BX April 3, 1916
Arrived at Halifax
Mr. T.L. Wood this morning received a wire from his son Lloyd Paterson Wood, from Halifax, stating that he had just arrived there yesterday after a rough voyage from Gibraltar. About a month ago, Mr. Wood who is in the wireless service wrote home to the effect that he was in Egypt and expected to leave shortly for a trip across the Atlantic. His many friends will be pleased to hear of his safe arrival, although he may have to return at any minute.
BX March 9, 1916
Interesting Trip On Provision Ship – Lloyd Wood Tells of Trip From Halifax N.S., To Alexandria, Egypt – Some Incidents – Saw Destroyers Chasing a Submarine and English Troops Land in Egypt – Hit Hard by a Storm on Way Over
Mr. and Mrs. T.L. Wood were much relieved yesterday to receive a letter from their son, Lloyd, wireless operator on board the transport Parcel, which sailed from St. John, N.B., on Dec. 18 last with a load of provisions. The boat was originally intended to go to Havre, France, but on the last day of the old year she was disabled by a storm and was landed at Falmouth, England, and lay there for three weeks undergoing repairs having been damaged to the extent of $10,000. It was then ordered to proceed to Alexandria, Egypt and as Lloyd had not been heard from since Jan. 16 his parents were naturally anxious about him. The following extracts from his letter may be of interest to his friends in the city.
February 5, 1916
We arrived in Alexandria at daybreak this morning and are anchored out in the harbor, which is filled with ships of all kinds. I expect there will be quite a bit of delay in getting a berth to discharge along side, so we may have to wait quite a while. We have had a lot of Egyptians on board this morning and they are funny looking fellows. Most of them wear skirts, but some wear big baggy trousers. Some sell fruit, others have boats to hire, others are laundry agents, guides and so forth, also two barbers, who have all their tools with them ready to cut your hair and any place you may want to sit down and have it done.
The big troop ship Caledonia just passed us with a couple of thousand troops on board, supposedly from England. It is just moderately warm today with a little rain falling at intervals and just about like Ontario weather in June. The time here is two hours farther than Greenwich, so I am seven hours ahead of you. The captain had just arrived from shore with the news that we are to go to Saloniki. We have to discharge one half of our cargo here and one half at Saloniki, but they have not decided yet where we will unload first. A ship is due very shortly with a quantity of gasoline in cases for Saloniki and we are to take some of this over. This means it will be farther on in the future than ever as to when we shall get back to Canada.
Just heard last night by wireless that the Parliament buildings at Ottawa were burning down. It will be a big loss to Canada.
We left Falmouth on Jan. 21 and had a fine run across the Bay of Biscay, passed through the Straits of Gibraltar on Jan. 26 and we reached Malta on Jan. 29. We did not stop at Gibraltar, but came right on through, as we had got our orders by wireless which route to follow. I could not see very much of the famous rock as it was just after dark but searchlights were playing over the channel from different points and destroyers chasing around to see that nobody sneaks through without authority. We saw many ships between Gibraltar and Malta and I counted 11 at one time, one a big hospital ship going east for more patients, I suppose. She was painted white with three big red crosses on each side, which are lighted up at night. We passed through the most dangerous part of the Mediterranean, as it was this route that the Persia and most of the others ships have been sunk.
We had several lookouts on duty and a gun ready and one of the gunners standing by it all the time. I was on special watch while in the Mediterranean, which allowed me about four hours sleep at a time. At night we ran with all lights carefully covered, so as to not give ourselves away.
I am looking forward to having a good time looking around this part of Egypt, as we will no doubt, be here some time. I have no idea where we are going when we unload, but possibly back to England or direct to Halifax from Gibraltar, as this is the route our boat took the last time, but there are lots of other places we may have to go to, so we shall just wait and see what happens. I have seen a lot of interesting things and some rather exciting, including destroyers chasing and firing on a submarine, but as this letter is no doubt to be censored, these things will have to wait until I get back to Canada. My health continues to be perfect. I never felt better and have not had the slightest tendency to be seasick since leaving Canada, so I am getting on to where I can claim to be a regular old salt.
We keep in touch with the outside world, and I issue our daily Times every morning, including Sunday. We have heard all about the various aeroplane and Zepp raids on the east coast and Paris the last few days. I am getting a great bunch of travelling, am I not? By the time we get back to Canada, if we are sent there, navigation will be opened in the St. Lawrence and we will likely be going up to Montreal. So far as I know this is the only ship of the half dozen that got operators in Halifax that went farther than France, and I must say that I am glad I got this one, for we are making quite a tour of it.
With love to all,
Lloyd
BX January 16, 1917
Submarine Perils Faced by Seamen – Lloyd Wood’s Former Boat, the Pascal, Sunk by a Sub – Opened with Gunfire
That the lives of the men on the sea are constantly in danger from the submarines was forcibly brought to the minds of Mr. and Mrs. T.L. Wood today in a letter from their son Lloyd at Halifax. As his friends know, Lloyd has been engaged as wireless operator on the transport "Pascal" for the past year and more and was relived early in December and granted a month's leave, which he spent at home here returning to Halifax about a week ago. In a letter written on Saturday last he says:
I feel all upset today as I have just heard that my old ship the Pascal, was sunk on December 17 when she had almost reached Cherbourg. Mr. Gale the operator who relieved me, arrived back today on another transport with two other men, whose ships have also been sunk and he has just told me all about it.
They left here on December 5 and after a good crossing were within a few hours of Cherbourg on the 17th when a submarine came right up alongside of hem about 4.30 p.m. and opened the fire at short range with shrapnel. The second officer, Mr. Bolton, who was a good friend to me and who was the last one I said good-bye to at Halifax was killed on the bridge. The mate, Mr. Owen was injured, the boatswain, a jolly old Irishman, was killed also another sailor. Two firemen were seriously injured and the mess-room steward, who looked after my room, was badly hurt while taking a message from the wireless room to the captain on the bridge. The submarine fired till the whole superstructure was wrecked and the steering gear was shot away. The ship went round and round with the submarine potting it hard as she went. Finally they fired a torpedo and he good old Pascal went down stern first. My good old friend, Captain, was taken prisoner and was last seen entering the submarine. I feel sorry for his wife and two fine children whom I met several times.
Gale has suffered severely from rheumatism contracted while in the boats and was slightly wounded when a shell crashed into my old cabin. Just after he left the wireless room was completely demolished by several shells. In fact the first boat load that got away thought Gale had been killed and were surprised to see him when they landed and met the rest. They were in the boats about 18 hours and finally landed on the Island of Alderney, going from there to Southampton and home
I feel badly at the thought of the good old Pascal on the bottom. You remember I came very near staying on for another trip but decided to try and get leave to have some dentistry fixed up and a little other doctoring. I dare say it is all for the best and I might perhaps have been killed while getting out the S.O.S. but I feel somehow that I would like to have been on board with them and gone through it all.
The Pascal was a fine ship – new and strong and one of the largest carries on this Canadian run. This last trip she had a full cargo. Her capacity was 9,000 tons.
