# 1908 British Rescue Ships To Messina, Sicily



## bamnapoli4 (Oct 3, 2013)

Hi: I am interested in the names of the British ships that sailed to Messina, Sicily in December of 1908. There was a major earthquake and tsunami which devastated the area. My grandfather, Santo Munastra was born in 1893. He was 15 years old at the time and he survived the earthquake. He told me a British ship was in the Port and took him and other children to an Orphanage in Catania. I asked him the name of the ship, but he said there were too many to remember. I would like to know where I can find records of the survivors. I am sure the survivors did not just get on the ship and sail away. The British were excellent record keepers and I hope someone reading this can help me. Thank you. Barbara


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## Piero43 (Jun 17, 2005)

The British ships involved in the rescue were HMS “Sutley”, HMS “Minerva”, HMS “Lancaster”, HMS “Exmouth”, HMS “Duncan”, HMS ” Euryalus”. Of course it's impossible to say which of them rescued your father...
Piero


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## wightspirit (Feb 15, 2008)

Hi Barbara

There were very many reports published in the UK in The Times newspaper commencing 29 December 1908 continuing daily until the end of January 1909. As you'll know, this was a huge disaster. Many ships are mentioned in the reports, including the cruiser Sutley, (reported as Sutlej), the Russian ship Admiral Maskoff, the cruiser Minerva and the battleship Exmouth. A merchant navy ship, the SS Ebro of the Wilson Line, is mentioned as rescuing survivors. Unfortunately (for me) the reports are so numerous and extensive that it would take me a long time to read it all. The British ships named here and above are represented in British archives - at out National Archives in Kew, south west London. The references for their ship's logs are as follows: HMS Sutley (recorded as Sutlej), ADM53/27129, HMS Minerva, ADM53/23720, HMS Lancaster, ADM53/22777, HMS Exmouth, ADM53/20346, HMS Duncan, ADM53/19873, HMS Euryalus, ADM53/20284. The ship's logs all cover the dates before, during and after the disaster and are likely to contain interesting information. However, ships from many nations attended to help the rescue effort. It may be possible, if you can gain access to the reports in The Times, that you'll be able to narrow down the ships which rescued your ancestor, as throughout the reports, various individuals are named.

Dave W


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## bamnapoli4 (Oct 3, 2013)

*1908 British Rescue Ships to Messina, Sicily*

Hi Dave: Thank you so much for your e-mail and the information. I will try and access The Times Newspaper in the UK and also check if I can access the British Archives from New York. This is a good start for me and I appreciate the time you took to answer me. I am impressed with the references with the ships logs and this is a wealth of information to start with. Again, thank you. Barbara


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## bamnapoli4 (Oct 3, 2013)

Hi Piero: Thank you for your reply to my inquiry. I intend to look up every ship that you have listed and gather what information I can get. I am so impressed with the replies that I have received from my posting as I never thought anyone would have information. This incident happened long ago, yet people like yourself have information that can help others like me. Again, thank you. Barbara


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