THE FALABA JUDGMENT

Description

Date: 8 July 1915

Transcript:

THE FALABA JUDGMENT
COURT FINDS DISCIPLINE WAS MAINTAINED AND BOATS NOT ROTTEN.

THE SUBMARINE'S PART

Giving judgment thin morning in the caseof the Falaba, Lord Mersey found that the ship was sunk by a torpedo from a German submarine, and that measures taken for saving life were promptly carried out, and that proper discipline was maintained.

He added that the submarine made no attempt to save life, and that probably it would not have done so without endangering the submarine.

Lord Mersey decided that he was satisfied that the witnesses who described the boats of the Falaba as having been rotten were mistaken, and that damage sustained by some of the boats in launching was not due to any negligence on the part of the officers and crew.

The Explosives on Board.

He was satisfied that when the Falaba started her voyage the boats and life-saving appliances were in good order, and the crew were efficient. The cargo included thirteen tons of cartridges and gunpowder for Government use on the West Coast, but this was not more than was usually carried in peace time.

The Falaba was unarmed. It was uncertain whether the submarine changed her flag to German, or whether the latter was at first mistaken for the British flag. The point was, however, immaterial, since from the first the captain believed the submarine to be an enemy craft. Whether the submarine was within her rights in sinking the Falaba he was not required to state, but he assumed in any event, she was bound to afford men and women a reasonable opportunity of getting into the boats and saving their lives.

Forced to a Grave Conclusion.

This the submarine did not do, and so grossly insufficient was the opportunity afforded that he was driven to conclude that the submarine capta[in desir]ed and designed, not merely to sink the [s]hip, but also to sacrifice the lives of the passengers and crew. There was evidence of the laughing and jeering on the submarine while the passengers were struggling in the water, but on this matter he preferred to keep silence, in the hope that the witness was mistaken.

The boats of the steamship Elmira, a sister ship of the Falaba, and built at the same time, had been examined within the last few days, and were quite sound. He was satisfied [t]hat witnesses who described the Falaba boats as rotten were mistaken, and that the boats were in good order.

The captain, the off[ice]rs, the crew, and the passengers did their very best. The responsibility for the consequence of the catastrophe must rest exclusively with the officers and crew of the German submarine.

Tribute to Brave Rescuers.

The men in the rescuing boats behaved with great courage and kindness, and deserved the highest commendation.

The Court's findings include, in addition to those already stated, that no blame be attributable to the registered manager of the Falaba, the marine superintendent of the company, or to Mr. Baxter, chief officer. His lordship concluded that there had been an allegation that signals were fired from the Falaba intended to call for assistance against the submarine. That allegation was brought to his notice after the evidence was closed, but after careful inquiries he was satisfied that allegation was without foundation.

No signals were fired, and Mr. Baxter made an affidavit to that effect.


Source:
"The Falaba Judgment." The Cambria Daily Leader. 8 July 1915. 1.

• https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4099580/4099581/15/ (link opens in new window)