12th October 1918 Hereford Times
ON THE BURUTU
HEREFORDSHIRE OFFICER'S SON FEARED DROWNED
The sinking of the Elder-Dempster steamer Burutu in collision at sea on Thursday week has brought anxiety, which there is only too much reason to fear will become a bereavement, to a well-known Herefordshire family.
Among the passengers on board was Mr C K Wood, youngest son of Colonel C.K. Wood of the Venn. Marden secretary of the Herefordshire Territorial Force Association and as up to the time of writing no definite news of him had been received, hope of his safety is very slender indeed, and the worst is feared.
Mr Wood was on his way home on leave from Nigeria, where he occupied an important position in the Civil Service. the Burutu, a steamer of 3,902 tons was bound for England from West Africa with a cargo of palm oil and kernels as well as a complement of passengers when it collided with another British steamer and heeled over and sank in ten minutes.
Earlier accounts of the disaster led to the belief that the loss of life was comparatively small, but subsequent reports from trustworthy sources unfortunately show that it will be much greater than at first supposed. The victims are now estimated at between 170 and 200. Only one boat was successfully launched and the survivors number 50, and unfortunately Mr Wood's name does not appear in the list of the saved.
26th Oct 1918 Hereford Times
The Herefordshire Victim of the Burutu-
Mr Charles Knight Wood, who as already announced in the Hereford Times, lost his life in the sinking of the Burutu, was the son of Colonel C.K. Wood, and nephew of Dr Miles Astman Wood of Ledbury and Major-General Sir Elliott Wood. He was educated at Cheltenham College. At the opening of the war he was in the Colonial Government Survey in Nigeria and joined up as a Lieutenant in the West African Field Force for the campaign in the Cameroons, and was at once appointed in charge of the Machine Gun Section. After about six months he was consulted as to the possibility of starting mechanical transport, as he was an expert in motor work. He organised this transport and with such success that on returning home when hostilities ceased owing to the rainy season he was consulted as to the further enlargement of the mechanical transport, with the result that he was transferred to the Army Service Corps, and sent back with a large number of cars. He reorganised the whole thing with great success and this mechanical transport was invaluable to the operations. For this service he was mentioned in despatches.
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