SS City of Cairo - Rescue

Rescue

Three of the boats, consisting of the Master and 154 survivors were eventually rescued on the morning of 19 November, by the SS Clan Alpine, en route to St Helena. The survivors reported that there were three other boats at sea, but by now were unsure where they were. After fruitless searches the Clan Alpine landed the survivors at St Helena, though more would die after being transferred to the hospital. Later in the evening of 19 November another boat with 47 survivors was rescued by the SS Bendoran, and taken to Cape Town. These four boats had been at sea for 13 days before being rescued. Of those picked up, one man later died aboard the Bendoran, two aboard the Clan Alpine, and another four died in hospital in St Helena.

One boat with 17 people on board, having not sighted St Helena by 23 November, decided that they must have overshot it. Several of the occupants were already dead and rather than trying to search the area for the island, decided to head west to the coast of South America 1,500 miles (2,400 km) to the west. On 27 December, after a voyage of 51 days, only two survivors, the City of Cairo’s third officer and a female passenger, remained alive when their boat was spotted and picked up by Brazilian Navy minelayer Caravelas. They had got within 80 miles (130 km) of the Brazilian coast and were landed at Recife. The third officer was awarded the MBE and was repatriated on the SS City of Pretoria. He was killed when the City of Pretoria was torpedoed and sunk by U-172 on 4 March, 1943. The female survivor, Margaret Gordon, was awarded the BEM and refused to cross the Atlantic until the war was over.

Another three survivors were picked up by the German merchant and blockade runner Rhakotis, which was travelling from Japan to Bordeaux, on 12 December, 1942. They had spent 36 days at sea. One of the survivors then died aboard the Rhakotis. The Rhakotis was intercepted by the cruiser HMS Scylla on 1 January 1943, who torpedoed and sank the merchant off Cape Finisterre. The two remaining survivors from the City of Cairo managed to make it into different lifeboats and survive their second sinking. One was picked up the next day by U-410 and landed at Saint-Nazaire three days later. The submarine was almost destroyed en route, when she was detected and attacked by British bombers. The other City of Cairo survivor's lifeboat eventually landed in Spain.

Out of a total of 311 people aboard the City of Cairo 104 had died, including 79 crew members, three gunners and 22 passengers, with 207 surviving. Six are known to have died in the sinking, 90 in the boats, and seven after being rescued. Some of the names of those lost are inscribed on the Tower Hill Memorial.