
i Just kept crawling"
The big blow troubled big and
little ships alike.
The giant liner United States.
due In lie Havre today, reported
one seaman with q broken lee and
many bruise eases among her
/ 500 passengers.
The Queen Elizabeth spent the
night At anchor off the Isle Of
wight. Her captain hoped 10 be
able 10 dock later today.
The seton french trawler Anne
Gasson was reported aground off
the Irish coast She reported one
erewmaa was washed overheard.
Inland. the winds tore away hun.
.dreds Of British roofs and blew q
five.ton truck off . South wales
mounsainside. killing the driver.
Weathermen said the storms had
started out as hurricane Edna.
which NE Bermuda late las, week.
They predicted the gales would let
up tomorrow.