H.G.S. Wood - 2nd Officer

The US State Department managed to secure a sworn statement from the Persia's second officer on the 20th of January 1916. It is interesting to note he makes reference to the various members of the gun crew. One of the survivors was a Bombardier Curtis, who figured neither in the passenger list nor in the crew listing in The Times. There was also a Gunner Wellington amongst the survivors.

I, Harold Geoffrey Stephen Wood, of "Westeria," 14 Holmes Road, Twickenham, second officer of the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamship Persia, make oath and say as follows:

I hold a certificate as second mate and have been an Officer in the P. and 0. Company's service since March, 1913. I have been in the Persia since June, 1914.

On the 30th December last I went on watch at noon and found the captain in personal charge of the navigation. There was a seaman on the lookout in the crow's nest, another on the forecastle, and an A. B. and a lascar on duty at their stations, also looking out on the lower cu o u bridge, one on either side in addition to the A. B. with me at the wheel. There were also three of the guns' crew on the poop aft, viz, two A. B.'s aft and one marine gunner.

At 1.10 p. m. Captain Hall was on the lower bridge, and I then saw the wake of a torpedo approaching (four points on the port bow) the ship, a second before she was struck. I had not sighted a submarine myself nor had anything been reported to me nor was any warning given. As soon as the ship was struck I attempted to give the five-blast signal on the whistle which had been agreed upon to order all to their boat stations, but could not work the whistle, as the steam had gone. I then ran down to the lower bridge and asked Captain Hall if I could help with the secret despatches, and he answered, "No; I am attending to them myself; get out the port boats as quickly as possible and look after your passengers." I left the bridge and went aft, as directed, taking my life belt on the way. The Captain had been personally in charge of the navigation all the day directing and verifying the courses and had not, I gather, been down to the Saloon to lunch.

The weather was fine, but the sea was choppy and it would have been difficult to see the periscope of a submarine, although all were on the alert for such a contingency. The torpedo struck the ship on the port side just abaft the forward funnel and probably fractured the bulkhead separating No. 3 hold (one of the largest holds) from the stokehold. After the first explosion caused by the torpedo there almost immediately followed another explosion, and as I saw no second torpedo I concluded one of the boilers had blown up, partly because of the quantity of steam which was rising and for the reason I could not get steam for the whistle, and also from the fracture there was in the deck through which coal and ashes had been blown.

There were 20 boats on the Persia, 10 on either side of the ship, which would accommodate nearly 1,000 people and sufficient, even with the starboard boats out of service, to accommodate all the persons on board.

One of the boats on the port side No. 6 was blown away by the first explosion, but the crew were going to their appointed stations, as prearranged, and when I reached the poop Nos. 14 and 16 boats were already being properly lowered.

I then looked to the two inside boats and found their gripes had been already released so as to enable them to float when the ship went down, so I went over to the starboard side to see if anything could be done to release any of the boats there, and found the third engineer trying to clear away No. 15 starboard boat, which had a number of people in it, but the boat, owing to the ship's list, was caught on the eyebrows of the ports, so I called out to the people in the boat to jump into the water, which was the only thing for them to do.

I saw No. 14 port boat clear, but No. 16 was sunk by the ship's davits cutting it as the vessel went over.

The Persia went down under my feet, and when I got into the water, I saw two empty boats floating with, no-one in them, evidently the inside boats No. 14A and 13A, the gripes of which had been released to admit of their floating when the ship sank. I swam to one of them and just as I got hold of it it turned turtle, and I then went to the other, got into it, and picked up altogether 43 people from the water, subsequently taking five more out of the Chief Officer's boat, which was overloaded.

Everybody behaved exceedingly well, both passengers and crew, and if there had been only a few minutes more time we should have, I believe, saved pretty well everybody on board.

(Signed) H. G. S. WOOD, 2nd Officer.

Sworn by the above named Harold Geoffrey Stephen Wood at No. 122 Leadenhall Street, in the city of Lon-don, this twentieth clay of January, 1916, Before me. (Signed) JOHN A. DONNISON, A Commissioner iar Oaths.