By Jennifer Browning hen Louise Mackey boarded the SS Athenia on Sept . 3 , 1939 , she had no idea it would be the first United Kingdom ship to be sunk by Germany during World War II , killing 117 people , even though it was an unarmed passenger ship .
The ship carried 1,347 passengers and crew members , with about 310 United States citizens , including 24 Texans – some with Athens ties .
Louise and her sister Catherine , both from Gladewater and in their early twenties , were on a grand tour organized by a Dallas company and their group included two women from Athens , Mary Katherine Underwood and Jerry Jane Wynne . Louise Mackey is also mother to well-known Athens resident David Daniels and grandmother to Blake Daniels .
The tour group , which included many prominent Texas families , were on a 62-day trip touring France , Switzerland , Italy , Germany , Hungary , Czechoslovakia , Belgium , Holland , and England .
As the group traveled in July and August , Catherine recalled seeing nothing out of the ordinary . However , “ we first saw the signs of preparation for war in England on the 1st of September ,” she said in transcribed recollections .
World War II began on Friday , Sept . 1 , 1939 , which was the same day the SS Athenia left Glasgow with the tour group on board . By Sunday morning , they heard the news that Hitler had marched on Poland and that war was declared , but Catherine said they still weren ’ t too frightened and continued on their way .
On Sunday evening the ship was 200 nautical miles northwest of Inishtrahull ,
6 | Greater Athens Magazine | November 2022