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| St. Paul Island |
The island St Paul was discovered in
1559 by the Portuguese who were sailing aboard the ship Nau Sao Paulo with
Captain Rui Melo da Camara as the commander.
The island was claimed for France in 1843, they renounced their claim
ten years later, and in 1892, they laid claim once again to this island.
In May 1938, a small group of would
be colonists set out from St. Malo on the English Channel in France with the
intent of establishing a new colony on St Paul Island, in spite of the fact
that a similar colonial attempt had failed ten years earlier. The new colonists travelled aboard the French
trawler, Ile de Bourbon, and they arrived at the island in September after
following a circuitous route via ports in Africa, as well as visits to
Madagascar and Reunion Island. They
intended to support themselves by lobster fishing, for which they had been
awarded a government monopoly.
When they arrived at the island, the
group of 48 colonists began to establish themselves on shore, though they still
used the ship for all the necessities of life, including accommodation.
On December 21 (1938), the ship
radio operator tapped out an SOS, an emergency message in Morse Code, stating
that they were in need of food and other supplies. This message was heard by Neil Taylor, a 12
year old amateur radio operator living in California in the United States, as
well as by another amateur operator in Bremerton, Washington.
The contents of this distress
message was conveyed to the United States Navy headquarters in Washington DC,
and they flashed the message to the navy cruiser USS Omaha stationed in the
Mediterranean, and they passed the information on to the French government who
arranged with Madagascar to deliver needed supplies to the stricken survivors
at the island of St. Paul.
It so happened that international
radio monitor, William Palmer in Ohio also heard this doleful message in Morse
Code and he sent a reception report to the radio officer aboard the Ile de
Bourbon. Two years later, he reported to
the American radio magazine, the Globe Circler, that he had received a QSL from
the ship, verifying his reception of the SOS emergency call from the ship in
the bay at the island of St. Paul.
(AWR-Wavescan/NWS 367 via Adrian Peterson)
