HMS Tara

HMS Tara

Whilst Athol was starting out with the newly formed Imperial Camel Corps, another story was unfolding in the Western Desert. Eventually the stories of the Tara and Athol link up in March 1916, so I thought it would be best to tell the tale of the Tara here.

The place names are tricky so this map may make it a little easier to follow.

Map of Western Egypt

Map reference: http://www.nam.ac.uk/microsites/ww1/stories/private-william-bowyer/#.Vsam5pN97Vo

Originally from 'The Time History of the War - Vol.9, 1916'

Turks, Italians, Germans, the British and Libya

During the early stages of the War, the British and Egyptians held the western Mediterranean coast of Egypt from Alexandria west to the border with Libya. Across the border, Libya was occupied by Turks and their ally the Senoussi. Prior to the Turks, the Italians were the dominant force in Libya as they had invaded her in 1911. Since then, in an effort to expel the Italians, the Senussi, supported by the Turks, waged a steady campaign. By 1914 the Senussi were camped on the Libyan border with Egypt, only two miles from Sollum. Initially, the Senussi were on reasonable terms with the British but when the allies landed on Gallipoli attacking Turkey, the Senoussi’s ally, the tables turned. Italy, long-time foe of the Senoussi, had also come into the war on the British side further entrenching the Senoussi position. Adding to their capability, the Senoussi were receiving funds, guns and ammunition from Germany and Turkey.

Sollum on the far west coast of Egypt

Senoussi success in the Western Desert

By November of 1915, the Senoussi had crossed over the Libya/Egypt border and were attacking the British outposts along the western Mediterranean coast of Egypt including Sollum and Sidi Birrani. The Senoussi fighters were capably led by Turkish military officers and the Grand Senoussi himself (grandson of the founder of the sect). They were practiced fighters with a vital knowledge of the difficult terrain including the location of desert wells and cisterns.

The Grand Sanussi

German U-Boat attacks

At sea, off the Western Frontier coast, German U-Boats were hunting down RN ships, transports and cargo vessels with great efficiency.

German Navy U-Boat U-35 which sank the HMS Tara

Image ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SM_U_35_mediterranean_800px.jpg

On 5 November 1915 a German U-Boat sank HMS Tara and two days later HMT Moorina. The Tara had been important for the garrison force stationed at Sollum. Later that same month, the same U-Boat shelled the port settlement of Sollum itself and two Egyptian coast-guard ships at anchor in the bay. The British were caught off guard. The telegraph line had been cut during the raid so news of the attack on Sollum was delayed for a day. When the news did get through to Army headquarters, it caused a stir in Alexandria and London. All the British forces were withdrawn from Sollum, Sidi Birrani and other western frontier garrisons back to Mersa Matruh. By late December the Senussi were only 8 miles from Mersa Matruh and a serious threat.

In late January, the Western Frontier Force commander, Major General A. Wallace, retired due to age and ill health. On 10 February he was replaced by Major General W. E. Peyton. If the British were to turn back the Senoussi and regain the coastal towns, telegraph line, rail line and protect the strategic assets to the East (Cairo, the Nile and Suez), Peyton had a lot of work ahead of him. Adding to the complexity was the Winter rainy season bringing mud and very difficult conditions along the coastal strip.

HMS Tara sunk

At this point I will go back to the sinking of the HMS Tara as, in a round-about way that story involves, in small part, Athol’s camel corps.

HMS Tara

Reference image: http://www.anglesey.info/hms%20_tara.htm

HMS Tara was originally named SS Hibernia. In 1914, she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and refitted so she could be put into service as an Armed Boarding Steamer. Most of the pre-war crew remained on the ship after she was requisitioned and some Royal Navy crew were added together with some reservists. The 104 crew were led by Captain Edward Butler Tanner (Master) and Captain R S Gwatkin-Williams, RN. In November 1915 Tara was stationed in the Mediterranean off the coast of north west Egypt.

