Mae Belle Sampson (June 5,1890 - June 27, 1918), was a nursing sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. She was killed when the hospital ship she served on was sunk by a German U-boat.
Sampson's name is also listed on the Halifax Memorial in Nova Scotia .
Personal life
Sampson grew up in Duntroon, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Sampson, and trained as a nurse at Hamilton City Hospital. She graduated with honours, and worked as a private nurse for a year. Following the start of the First World War, Sampson enlisted on Sept. 24, 1914 as a nurse with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. She served with the No. 1 Canadian General Hospital in France, and then on the HMHS Llandovery Castle, a hospital ship that transported wounded soldiers from Britain to Canada.
Sinking of the Llandovery Castle
On June 27, 1918, the HMHS Llandovery Castle, marked as a hospital vessel and lit with a red cross, was returning to Britain when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat, U-86, captained by Lieutenant Helmut Patzig. The order was given to abandon ship, and all of the crew transferred to lifeboats. The U-86 surfaced and intercepted the lifeboats; Patzig started interrogating Llandovery Castle crew members to obtain proof the ship had been carrying ammunition. When proof could not be found, Patzig ordered his crew below to make ready for diving; however, the U-boat did not dive, and started firing on on the survivors. The U-boat ran down all lifeboats but one, and shot at the people in the water. Only 24 medical personnel and crew survived; Sampson was among the 234 people who died, including 14 nursing sisters.
The survivors were rescued 36 hours later by the Lysander, and testified to what had occurred. After the war, Patzig and two of his lieutenants were arraigned for trial on war crimes, but Patzig disappeared. Lieutenants Ludwig Dithmar and Johan Boldt were convicted and sentenced to four years in prison, but escaped after serving only four months. The sinking of the Llandovery Castle was used as propaganda to sell Victory Bonds in Canada.
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