The rescue

[pat griffin]

ANDREW GRIFFIN The rescue

Andrew or Andy as he was called onboard ship told us some of the things of the night of the rescue, so what I write is second hand.

I remember him saying the ship had been spotted, and I am sure he was in the wheel house of the ship at the time, I think it may have been him who saw it, but I have not been able to find out for definite.

The flare was seen and the captain called, after some discussion it was agreed that Andy and the training officer would be in charge of the lifeboat, with some selected cadets. They were to go out to see how they could help  the boat in distress.

They then found out that the lifeboats had been installed wrongly on the ship and the port ones were on the starboard side and visa versa. This meant it was very difficult to get them winched over the side.

With all crew onboard the lifeboat, they tried to lower it down to the water, but something caught and the boat was starting to tip, this would have meant everyone being tossed into the sea and the rescue failing at the onset. Andy hit the sticking mechanism and with relief it started to work again.

He said when they got to the boat it was packed with people, so many, he wondered how it could have stayed afloat, the people were excited to see them, screaming at them through the waves. When they got near, some chanced it and jumped to the lifeboat. He was shocked when a package in a blanket was thrown across to them, and the cadet who caught it, found it was a baby! It just showed how desperate Vietnamese were.

When the ship was made aware of the extent of the situation, how many needed to be rescued, and what a huge job it would be. The captain started to allocate the crew their roles in the rescue.  The organisation needed to get them on board and house them was a huge task.

The lifeboat went to and fro from ship to boat and back again for several hours, I remember him saying how exhausted they all were, it was probably only adrenalin that kept them going and the determination not to leave anyone behind. They had been made aware of a Russian ship in the area, who wanted to pick up the Vietnamese, the Wellpark crew were determined not to let this happen. The Russians would have taken the rescued back to Vietnam and the consequences for those poor souls then would have been terrible.

In the dim light, with huge waves, getting people off the boat was dangerous, Andy saw one person drop between the lifeboat and the boat, he knew the man would be crushed to death in a few moments, and he reached over, put his head between the two boats as a buffer for the man and hauled him bodily onboard the lifeboat. It was recorded in the Denholm company magazine, and many people did not know how on earth he managed to do it. I guess the danger of the situation gave him the super human strength to save him. My self and my family are very proud of Andrew my husband and his selfless efforts along with the rest of the crew that day.

When everyone was safely onboard, the crew still had to do their own jobs, being on watch etc, so while the rescued slept in the knowledge they had room to breathe again and they were on a huge and safe ship, work went on as usual with the crew, except now they had more mouths to feed. It was going to be rations for everyone. No one minded, they were all so proud to have been able to help these tired bedraggled people, whose lives were so dreadful in their own country they had to flee.


The next day Andrew said was an amazing change. There was chattering on deck, instead of exhausted silence, people had tidied themselves up and were all wanting to help in any way they could. They did not just want to be looked after, they wanted to look after themselves and not be any bother.

The some of the crew let their cabin be used by some of Vietnamese who’s situation made them more vulnerable. Andy let his shower and room, when he was not sleeping in it, be used by a young mother and baby.

I know it was one of the proudest times in his life, and he was privileged to be able to help so many people cheat death. It was not only the rescued that waited with bated breath, to find out what would happen to them. Andrew and the crew felt a responsibility to the Vietnamese, and wanted and hoped the British government would let them come to England. They knew what the alternatives would be and they wanted the best outcome for everyone.

Lots of politics and haggling would have gone on behind the scenes, but in the end it was a relief to find the Vietnamese would be flown back to England and safety.

Andrew came home full of the rescue and I and my family were very proud of him, but like the humble man he was he did not talk about it all the time and it slipped back into the mists of time.

I remember hearing that some of the crew could go and see the Vietnamese in the barracks over a weekend, but we were a struggling young family in the midst of a recession, and putting food on our plates and clothes on our children was all we could afford at the time. We really regretted not being able to go, but the cost would have been way too much.