Laurentic Survivor - Henry Augustus Dent
In a letter written before he died, Dent who was a survivor of the doomed ship and later worked as a diver during salvage operations recounts the horrors of the night.
He recalls it was bitterly cold with rolling black frost. They were to proceed on orders from the S.M.O. to pick up an escort (a destroyer) outside the Lough for the voyage across the Atlantic. On leaving the Lough to pick up their escort SS Laurentic was suddenly hit amidships by a 'Tin Fish' (Torpedo) followed by another on the port side. These were later proved to be mines. There was a huge crash and all the lights went out and engines stopped. This was around 6pm and it was very dark. A snow storm was blasting us with a wind force 12 - Orders were shouted to abandon ship. Out in the open sea Dent recalls in his own words the horrors of the night - here is a short extract:
"We pulled for the light, rowing for all we worth and making good headway. A few minutes later we heard an explosion of the boilers or perhaps it was the magazines as the ship sank. Suddenly someone shouted 'breakers ahead' so we sheared off and that made us all downhearted. It was freezing cold and we rowed until we were exhausted. My hands were bleeding with the strain of trying to row against the strong wind and I didn't realise until later that one of my toes had been crushed. But we all knew that if we fell asleep we would never wake up, so we kept alive by singing " Nellie Dean" and other old favourites. Between songs, flares were sent up, but as the last one petered out there was no sign of rescue."...
Many of the men shivered to death. Dent was lucky to have survived, but 354 of his shipmates either froze to death, drowned or were killed in the explosion.
Paddy Murhy's eye witness account to the disaster recalls...
"It must have been 12 degrees below freezing and around 2 o'clock a trawler came in called The Morning Star with a life boat in tow. It had been taking part in the search, there were 24 bodies on board, only 2 were alive. The deck was a terrible sight. Bodies were piled high, they had a boat in tow and the sailors were sitting in position frozen at the oars"...
The full compelling account is on CD of this dramatic and fateful night. Listen to the voice of Henry Augustus Dent RN, as he recalls the night SS Laurentic sank beneath him, his battle for survival in the lifeboat and his return to the wreck site as a diver working with the Royal Navy during its seven year salvage operation. Also on CD, listen to the voice of Paddy Murphy who recalls the night in 1917 when he watched SS Laurentic slip her moorings in Buncranna, Donegal, in the Republic of Ireland and sail to her doom together with his harrowing account of the search for survivors.
This incredible piece of history is released on CD for the first time and is included in your Share Pack, when you buy a LAURENTIC SHARE . The original interviews were recorded in the 1960s with Ray Cossum co-owner of the Laurentic shipwreck.
There remain 20 gold ingots in the wreck lying Lough Swilly in County Donegal worth an estimated £10m