Archibald Hurd

“ The secret of the spread of Anglo-Saxon civilisation, with its ideals of fair play, tolerance and personal liberty, its hatred of tyranny and love of justice, is not to be found as much in these emblems of organised violence as in merchant ships. Out of our island State the Merchant Fleet, a purely individualistic institution, developed by the compulsion of geographical necessities; the British people could not exist without ships even in days when their numbers were small and the standard of living was relatively low. ”

“ Finally a word should be said, perhaps, of another difficulty which confronts any one who endeavours to tell the story of what merchant sailors did during the Great War. These men dislike publicity and their modesty disarms the inquisitor. Like their comrades of the Royal Navy, they are content if they can feel that they have done their duty. ”

“ Again in February, 1915, while Captain Dow was still in command of her, the Lusitania, on an eastward voyage, received a wireless message to the effect that enemy submarines were cruising in the Irish Sea. He received instructions to fly a neutral flag—a perfectly legitimate ruse—and having on board some 400 Americans, together with the United States mails, he decided to hoist the American flag. Having done so, he crossed the Irish Sea at full speed, without stopping to take up a pilot; steered straight for the Mersey, and once more brought his vessel home in safety. ”

“ PREFACE During a war, which was at last to draw into its vortex practically the whole human race—the issue depending, first and foremost, on sea power—there was little time or opportunity or, indeed, inclination on the part of British seamen to keep a record of their varied activities. ”

“ None of her shells, however, struck the steamer. Captain Manley then succeeded in manoeuvring his ship so as to bring the submarine astern, when he opened fire, and there then began a duel lasting for 45 minutes, during the whole of which time, both the submarine and the Phrygia fired continuously at one another under the most adverse conditions. Then at last one of the Phrygia’s shells found its mark; a great rush of smoke poured up from the submarine; her stern suddenly jumped out of the water; and she disappeared, amongst the loud cheers of the Phrygia’s crew. ”

“ On the other hand, the Mercantile Marine remained, and still remains, individualistic, each merchant ship-owner, or company of ship-owners, building the sort of vessel best adapted to the particular enterprise in hand. Thus we have sailing from our ports, ships of all descriptions, ocean-going liners carrying passengers, cargoes and mails, as well as tramps, colliers, cold-storage vessels, and an infinity of other types. ”

“ If it had not been for our ships—ships of commerce drawing strength from the seas, and ships of war, efficiently policing those seas—the Allies could not by any possibility have won the Great War and Germans would to-day be the dominant race, not only in Europe, but in both hemispheres. ”

“ In the unequal duel that now ensued, the Lycia’s funnel, starboard boats, forward cabin, chart room, officers’ and engineers’ quarters and bridge were all wrecked, and being unable to steer the ship under the growing force and accuracy of the enemy’s shells, Captain Chesters at last had no alternative but to abandon his vessel. He, therefore, gave orders to cease firing and stop the engines. ”

“ To this the British Government issued a reply on the following March 1st, that the German announcement was in fact a claim to torpedo at sight, regardless of the safety both of the crew or passengers, any merchant vessel under any flag. The British Government proceeded to remind Germany and the world, that by all the accepted traditions of the sea, and under the terms of international law, it was the duty of an enemy vessel to bring a captured ship to a Prize Court, where all the circumstances of the case could be impartially investigated, and where neutrals might recover their cargoes. ”

“ The sinking of the great British steamer is a success, the moral significance of which is still greater than the material success. With joyful pride we contemplate this latest deed of our Navy, and it will not be the last.” In the Cologne Gazette, of five days later, it was stated that “the news will be received by the German people with unanimous satisfaction, since it proves to England and the whole world that Germany is quite in earnest with regard to her submarine warfare.” ”

“ Even under normal conditions, the construction and fitting out of this the largest aeroplane factory in the country would have been a herculean task, but in war time, with the resultant difficulties to be encountered in obtaining the necessary material, the undertaking might well have baffled even the most enterprising brains. That it was accomplished at all is, perhaps, the best proof of the enormous reserve of initiative and capability that had been accumulated by the Company during the long years of its previous expansion ”

“ The enemies had the advantage of interior military lines, but by the aid of ships—carrying troops, munitions, and stores—we gradually forged a hoop of steel round them and slowly but irresistibly drew it tighter and tighter until, their economic power having been strangled by sea power, their naval and military power was weakened and they were compelled to sue for peace. ”

“ All the boats on the ship had been swung out the day previous, and the work of launching them was at once commenced. The attempt in the case of the first boat was a tragic failure. The women and children were taken first and the boat was practically filled with them, there being only a few men. The boat was lowered until within its own length of the water, when the forward tackle jammed, and the whole of its occupants, with the exception of three, were thrown into the water. The Lusitania was then on an even keel. On the decks of the doomed vessel absolute coolness prevailed. ”

“ The population has trebled in the last hundred years and the level of comfort of all classes has risen, and to-day the very existence of the 45,000,000 people of the British Isles, as well as their commercial and social relations with the other sections of the Empire, depends on the sufficiency and efficiency of the Mercantile Marine.
We possessed a trading Navy, with fine traditions of peace and war, long before we had a Fighting Navy. ”

“ When the unknown steamer had disappeared, the submarine again came to the surface, and overtaking the boats in which the crew had taken refuge, hailed the one in charge of the Chief Officer, and after interrogating him, moved off in an easterly direction. Meanwhile, during the night, the little group of lifeboats became separated, meeting with various adventures but all except one ultimately reaching safety, their crews being landed as far apart as New York, Bermuda, Newport, and Nova Scotia. As in the case of the Ausonia’s boats described in Chapter III, they underwent the severest hardships. ”

