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An Interview With A Survivor Of The S.S. Caribou
My Grandfather - Hedley Lake
My Grandfather - Hedley Lake
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Q: How old were you at the time of the disaster?
A: I was 24 years old.
Q: What was the weather like?
A: Fair to moderate.
Q: Was it daytime or nighttime when the disaster occurred?
A: It was nighttime, about 3:00 am on October 14, 1942.
Q: Why were you travelling on the S.S. Caribou at that time?
A: It was during World War II and I was on my way home on leave from Alexandra, Egypt, where I was enrolled in the Royal Navy, serving on a Corvette, the Hyacianth, for two years. I joined the battleship Queen Elizabeth enroute to Norfolk, Virginia. There were five or six of us Newfoundlanders on board, so we left there on train for New York. While in New York, I met my friend Mack Piercey, also a Navy seaman from Fortune. We stayed in New York for two or three days, then left for North Sydney by train, where we joined the S.S. Caribou, enroute to Port aux Basques.
Q: What time did you board the ship?
A: We boarded the ship October 13, 1942.
Q: Where were you when the Torpedo hit?
A: I was sound asleep in my berth in the steerage.
Q: How long did it take you to get out?
A: It took me about two or three minutes. Everything was dark and I knew I had to move fast, because I realized by the sound of the explosion that we were torpedoed. There was nothing only darkness. I took my life jacket in my hand and felt for the door. I was lucky to get out because by this time she was on her side. So I swam straight out of her.
Q: What time did the ship go down?
A: The ship went down less than 10 minutes after she was hit. I was only about 50 feet from the ship when she tipped forward. I was so close that I had to look up at the ship because the stern, with its propellers, was sticking up out of the water and a lot of the people were on the stern. She tipped forward and went down, bow first, very quickly. Right after that there was a big explosion.
Q: How long were you in the water?
A: I was swimming about three or four hours in Cabot Strait. When daylight broke, I saw an object in the water. Thinking it was a drum, or something else from the ship, I began to swim towards it. As I swam closer, I realized it was a life raft full of people.
Q: Was there room on the raft for you?
A: The raft was full so I had to sit on the edge because the raft was underwater and the people on the raft were up to their waist in water.
Q: Were there any women and children on the raft?
A: Yes. There were a couple of women and a couple of children on the raft.
Q: How long were you on the raft and were you cold?
A: I was on the raft about an hour when we saw a ship coming towards us. It was a Canadian Corvette - I can't remember the name of her now. She took us back to North Sydney. I found it colder on the raft than I did in the water because while I was swimming, I kept myself warm. On the raft there wasn't much room to even beat ourselves warm.
Q: Did everyone on the raft survive?
A: They found all survivors on our raft and took us back to North Sydney, but I found out later that one of the women on our raft died.
Q: Did your friend, Mack, survive?
A: Yes, thank God, he did. I inquired after I got picked up about my friend Mack and I was told that he was picked up by another ship, but it was quite a while before we got together again.
Q: I imagine you must have lost everything?
A: Yes. I had many souvenirs from other countries. I lost all of my clothes, including my uniform which I wore with pride. Actually I lost everything except my life.
Q: How many people besides you were saved?
A: There were 100 people besides me that were saved.
Q: How long were you in North Sydney after you were saved?
A: We were in Sydney for seven days, since we lost everything, we had to get new uniforms before we could come across to Port aux Basques on the S.S. Burgeo.
Q: How soon after did you return to your duties in the Royal Navy?
A: I went back to New York and joined a Landing Craft, HMS LST 303, 28 days later, and went back to the Mediterranean again.
Hedley Lake
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Miss Teen Southern Nfld. Pageant / Fortune Volunteer Fire Department / Harbour Authority of Fortune