For hundreds of years, Asian sailors called Lascars were hired to work on European ships. By World War II, they made up a third of the British shipping industry. They “had nothing in common, except the Indian Ocean,” according to author Amitav Ghosh. “Among them were Chinese and East Africans, Arabs and Malays, Bengalis and Goans, Tamils and Arakanese.” Some were Hindu, some Muslim, and some (Goans) were Roman Catholic. They had different ethnicities and politics but were acclaimed for their bravery and seamanship. Ships’ records offered little information about the Lascars. There was a language barrier to be sure. Also, Lascars were recruited in India by an agent called a Ghaut Serang and supervised onboard and in port by an Indian serang (boatswain). But the shocking lack of recordkeeping was also an indication of the racism of the time. The press was at fault, too. Newspaper accounts triumphantly detail the names, ages, and many life stories of the Europeans rescued. Yet after months of digging I was hard-pressed to uncover even a list of Lascars aboard Lifeboat 12. The only news item I could find was about the Hurricane rescue in the Daily Express. On September 23, 1940, it simply noted: “The saved include . . . thirty-six Lascar seamen.” Ken Sparks said the Europeans and Indians were separated on the rescue ship and he never saw them again. He didn’t know what happened to them.
Then one day, eureka! Hunting through documents in the British Library, I came across the Benares’ crew Injured List (dated October 7, 1940), which follows. I could find nothing to clarify whether these were men rescued by HMS Hurricane or picked up from Lifeboat 12 . . . or both. I was heartened to find Ramjan Buxoo [sic] , the man mentioned by several lifeboat survivors, listed here. Could the others be the men he cared for during those eight days?
INJURED LIST
Ebram Abdooramon |
Second Tindal (Deck Storekeeper) |
Essack Sk. Oomer |
Lascar |
Dawood Sk. Mahomad |
Lascar |
Ahmed Eusoof |
Lascar |
Kahomed Enoos |
Lascar |
Eusoofkhan Bapoo |
Lascar |
Hossein Ebrahim |
Lascar |
Sk. Esmail Sk. Adam |
Lascar |
Abdool Currim |
Winchman |
Sk. Allee Sk. Md. |
Fireman |
Sk. Allee Sk. Eusoof |
Fireman |
Hasson Mahomed |
Fireman |
Hasson Khan Alle Khan |
Trimmer |
Allum Terroo |
Trimmer |
Sultan Ali Hoosein |
Trimmer |
Abdul Rumjan |
General Servant |
Syfoo Mohamed Ali |
Deck Steward |
Abdul Ghafur Sk. Hiroo |
Saloon Boy |
Mohamdoo Futtey Khan |
Saloon Boy |
Shahzada Wahed Munshi |
Bhandary’s Mate (crew cook) |
Sadeck Allee |
Smokeroom Steward |
Saloon Boy |
|
Abdur Razzaque |
Saloon Boy |
Sheik Mathoo Sk. Sulaman |
Saloon Boy |
Lulla Bij Lall |
Topas (sweeper or cleaner) |
Sk. Habib Sk. Nawabjan |
General Servant |
Ramjan Buxoo [sic] |
General Servant |
Antonio P. Borges |
Butcher |
Ebrahim Abdul Rahim* |
General Servant |
Ebrahim Sk. Abdul** |
Saloon Boy |
Note: These names were recorded phonetically by those in charge. |
I checked Scotland’s hospital records. The archivist for NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde “could find no mention of Indian seamen being admitted in September/October of 1940.” The records for the Greenock Royal Infirmary “are incomplete and the registers for 1940 have not been preserved.”
All we know is that the numbers roughly add up:
166 |
Asian crewmen aboard the Benares |
-101 |
casualties (names included on Ronnie Cooper’s report) |
=65 |
survivors (number issued in final government report— |
|
November 28, 1940 |
36 |
rescued by HMS Hurricane |
+31 |
rescued by HMS Anthony (One man leapt overboard before the rescue) |
=67 |
survivors |
*Originally reported on both the casualty list and the injured list, but was crossed off the injured list.
**Ebrahim SK Abdul “should have been included on the injured list.”—Superintendent, Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen. March 31, 1941.
Author Thomas Nagorski discovered two men who died of their injuries in early October: Ibrahim Balla and Abbas Bekim. Subtracting those two from 67, the number adds up to the government’s final report of 65 Indian survivors issued on November 28, 1940.
Of these 65 lives, we know the names of 33 men. Sadly, even if the others had been listed on the Benares’ manifest, that record went down with the ship.