Senan Molony
Member
The story of Captain Fryatt was told again tonight in a new Channel 4 series, Not Forgotten.
Unfortunately Captain Fryatt is forgotten. But he is an important footnote and way-station in the Lusitania story.
Fryatt's much-lauded action in using his merchant vessel to ram a U-boat in March 1915 led to sponsored prizes for so doing and eventually British Government orders that it be attempted by ALL merchant ships when the opportunity arose.
There were a spate of such incidents, quickly leading to no-warning attacks by German submarines, since for a U-boat to surface was to invite ramming.
A precursor, like the Thordis incident, to the Lusitania sinking.
Fryatt was later captured and shot as a franc-tireur, which was a tough enough interpretation of the rules of war.
But Fryatt did get a huge public funeral at St Paul's Cathedral after the war, so that's all right then...
Unfortunately Captain Fryatt is forgotten. But he is an important footnote and way-station in the Lusitania story.
Fryatt's much-lauded action in using his merchant vessel to ram a U-boat in March 1915 led to sponsored prizes for so doing and eventually British Government orders that it be attempted by ALL merchant ships when the opportunity arose.
There were a spate of such incidents, quickly leading to no-warning attacks by German submarines, since for a U-boat to surface was to invite ramming.
A precursor, like the Thordis incident, to the Lusitania sinking.
Fryatt was later captured and shot as a franc-tireur, which was a tough enough interpretation of the rules of war.
But Fryatt did get a huge public funeral at St Paul's Cathedral after the war, so that's all right then...