The Tara had orders to call in to the tiny Egyptian town of Sollum daily so that, should the garrison be overrun (which is eventually was), the British troops would be able to retreat into the sea and the waiting Tara.

Whilst undertaking these duties, on 5 November 1915, HMS Tara was torpedoed by U-35, a German Navy U-Boat. At 10:10am that morning HMS Tara was quite close to shore and the crew could see the town of Sollum. Although there was a very successful U-Boat campaign against the British navy, merchant-men and troopships, the Tara crew believed they were in relatively safe waters as there was no cargo shipping in that area nor were they near an important sea-lane. To his surprise, one crew member spotted an unmistakable straight, white, frothy torpedo line rapidly heading towards the starboard beam. After the call went out a number of the crew also saw the dreadful sight. The ship sank in about 8 minutes but, before she succumbed, three lifeboats were got away thereby saving most of the crew. Before she sank the radio operators tried to send off an SOS but the aerial was smashed and no signal was emitted. When the U-boat briefly showed its periscope the gunners greeted it with 8 shots from its 6-pounder. None found their mark and the periscope dropped under the surface. Most of the engine room crew went down with the ship. Captain R. S. Gwatkin-Williams, RN, was on board the Tara as it sank but managed to swim out from under the bridge-awning and up to the surface. He survived with only a gash on his nose, a bruised leg and a broken watch. Captain Tanner also survived, as did Paddy the ship’s dog. The Tara sank about 8 minutes after being hit.

Twelve of the crew died that day and the remaining 92 survivors, started to row towards shore and tried to treat and comfort the injured. One of the surviving crew, a stoker, was aged nearly 70. His son, a gunner McKinven from Arglyeshire was unable to swim and chose to stay with his gun and go down with the Tara.

Towed to Libya

Not long after the Tara sank and the last survivors were collected, those with oars started to row for Sollum. But the U-Boat re-surfaced and her crew came out on deck heavily armed. The Tara men were ordered to get in tow and about 20 were taken prisoner aboard U-35. With row boats dragging behind, U-35 made for the Turkish controlled Libyan Port, Bardia, just across the Egyptian border. The prisoners were handed over to the Turks and eventually the Turks handed them on to their allies the Senussi.

On 7 November 1915, the same German Navy U-Boat, U-35, sank the British cargo ship HMT Moorina (an Indian horse transport) when it was 194km south of Crete, Greece. The crew survived but the 100s of horses went down with the ship as they were trapped in their stalls. The crew comprised of a Lieut. T Apear of a Lancer regiment, a Mr Coalstead, the Moorina’s cook, and about 30 Indian crew. The non-Indian crew of the Moorina were also taken to Bardia and joined the Taras in the Libyan desert as captives.

HMT Moorina

The Moorina was originally a German vessel named Thuringen. She was captured on 27 August 1914 by the Australian Navy off the island of Rottnest not far from Perth, Western Australia. Assessed by the WA Prize Court as being a prize ship, she was handed over to the British Admiralty. The cargo became crown property and forwarded to consignees. The Admiralty leased the ship to the Indian Government who used it as horse transport vessel. The crew remained interned at Rottnest Island until late 1915 whereupon they were transferred to Holdsworthy army barracks in Sydney.

German U-Boat Ace, Captain de la Periere

Image ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lothar_von_Arnauld_de_la_Peri%C3%A8re

U-35 was the most successful German Navy submarine sinking 224 ships including Moorina and Tara. Most of these hits were claimed by its captain, Lothar von Arnauld de la Periere, who commanded U-35 when it sank 195 ships. He was careful to follow prize rules and allowed crews to board their lifeboats and gave them directions to the nearest port before sinking their ships. This was certainly the case with both the Tara and Moorina.

