SURVIVORS' ORDEAL ON STRANDED SHIP

AGROUND on Sanda Island, off the Mull of Kintyre, and lashed by heavy seas, the American liberty ship Byron Darnton yesterday broke in two, less than two hours after the passengers and crew had' been taken aboard the Campbeltown lifeboat. The survivors—thirty-nine of the crew and fifteen passengers—were landed at Campbeltown after a fourteen-hour ordeal on the stranded vessel.

Destroyers, tank landing craft, tugs, and lifeboats from Port Patrick, Girvan, and Portrush had raced through heavy seas to assist in the rescue. They found that the Campbeltown lifeboat, which had set out for Sanda Island just before midnight on Saturday, had succeeded in taking the survivors on board. The Byron Darnton, of 7000 tons, was inward bound from Copenhagen when, late on Saturday night, she ran into a storm of rain and sleet. Visibility had fallen to a few yards and a gale was rising when the vessel ran aground. Girl Survivors Her distress signals were seen by a Coastguard at Southend, near Campbeltown, at 11.20 p.m. The rescue service was immediately put into operation and before midnight the Campbeltown lifeboat was on its way to the scene. The lifeboat crew were faced with a tremendous task. Heavy seas were running and waves were lashing over the ship. For fourteen hours the lifeboatmen fought against odds, but in the end they succeeded. . A Norwegian war bride —who lost her trousseau —and seven Norwegian girl students, whb had served in the Underground Movement in Norway and had been granted scholarships in America, were among the survivors. They presented a bedraggled appearance when they stepped ashore at Campbeltown yesterday afternoon. They had lost all their belongings.