The Wreck of the Oberon' The fogs which have prevailed
for some days over much of Northern Europe caused several accidents at sea, the worst of which was the sinking in the Kattegat of the Finnish steamer ' Oberon.' She was run down
by the Finnish steamer Arcturus ' on the night of Friday, December 19th. She sank in about three
minutes. There was no time to launch the boats. Of the sixty members of her crew thirty-six were saved, but of the twenty-two passengers only four. Among those lost were Mr. J. W. H. T. Douglas, the famous cricketer, and his father, Mr. J. H. Douglas. Mr.
J. W. H. T. Douglas was seen trying to help his father
at the moment when the ship overturned. There was a dreadfully tragic irony in the circumstances of this disaster. The two ships belonged to the same line and were commanded by two brothers. Each ship was on the look out for the other, the ' Oberon' being outward bound from Helsingfors and the ' Arcturus' homeward bound. When they came into wireless contact they exchanged Christmas greetings without knowing that they were already dangerously near to each other.
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