Wolston B. C. W. Forester

“ 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. ”

“ 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! ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The tea-house is on the left, and in the foreground a group of pirates of the good old-fashioned melodramatic kind are lying noisily asleep. Their sentry goes around waking them by vigorous kicks. Then they breakfast on rum, and a heated argument takes place over the question of calling their formidable Chief. He, it appears, is afflicted in the morning hours with a shortness of temper highly dangerous [36] to the health of any one to whose lot it falls to arouse him. ”

“ Kipling It was on January 15, 1916, that I finally rejoined my ship. She was then in floating dock at ——. That night the dock was flooded, and next [22] morning we warped out and proceeded to our billet in the harbour. About a week later we left ——, and once more the northern mists closed down upon us.
The deadly monotony of the work of the Grand Fleet will probably never be fully realized by any but those whose fate it was to wait day after day, and week after week, for the longed-for encounter with the enemy. Only that ever-present hope carried us through that dreary second winter of war. ”

“ Next morning I had my bath at 6.45, and when dressed repaired to the gunroom in the hope that my seven-bell (naval phraseology for 7.30) breakfast, which I had ordered overnight, would be ready for me.... Vain hope triumphing over experience, and doomed to disappointment. As usual the said breakfast did not materialize until five minutes to eight, which left me exactly two [46] minutes in which to consume it ... very bad for digestion and temper!
That hurried meal over, I went up to the bridge to relieve the officer in charge of submarine lookouts for the morning watch. ”

“ It had long been my cherished ambition to be appointed to one of the smaller craft, in which my work would be much more varied and responsible than that of a junior [117] officer in a big ship. So, shortly after receiving promotion, I applied through the Captain to have my name forwarded with a view to being appointed to the Vernon for the torpedo control course, which same is the usual preliminary to work in a destroyer. ”

“ This was very rough on them, as naturally every precaution is taken to keep as keen a lookout as possible, not only with a view to avoiding disaster, but also in hope of locating and perhaps, with luck, strafing a U-boat.
The responsibilities of a Commanding Officer must needs weigh heavily, for it is [141] obvious that the High Command can take no cognizance of that occult and fickle factor "luck," and naval discipline in war-time must be merciless. ”

“ What service in small craft must mean for those with less tractable tummies I shudder to think.
We sighted the Isle of Wight about 3 P.M. and were congratulating ourselves on the fact that within an hour and a half we should be safely berthed in Portsmouth, and with any luck would get a night in, as the ship had been running exceptionally hard for a week past.... But our congratulations were premature, for when we drew near our objective we received a signal ordering us to anchor as convenient and await the [128] arrival of another "P." boat which was bringing us our sailing orders. ”

“ In common with so many of his contemporaries, it has been given him to condense into a few short years of extreme youth experience and adventure enough for a lifetime ... and who shall say what yet lies behind the veil of mystery and wonder that so mercifully shrouds the future. Gleaming bright with the gold of our dreams, or darkened by futile folly of our fears, no man may lift that veil and live.... But Faith shall make of it a thing of Beauty. Our cause is just. ”

“ When I went up on deck I found that there was a thick haze on the water which almost hid the ships on either side of us. By ten o'clock this fog had so increased in density that it completely blotted out our next ahead, and, to his great disgust, the Snotty of the watch was ordered forward to the fo'c'sle head to keep lookout. The fog continued to thicken until the bridge was scarcely visible from the eyes of the ship. (The eyes of the ship means right forward in the bow.) ”

“ 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. ”

“ Having completed just on three years' service as Midshipmen, we were faced with the ordeal of exams, which must be passed before we could get our stripe, i.e. be advanced to the rank of Sub-Lieutenant.
In May we had one of our rare and brief spells of "leave"—just ten days from the ship—and on our return we suddenly realized with dismay that a bare four weeks remained to us in which to work up the five essential subjects. These are gunnery, [90] torpedo work, navigation, seamanship, and engineering—rather a formidable list. ”

“ Of all the dangers and inconveniences with which sailors have to contend, fog is perhaps the most trying and exasperating. I remember an occasion when Campbell and I were bidden to dine in H.M.S. ——, and as "Torps" happened also to be dining out, though in another ship, we managed to get a steamboat to convey us to our respective destinations, but "The Bloke" could not give us one to bring us back. We therefore [28] arranged with various other Snotties that a gunroom whaler's crew should come and pick us all up about 9.30. ”

“ It will be readily understood that it is only a fraction of the whole. As is now well known the Fifth Battle Squadron and the Battle-Cruiser Fleet did their job so efficiently that the Germans fled to their base—thus robbing the Grand Fleet of the chance to win a decisive victory.
The Huns, with that genius for mendacity which they have exhibited throughout the war, claimed to have defeated the British Navy—a claim based presumably on the idea that "he who fights and runs away will live to fight another day." ”

“ Dockyard hands were working all over the place, and all gangways and flats were encumbered with a mad medley of iron plates, stray fittings, and the usual collection of filth which a ship always manages to accumulate in the course of a refit. After wandering [76] forlornly about for an hour with nowhere to go and nothing to do, we got leave from the Commander to quit the ship until 9 A.M. the following morning. Campbell and I promptly made tracks for the dockyard gates, where we had the luck to pick up a taxi, which drove us to the nearest station, and we returned to Edinburgh. ”

“ The foretop and conning-tower's crews being told off to relieve each other for meals, and the senior officer "Guns" being in the foretop, they went first, and as usual took more than their fair share of the allotted time. When they had at last satisfied their voracious appetites and our turn came, we found nearly all peace lights out between deck and in the gunroom mess. During tea much speculation was rife, but we dared [52] hardly hope even now that we should indeed get into touch with the enemy. ”

“ Not feeling certain that the bulkheads would withstand the strain of going ahead, and not knowing the extent of the damage the ship had sustained below the water-line, the Captain decided to proceed stern first until daylight enabled us to make a more thorough examination.
We had been struck a bare six feet forward of the stoker's mess deck, the foremost living-space in this class of ship, in view of [138] which fact we were uncommonly lucky in that no lives were lost, nor had any of the crew been injured. ”

“ Then we all return to H.M.S. ——, where in wardroom and gunroom refreshments are provided. By this time it has [42] turned out a very dirty night, a nasty sea is running, and it is too rough for picket-boats. Presently the stentorian voice of the quartermaster is heard in the officers' messes: "Fourth Battle Squadron's drifter alongside." And out of the warmth and light we all troop to the dark and cold upper deck, and make our way over to the theatre ship. Several drifters are alongside, and these are groaning and creaking under the impact of heavy seas. ”

“ Notwithstanding the fact that submarine warfare has become almost a commonplace of naval existence, the knowledge of the near presence of an invisible foe never fails to produce a considerable thrill and a tightening of the nerves, half hope and half apprehension. ”