Oldendorff Centenary Book - Flipbook - Page 172
“The ss LUDOLF OLDENDORFF,
captain Meinert Matthiesen, had
reached Casablanca on 24 August
1939 to load a cargo of phosphate
rock. She sailed for Rotterdam on
25 August having loaded 2,850
tonnes. The ship received the first
coded message when she was
about to sail. On receipt of the
second cable Captain Matthiesen
decided to proceed to Vigo as a port
of refuge. He intended to continue
his voyage immediately after
replenishing bunkers and provisions
as he considered his chances for
a breakthrough to be good at that
time. However, the local German
consulate instructed him to stay in
port and await further orders.
“Eventually, LUDOLF OLDENDORFF
sailed from Vigo on 11 November
as the second ship of a group of
vessels. The crew disguised their
ship on the morning thereafter: a red
band with a white cross on a black
funnel, name changed into EDITH,
home port Copenhagen, Danish
national neutrality emblems painted
on the ship’s sides and a hand-made
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Danish flag. To have bought a Danish
flag in Vigo might have given away
the intended camouflage. Steering
up to 20° West and thereafter up
to 58° North the vessel passed the
straights between Iceland and the
Faroe Islands, on 24 November,
closely watched by the British. A gale
force wind blew, and the seas were
rough. The ship had to heave-to at
09:00 a.m. when the third mate on
watch reported a ship approaching
from aft. The zigzagging stranger
closed in quite rapidly and turned
out to be the British light cruiser
SHEFFIELD. With flying signals, she
narrowed the distance to about
1,000 metres. LUDOLF OLDENDORFF
could not make out the signals
but assumed them to be ‘Where
to?’ and ‘Maintain radio silence’, or
something to that effect, normal at
times of war. The unhurried reply
read ‘Danish ss EDITH, en route
from Iceland to Copenhagen’. Under
no circumstances should the ship
be captured by the enemies, and
uncomfortable moments followed.
Bad weather made it virtually
impossible to lower lifeboats. With
HMS SHEFFIELD abeam to port,
secret documents were dumped over
the starboard side in a bag suitably
weighted with bits of metal to make
it sink. So as not to create suspicion
an outwardly calm and composed
master stood on the bridge, and
those officers and crew with things
to do on deck went about their
chores in perfect discipline paying no
attention to the cruiser. By contrast,
LUDOLF OLDENDORFF noticed a
certain amount of excitement on
the latter. HMS SHEFFIELD refrained
from either inspecting the ship or
asking for her documents, most
probably realising that rough seas
would in any event have prevented
lowering a boat. After about 20
minutes on the port side of LUDOLF
OLDENDORFF the cruiser passed
her stern at close quarters to check
the name and home port, crossed
her bow and departed towards the
north, changed course at two miles
