Sinking of the SS Caribou
The night of October 13, 1942 the SS Caribou left Sydney, Nova Scotia bound for Port aux Basque, Newfoundland. It was to be the last voyage the passenger ferry ever made. In the early morning hours of October 14 the vessel -- filled with military personnel, families and children — was hit by a torpedo.
It was wartime and travelling the gulf between the two provinces came with risk. In a bid to ensure safety, the Caribou began sailing as part of a nighttime convoy, along with a minesweeper (HMCS Grandmère). Aboard the ferry were 46 crew members and 191 passengers -- a mixture of civilians and military personnel.
Despite the protection of the convoy, about 60km southwest of Port aux Basque at 3:51am NST, a German submarine (U-69) surfaced and launched a torpedo at the ferry. There was an explosion, followed by fire and a series of smaller explosions. Panicked, passengers ran from their cabins. According to an account by survivor Lorenzo Gosse of Grand Falls it was a horrific sight:
“People, not knowing where their life boats were, not even knowing how to reach the deck, surged about. They ran into each other; they fell over broken furniture, glass or scattered suitcases and soldiers kits. Some reached the deck. Cries of those facing death in the darkness seemed to come from all sections striking terror to nearly everyone.”
It took about 5 minutes for the boat to sink but many of the passengers who survived the initial attack were left floating in the cold Atlantic. It would be hours before they were rescued. (Continued below)
Margaret Brooke & the SS Caribou
Margaret Brooke grew up a long way from Port aux Basque. She was from rural Saskatchewan. In the 1930s Brooke left home to pursue education, becoming a certified dietitian. When war broke out she decided to serve and enrolled in the Royal Canadian Navy, as dietitian wasn’t a naval category she was made a ‘nursing sister’.
Brooke was stationed in St. John’s and on October 14, 1942 was a passenger on the SS Caribou. On the night of the Caribou’s last voyage, Brooke was accompanied by her friend, and co-nursing sister, Agnes Wilkie. Brooke wrote a letter about her ordeal.
When the Caribou was struck by a torpedo, Brooke and Wilkie put on their life vests and headed to the deck where they encountered a terrified mob. Nearly before they realized what was happening the Caribou sunk — pulling them under with them.
Miraculously, the nursing sisters managed to resurface. They clung to debris, finally making their way to a capsized lifeboat. Wilkie began to feel the effects of hypothermia. She passed out. Brooke managed to keep Wilkie on the lifeboat until daybreak but, sadly, a wave swept Wilkie into the ocean.
For her efforts trying to save Wilkie, Brooke was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). Her citation read “For gallantry and courage. After the sinking of the Newfoundland Ferry S.S. Caribou, this Officer displayed great courage whilst in the water in attempting to save the life of another Nursing Sister.”
After her experience on the SS Caribou, Brooke earned a PhD in palaeontology. On her hundredth birthday she was informed that a Canadian and Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship would be named in her honour. The HMCS Margaret Brooke was launched on November 10th, 2019.
On January 9, 2016, at 100 years-old Margaret Brooke died. She will always be remembered as a war hero.
Margaret Brooke's story has been told many times since 1942. One particularly interesting version can be found here in a brief historical panel comic.
After the torpedo
After the torpedoing, the HMCS Grandmere spotted and pursued the submarine. It dropped several depth charges but to no avail -- the submarine escaped. The Grandmère returned to the site of the sinking and began picking up survivors. 57 military personnel, 49 civilians and 31 crew members died in the attack. Among the civilians were children.
Port aux Basques, the Caribou's home port in Newfoundland, was particularly hard hit by the tragedy. 38 citizens died and many bodies were never recovered.
Headline of The Western Star, October 23, 1942
The few bodies that were found were brought back to Port aux Basque. At the time, The Western Star described the sadness of the scene, taking time to describe the nail polish on the toes of one of the little girls who drowned. Nail polish is a little detail, but not an inconsequential one. Its a reminder that this girl was not so different from the children in our lives today -- she was on an adventure with her family, taking a ferry to Canada when her life was cut short in a horrific, violent and terrifying way. She was real person who, if not for the events on October 14, 1942, might still be alive today.
Legacy of the SS Caribou
In 1986 the SS Caribou was remembered with a new Newfoundland/Canada ferry -- the MV Caribou. A much larger vessel than the SS Caribou, the MV Caribou could carry 1200 passengers and cross the gulf between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in just about 5 1/2 hours. On its inaugural voyage, the MV Caribou paused near the site of the sinking of the SS Caribou and a wreath was thrown into the sea.
The MV Caribou continued sailing between the two provinces until November 2010, when it was retired, sold and eventually scrapped.
What happened to the submarine?
After the sinking of the Caribou the German submarine U-69 made another attack before leaving Newfoundland.
On October 20, 1942 it fired on an ore carrier travelling from Bell Island to Sydney. The ore carrier escaped the attack.
Submarine U-69 was destroyed east of Newfoundland on February, 17 1943 by a British destroyer.
The entire submarine crew died.
