FISHERMEN IN WAR TIME 



the two vessels were fishing at a spot near the area 

 in which the trawler Zarina had been blown up some 

 time previously. 



On a Sunday afternoon in April, 1915, the skipper 

 and members of his crew saw a submarine rise to 

 the surface, but keeping her deck awash. The 

 Vanilla had got part of her gear on board, when, 

 without any warning, the submarine discharged a 

 torpedo at her. 



A terrible explosion followed, and the Vanilla was 

 blown to pieces. When the water, which had been 

 raised in a huge mass and spray, had fallen, the 

 horrified watchers saw that the Vanilla had com- 

 pletely disappeared. 



When this happened the skipper of the Fermo 

 and his crew were hauling their gear ; they worked 

 with frantic energy to complete their task, and when 

 it was done and the net was on deck the boat was 

 launched and he put on steam to go to the assist- 

 ance of anyone who might have escaped death from 

 the explosion. 



The Fermo steamed amongst the wreckage, but 

 there was not a sign of any member of the torpedoed 

 trawler's people, nor did the skipper expect to find 

 any survivor of such a catastrophe. All the crew 

 must have been killed instantly. Then, almost 

 alongside his own vessel, the skipper saw another 

 submarine — at one time, he declared, so close to him 

 that he could almost have touched it, and if he had 

 not been so intent on trying to save possible sur- 

 vivors he could easily have rammed the craft. 



78 



