§ Mr. AMMON(by Private Notice)asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether be is able to make a statement concerning the loss of His Majesty's Ship "Valerian."
The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the ADMIRALTY (Mr. Davidson)It is with the deepest regret, which I am sure the whole House shares, that I make the following statement.
His Majesty's Ship "Valerian" was on her way to Bermuda from Nassau, Bahamas, where she had been employed taking the Governor of Bahamas to visit the outlying islands which had suffered much damage from the recent hurricane.
"Valerian" was close to Bermuda when the hurricane commenced about 7.30 a.m. on Friday, 22nd October, and she reported at 8.30 a.m. to the Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies that she was hove to five miles south of Gibbs Hill, which is the southern extremity of Hamilton Island. No further reports were received from her and she did not answer her W/T call.
The Commander-in-Chief thereupon ordered His Majesty's Ship "Curlew" (cruiser), which was also approaching Bermuda from the same direction as "Valerian," to search for her, and at dawn on Saturday, 23rd October, the cruiser "Cape Town" was also sent out from Bermuda to search.
The "Cape Town" reported having picked up 19 survivors, including the commanding officer and navigating officer, who state "Valerian" sank at 1 p.m. 556 on Friday, 22nd. The search by "Curlew" and "Cape Town" was continued to nightfall on 23rd October, when they returned to Bermuda.
The condition of survivors is reported as satisfactory.
The Commander-in-Chief reports that the hurricane was of great violence, reaching a force of 136 miles per hour by 2 p.m. on the 22nd.