The damaged SS Sussex at Boulogne 1916. Image courtesy http://saint-sevin.pagesperso-orange.fr/1916.htm
- German submarine UB-29 torpedoes the British ferry SS Sussex in the English Channel. En route from Folkestone to Dieppe with 325 passengers and 53 crew, the ferry is severely damaged, with the entire bow forward of the bridge blown off. At least 50 people are killed; some manage to board life boats which later capsize. The damaged vessel is towed to Boulogne harbour and later repaired. The United States is outraged, and threatens to sever diplomatic relations with Germany; the German government later responds with The Sussex Pledge, agreeing to give adequate warning before sinking merchant and passenger ships. The pledge is upheld until February 1917, when unrestricted submarine warfare resumes.
- Doctor Colvin sends news from Cairo to Claude West’s father in Orange. Tribute to an Orange Boy
- The Leader reports that Orange’s response to the Red Cross Society’s appeal for fresh food for returned soldiers has been “splendid”, however more food is required: “every person who has a vegetable or a fruit garden can surely spare some for the soldiers who have shed their heart’s blood, in order that you may be left in peace to attend to your gardens and orchards.” Fruit for the Soldiers
- Hundreds of people attend the fundraiser for soldiers’ comforts at the Star Theatre in Orange. People Turned Away
- The Leader publishes an account of the Battle of Lone Pine written by Sergeant John Cravey Lawson of Mullion Creek. Battle of Lonesome Pine
