5. The Trunks And The Cabinet Papers

Abstract

In the 11 November entry of the Atlantis 's war diary it is recorded that the captives from the Automedon totalled 37 British crewmen, 56 crewmen of other nationalities and three passengers, of which one was female. This is the most reliable official record but according to some, there were also a third man, a female nurse and an American woman, bringing the total of passengers to six. According to A. Parsons, the Automedon 's Assistant Steward, on the other hand, there were four passengers, Mr and Mrs Ferguson and Mr and Mrs McBride. Apart from the puzzle of the number of passengers, there are a few other mysteries surrounding the Automedon, such as whether the Cabinet papers were put aboard as part of a secret plan hatched by the British secret services, and whether the Automedon was tracked by an Italian submarine.Keywords: Atlantis; Automedon; British crewmen; British secret services; Cabinet papers; Italian submarine; Mrs Ferguson; passenger's trunks