Norwood Boy Rescued After 7 Days in Open Lifeboat-August 14, 1942

Norwood High School Graduate Harold Small Survives Torpedoing and Seven Days in Open Lifeboat

Harold Leonard Small, a graduate of Norwood High School’s Class of 1941 and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Small of Washington Street, returned home yesterday for a brief visit bearing a harrowing tale of wartime survival. Seaman Harold Small, who with his twin brother, Gordon Small, has actively defied the Axis since the nation entered the war seven months ago, survived the torpedoing of his merchant ship in the middle-South Atlantic on July 22 and spent seven harrowing days adrift in an open lifeboat before rescue.

According to accounts from both The Boston Globe and The Norwood Messenger, the large freighter was struck without warning just aft of amidship at approximately 5:15 p.m. on July 22. Harold was just rising from his seat at the mess table when the detonation shook the vessel. Exhibiting traditional naval calm, the crew proceeded orderly to their lifeboat stations without panic. As Harold’s lifeboat pulled away from the sinking ship, an enemy submarine broke the surface. Crewmen watched anxiously as an armed German officer emerged with a machine gun, though fears of being fired upon were quickly allayed when the submarine pulled alongside. The 35-year-old blond submarine commander offered the survivors cigarettes, hot food, and water.

During their week adrift, the survivors experienced several dramatic encounters:

• Hours after the sinking, a giant Allied amphibian aircraft bearing United Nations markings soared overhead to drop flares and food provisions.
• Two days into their drift, a passing bomber dropped a note indicating a lone crewman was floating nearby, allowing Small’s lifeboat to locate and rescue fellow crewmember C. D. McMasters, who had been separated during the sinking.
• After drifting for seven days while steering toward the distant shoreline, Small and the other boatloads of survivors were finally picked up by a British ship and safely landed ashore.

Despite the ordeal, a tanned and undisturbed Harold returned to Norwood in hale and hearty spirits, greeted warmly by his family and community.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Norwood Messenger