Wolston B. C. W. Forester

“ A new navigator and two Royal Naval Reserve lieutenants joined that night, and their arrival completed our full complement of officers.
It was 6 in the evening when finally our warps were cast off, and, running alongside, we coaled for half-an-hour, in that time taking in seventy tons, and then proceeded to sea with coal still stacked high on our decks. Through Plymouth Harbour the ship slid like a grey ghost—all dead-lights down, and in total darkness save for the occasional flashes from the shaded arc-lamp which replied to the challenges of the torpedo-boat patrol and boom vessels. ”

“ How would you like to go out to an amateur theatrical performance in an open picket-boat in wind and rain, and return in a drifter through raging seas in a full gale? What a life! Never mind! There's a good time coming, and as A. M. M. says in Punch:
When the war is over and the Kaiser's out of print,
I'm going to buy some tortoises and watch the beggars sprint;
When the war is over and the sword at last we sheathe,
I'm going to keep a jelly-fish and listen to it breathe.
. . . . . .
When the war is over and the battle has been won,
I'm going to buy a barnacle and take it for a run ”

“ Those who belong to the so-called “privileged classes” can lay claim only to the privilege of being leaders—first in the field and foremost at the post of danger. It is the only possible justification of their existence; and at the post of danger they have found their claim to priority hotly and gloriously contested by the splendid heroes of the rank and file.
Presumably the Navy took our boys because they were needed, and no one to-day will feel inclined to deny that those Dartmouth Cadets have abundantly proved their worth. ”

“ Inside the ship everything which was not secured was sliding about and bringing up against the bulkheads with a series of crashes. Crockery was smashing—boats falling out of their crutches—broken funnel-guys swinging against the funnel casings. She had heeled over to about twenty degrees, then she stopped and remained steady for a few seconds. In the momentary lull the voice of one of our officers rang out steady and clear as at “divisions”: “Keep calm, men. Be British!” ”

“ Trivial enough, I admit! But oh, you readers who imagine the sailor's life in war-time as one continuous round of blood-curdling excitement, try to realize something of its almost unmitigated dullness—a dullness so overwhelming that even such an incident as the above is welcomed as a slight relief.
In the evening the violence of the storm abated, and when I woke the next morning there was scarcely any motion on the ship at all. ”

“ There was no lack of recruits forthcoming, for this was just such a job as the "matloe's" soul loves, as it gives him ample scope for the indulgence of his twin passions of dressing-up and roaring lusty and ribald choruses to popular tunes! To the dreamy melody of "Keep the' Ome Fires burning—I don't fink," the fire party embarked in the picket-boat with launch and cutter in tow, all chock-a-block with men of diverse ratings. ”

“ So, indeed, were we all. You never saw such a disreputable, dirty-looking lot of ruffians in your [97] life! Hair, hands, faces and clothes simply smothered in coal-dust; and amid much mutual chaff and laughter we went below to wash.
That afternoon we weighed anchor and sailed for Bombay, arrived there about a week later, and dropped anchor in the early morning while it was still dark; and coaling by native labour began again at once.
Daylight revealed a huge convoy of over sixty ships assembled in the harbour and shepherded by one of our battle-ships. ”

“ The blast from our first salvo swept the Admiral's cap from his head, and confusion reigned in the crowded area of the tower while "Flags" pursued the errant headgear, finally retrieving it, and handing it back politely to his Chief, who rammed it resentfully down over his eyes. But at the next salvo it again flew off, this time disappearing through a slit in the conning-tower and landing on the deck outside, where it remained till the end of the action. "Flags," who seemed to feel in some obscure way responsible for its vagaries being thereby reduced to absolute frenzy! ”

“ England’s latest Dreadnought, which had just been launched, was lying in the basin, being fitted with engines, guns, etc. With her two enormous oval funnels standing out against a group of workshops and towering high above them, her huge turret guns which still lay along the wharf amid a litter of smaller guns, searchlights, and armoured plates, she made an impressive picture of Britain’s sea power. ”

“ Coaling started immediately, and as soon as the collier had shoved off we were invaded by dockyard "mateys," and the cracked boat booms were shored up. We had hoped that the necessary repairs would take long enough to ensure our getting some leave, but in this we were disappointed, for the damage we had sustained in the battle was not considered sufficiently serious to necessitate docking. As we were the only ship in the Grand Fleet that had been hit, we were naturally an object of great interest, and very proud of ourselves in consequence. ”

“ By 5 o’clock, having worked our way in as far as it was advisable to go, we lowered our pinnace, which, under the command of one of our lieutenants who was accompanied by a subaltern of marines, proceeded into the harbour. All eyes were eagerly fixed on the one steamer visible in the harbour, but even the most sanguine among us could see that it was not a war-ship of any description. However, we all hoped for some definite news from the British Consul as to the whereabouts of the German cruiser. ”

“ There is no sound, no echo of sound, in the deserts of the deep,
Or the great grey level plains of ooze where the shell-burred cables creep.
Kipling Although the disaster to the Vanguard took place when we were in harbour, and the ill-fated ship was lying only about four cables from us, I personally was not a witness of her sad end, for it took place about 11.30 P.M., at which time I was asleep in my hammock, and—strange as it may seem—I was not even aroused by the noise of the explosion. However, next morning one of my messmates [111] gave me the following account of what he had seen. ”