Trek in the Desert

The crews of both ships were marched from the Libyan coast for three weeks into a camp in the Libyan desert. This was an terrible journey. Most of the trek was through very inhospitable, hot, rocky country. The men were ill-equipped as they only had the clothing they wore when they were torpedoed on 5 November. Many had no shoes and were very exposed to the harsh sun. They quickly became malnourished with scant provisions available during their trek. Any water given to the prisoners was contaminated and in small quantities. The men were unable to wash and suffered illness including dysentery. Many carried injuries inflicted during the sinking of their ships. They also suffered the irritations of lice, ticks and other vermin. They slept in the open which was cold as soon as the sun went down.

Desert Camp

After the three week trek across the desert, on 26 November 1915, the captives arrived at their destination, Bir Hakkim. It was a barren site with not much more than a well and the remains of an ancient Ottoman fort. An African man, his wife and family lived at this outpost. Bir Hakkim was not on any maps and was given various names which also added to the confusion. It could be known as Bir Hakkim Abbyat or El Hakkim. As it turned out the camp was about 115 miles south-west of Sollum in the Libyan interior. The Captain, Gwatkin-Williams, had a rough idea of their location as he was familiar with navigating by the stars – of which there are many in the desert at night.

Bir Hakkim in more recent times

Image ref: http://en.tracesofwar.com/article/52106/Fort-Bir-Hakeim.htm

At Bir Hakkim, the men arranged stones into makeshift walls and the fragments of Arab tents to create some shelter. They were held captive in this place until mid-March 1916.

Their diet was rice for each meal. Sometimes this was replaced with barley-flour which the men mixed with a little water then patted out into flat discs and roasted on heated stones to make an unleavened bread. They also roasted snails which were abundant in the area and, after a young camel died after drowning in the well, they hauled it out and ate it over the course of a few days. Sometimes a goat was killed and what little meat it provided shared among the men. Apparently, even to the starving Taras, the camel meat was disgusting whether roasted, boiled, fried or stewed alone or with the snails.

It seemed that the caravans with the supplies for the prisoners came from what was by then Senussi held Sollum. One caravan from Sollum reached the prisoner camp at Bir Hakkim on 22 December. On December 23 it rained for 5 hours – both men and tents were soaked. On Christmas day the Arab guards distributed a double handful of white beans (for the nearly 100 prisoners) to add to their rations. They made a soup with a little goat, rice and beans. This was the most nutritious meal for weeks.

In early January more rains and some hail and a gale swept down on the shabby camp. The men were quite weak and their exposure to the cold and damp led to the deaths of a boilermaker on 5 January 1916 and an Able Seaman on 10 January 1916.

On 12 January 1916 one of the guards was sent to Sollum for supplies. A small caravan returned on 17 January and each man was supplied with a small piece of soap. This was the first soap for two months and very welcome. It was about this time that the men received news that Sollum had been re-taken by the British. This was both good news but also worrying as Sollum was the source of supplies for the starving prisoners.

On 18 January more rain fell on the area and the road to Sollum was cut. Fortunately, a camel caravan arrived just before the rain with much needed 12 bags of rice.

28 January saw the death of Chief Engineer, Mr Williams. He had lost his glasses when the Tara went down so his life was very difficult in captivity and he had suffered six weeks of dysentery.

On 20 February 1916 Captain Gwatkin-Williams made a bid for freedom. He tried to reach the British lines but was captured and brought back to the camp on 29 February. On his return he was beaten by the guards with fists, rifle buts and an elephant whip and left in the sheep-pen that night.

The captain survived, but in March the rations were further reduced and they were all becoming very weak and many bed-ridden. They were concerned their guards might force them to march further into the desert – perhaps to Siwa, the Senoussi stronghold. They knew that many would not survive another trek. On 15 March there was no food except a little meat. The men fainted through weakness when forced to any exertion.

By 17 March only a little meat was available for each man and no rice. The day started much the same as all the other days they endured in captivity. The Captain started the usual diary entry but that afternoon, at about 3pm, his writing breaks up mid-sentence. There was a commotion, the guards had taken up their rifles – perhaps a caravan was approaching. But no – someone yelled out ‘There’s a motor car coming!’.

The story continues in the blog post to be uploaded on 17 March 2016.