“ Attacked by a submarine, Commander Dow noticed the wake of the approaching torpedo on his starboard bow, and immediately ordering the helm to be flung hard aport the torpedo was missed by not more than 5 feet, the Mauretania’s great speed fortunately thereafter placing her beyond range of the enemy. ”

“ No man can live unto himself.
The story of the contribution which British seamen have made to the happiness and well being of the world can never be half told, and these pages form merely a footnote to one of the most glorious epics in human annals. They go forth in the hope that they may help to perpetuate those sterling virtues which find increasing expression in the British race throughout the world. James Anthony Froude once declared that all that this country has achieved in the course of three centuries has been due to her predominance as an ocean power. “Take away her merchant fleets ”

“ In the critical month of March, 1918, when the Allied armies were retreating on the Western Front,123 and it was clear that the crucial point of the war was imminent, the Ministry of Munitions sent out urgent appeals to all Munition Works. During the great retreat, although many of the actual guns were saved, there was no time to attempt to bring away the gun beds, and in consequence many of the larger calibre weapons were thus rendered useless. The Cunard Company was then asked to undertake to supply one hundred sets in as short a time as possible. ”

“ Some idea of the magnitude of the work thus carried upon the shoulders of the Cunard management may be gathered from the facts that in one year alone not less than 200 sailings were made from American and Canadian ports, and that over 10,000 tons of cargo were often carried in one steamer.
With the entrance of America into the war, the carrying problem became at once more complicated and greater in bulk; and in its solution the Cunard Company may once more justly be said to have played a major part. Let us consider first its work in the carriage of troops. ”

“ How could we, a community of islanders, in partnership with other islanders living in Dominions thousands of miles away, hope to make our strength felt on the battlefields of the Continent of Europe, where the military Powers were mobilising conscript armies counted not by thousands, but by millions? ”

“ For the next ten years, however, it was found that passengers still preferred the old paddle-wheel system, and side by side with their iron screw steamers, the Company continued to build these until, in 1862, the Scotia proved to be the last of a dying type. Meanwhile, in 1854, the Government was to realise another side of the value to the nation of the Cunard Company. During the Crimean War, in response to a strong Government appeal, the Company immediately placed at the Admiralty’s disposal, six of their best steamers, the Cambria, Niagara, Europa, Arabia, Andes, and Alps ”

“ Captain J. Marshall, in command, immediately ordered her boats to be lowered with the result that within a quarter of an hour all the passengers and crew were clear of the ship, except the Captain himself, the Chief, First, Second and Third Officers, who made a special request to the Captain to be allowed to remain on board. The manner in which the boats were thus speedily lowered and filled and navigated to positions of safety was an evolution which reflected favourably on the organisation of the ship. ”

“ On recovering he made his way to the bridge and put on a life-jacket. Here he remained until, at eight o’clock, five miles from land and in pitch darkness, the Vinovia sank under his feet, and he was thrown into the water. He succeeded however, in supporting himself on some wreckage, to which as it happened the ship’s bell was attached; and it was this little fact that in the end proved his salvation. Attracted by the ringing of the bell, a small patrol boat the next morning decided to investigate the wreckage, and there Captain Gronow was found lying unconscious. ”

“ Leaving the Mersey, as we have seen, on Saturday, August 15th, she first went up the Irish Channel examining merchant vessels, on her way to the Halifax trade route; where she23 was to carry out her first patrol duties. Having kept this track, however, for twenty-four hours without adventure, she received orders to sail for Bermuda, and on her way there seized the opportunity of dropping a target and carrying out some practice, firing which not only proved that her gun-layers were exceptionally skilful, but which gave all on board considerably greater confidence in the ship as a fighting unit. ”

“ When a brigade of business men was formed in Liverpool, in 1914, not less than 120 Cunarders from the Liverpool staffs enlisted on the first day, while from the clerical staffs alone of the principal Cunard Offices in Great Britain, 387 men joined the Army, besides 65 who joined from the Canadian and American Offices—a total of 452. ”

“ In Belgium and France as in the Pacific, in Gallipoli as in Eastern Africa, in Salonica as in Mesopotamia, and in Italy as in Palestine, British troops were soon confronting the forces of the Central Alliance; every ocean was dominated by British men-of-war. ”

“ Similarly the Indian Empire, the early American Colonies, and many other British Possessions all over the world, were founded by merchant shipping enterprise alone. From time immemorial, the British merchantman has carried the flag to the outermost parts of the world and thus helped to maintain its prestige.
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The Mercantile Marine and Navy have always been so closely knit that it is often difficult to separate their histories. The Mercantile Marine was in reality, as has been said, the parent of the latter. ”

“ The sinking of prizes was therefore, as the British Government pointed out, always a questionable proceeding, and could only be justified in exceptional circumstances, and after full provision had been made for crews and passengers. The legal responsibility of verifying the status of any vessel always rested with the60 attacking ship, while the obligations of humanity required adequate provision to be made for the safety of all crews and passengers of merchant vessels, whether enemy or neutral. ”

“ Price had invented the triple expansion engine,8 which effected further considerable economies in the consumption of fuel; and these were fitted by the Cunard Company into the two great twin-screw vessels, the Campania and Lucania, built in 1893. With the Campania we shall deal again, as she performed valuable services in the late war, and it is interesting to note that it was on board the Lucania in 1901 that Mr. Marconi carried out certain important experiments in wireless telegraphy, this vessel being the first, under the Cunard management, to be fitted with a wireless installation. ”