“ One o’clock finds us once more assembled in the covered way to double along to the mess-room for lunch.
After this meal every one must stay in his place until grace is said, when each term rises in order of seniority and doubles out of the mess-room to the different gun-rooms.
It may be here noted that everything at Dartmouth is done at the “double,” i.e. at a run. Strolling around with your hands in your pockets after the fashion of most public schools is of course not allowed in an establishment where naval discipline prevails. ”

“ As soon as we were well clear of the ship, those who had fishing tackle put out their lines, while the rest settled down in the bottom of the boat, and pipes and cigarettes were soon in full blast. Several mackerel were caught on the way over, and half an hour after leaving the ship we grounded. Then every one jumped out, and we anchored the cutter in the shallow water by the shore.
Scattering in various directions we ragged about until tea-time. Some tried their hand at tickling trout in a small stream; some bathed; others set up targets of bottles and practised shooting. ”

“ Rapid orders were passed from the bridge to the quarter-deck, and at last we saw one of the cutter’s crew leap on to the buoy and shackle the hawser to the ring. Then the after capstan began to heave round, and slowly the wire rose out of the water and tautened. Very gradually the stern began to swing back; but it was a long, slow job, as much care was needed to prevent the hawser from parting. By 9 o’clock, however, everything was secured, the ship lay peacefully on the still waters of the harbour, and we all went down to dinner. ”

“ Icy spray is flying before the wind, and there is only a rope ladder to descend by. Time after time our drifter parts her securing lines and is blown away from the ship's side, or crashes into another astern. At last every one is safely aboard, but there is no shelter from the wind and spray, and ours is the last ship to be called at. Wet and shivering, we curse the weather, and question ruefully if it was really worth while to have gone to the show at all. But at last the drifter draws alongside and we hastily scramble up the rope ladder and make a bolt for the gunroom. ”

“ That night forty boys from the Naval Barracks joined the ship, and, there being nowhere else for them to sleep, they were told [85] to sling their hammocks in the gun-room flat, while we, its rightful occupants, were ordered to go up above to the ward-room flat and the Captain’s lobby. At first we were mightily indignant at thus being turned out of our sleeping quarters, but later on, when we got into the Tropics, we saw that we had the advantage, for it was ever so much cooler up there, and we were correspondingly thankful. ”

“ It is a picture of life from day to day on active service, written with an absence of self-consciousness, an ingenuous, boyish eagerness for new experiences, and an enthusiasm for the Navy that would disarm criticism, were any forthcoming."—Country Life.
"Keen as mustard, the Middy describes, in that terse language with a thrill behind it which the Navy has brought to a fine art, all the strange, exciting happenings of ten months' active service."—Graphic. ”

“ The streets are very dusty and camels provide practically the only means of transport. The houses are mostly built of stone quarried out of the mountains behind, and in the native quarter the architecture is somewhat after the pagoda style. We returned to the ship to find natives already busy coaling her, and that night, as the wind was blowing the right way to carry the coal-dust over the bow, we thought we might safely sleep on the quarter-deck. ”

“ Now, in peace-time, in order to "ship one's stripe" it is only necessary to pass an oral examination in navigation, and an oral and written examination in seamanship. This accomplished, the newly fledged Acting Sub. automatically retires to the "beach," where he passes through gunnery, navigation, and torpedo schools undistracted by [91] any of the executive duties of shipboard life, and able to concentrate his whole attention on each subject in turn. How beautifully simple! But in time of war it is a very different proposition. ”

“ Even so it was impossible to cope immediately with the steady stream which poured on deck from the capacious hold of the store-ship, although officers worked side by side with the men, issuing orders at the same time. Finally, when at last the store-ship was empty and had shoved off, and we weighed anchor and put to sea with the remainder of the fleet, our decks were still piled high with cases, and the work of stowing them away went on until 9 o’clock that night. There was no time for dinner, and while still working we ate ship’s biscuit from a barrel that had been accidentally broken open. ”

“ Collecting my gear, I went down to the bathroom, where I found five members of her gunroom, who, having been at one of the Fleet Theatre shows the night before, had escaped the disaster, and had been sent to us pending the holding of a court of [113] inquiry. They were naturally the centre of an excited crowd, who all seemed to expect them to be able to give some information, in spite of the fact that as they were in another ship, and more than a mile away at the time of the explosion, they had both heard and seen rather less than ourselves. ”

“ Once I saw three cadets marooned on a mud-bank quite forty yards from the water’s edge.
At 6.30 every one must be within the College buildings, and by a quarter to 7 all cadets [11] must have shifted into proper uniform and be ready for tea.
At 7.30 there is “prep.,” which lasts till 8.30, when the “cease fire” bugle sounds. Then the band plays on the quarter-deck, and there is dancing till 9, after which every one “falls in” for five minutes’ prayer. Then the terms double away to their dormitories. At 9.30 the Commander goes “rounds,” and every one must be in bed. ”