The Drowned and the Saved

Download or read book The Drowned and the Saved written by Les Wilson and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2018-01-25 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Saltire Society “History Book of the Year” Award winner. “An absorbing and moving book” on the World War I shipwrecks off of Scotland’s Islay island (The Scotsman). The loss of two British ships crammed with American soldiers bound for the trenches of the First World War brought the devastation of war directly to the shores of the Scottish island of Islay. The sinking of the troopship Tuscania by a German U-Boat on 5 February 1918 was the first major loss of US troops in in the war. Eight months after the people of Islay had buried more than 200 Tuscania dead, the armed merchant cruiser Otranto collided with another troopship during a terrible storm. Despite a valiant rescue attempt by HMS Mounsay, the Otranto drifted towards Islay, hit a reef, throwing 600 men into the water. Just 19 survived; the rest were drowned or crushed by the wreckage. Based on the harrowing personal recollection of survivors and rescuers, newspaper reports and original research, Les Wilson tells the story of these terrible events, painting a vivid picture which also “pays tribute to the astonishing bravery and humanity of islanders, who risked their lives pulling men from the sea, cared for survivors, and buried the dead” (The Herald). “A well-researched account of loss and tragedy.” —Oban Times