Part 01: Alan Fraser Fry letters, 8th August 1914- 28 January 1917 - Page 49
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[Page 49]
speed ahead, as a final effort I suppose, and again the hawser broke. That was the finish. Nothing more could be done then as the tide was falling fast.
The next idea was to lighten our ship, so the "heads" struck on the idea of throwing coal overboard from the hatches forr'ard. There are 5 Companies on board & each are taking a spell of 1 hour. Ours comes on in about 20 minutes. We are all stripped, the order of the day being, some wearing a worried look, others an round indication disc round their necks, others from swimming costumes to dungaree trousers. It looks very funny, I can tell you, and everyone is happy. There has not been the slightest panic or anything like that, the sea is perfectly calm, and the other transport is just about 100 yards off, so there is no cause for any of you to worry. Any one you see who has sons or relatives on board, you can assure them we are all O.K, and as happy as larks.