Lost after a miraculous escape

Gunner KENNETH MACPHAIL, R.N.R., son of Mr Malcolm Macphail, 24 Arnol, Barvas, was the sole survivor of the merchant ship in which he was serving as gunner, when she was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean in October, 1917. He had a terrible experience before he was rescued, having been nearly thirty-six hours in the sea before being washed ashore near Cherchell, Algeria.

Notwithstanding his exceptionally strong physique, and the fact that he had a lifebelt on, he was practically exhausted, but was able to gather sufficient strength for the final effort to swim ashore. He was treated with great kindness by the French authorities and English lady missionaries, and made a speedy recovery. The photograph shows him with the little Arab messenger of the Mission Station. Pathetic in the extreme it is to think that this powerful seaman, after so miraculous an escape in the Mediterranean, perished within a few feet of his native island.