THE NAVY'S WORK

A GLIMPSE BEHIND THE SCENES

MINE-SWEEPING AND MINE-

LAYING

(FRQH OUR. OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

LONDON, 12th January.

The interest which New Zealanders take in the Royal Navy is evident from the generosity of the response to the apoeal for sufferers by the Jutland battle. There has not been much opportunity during the war of catering for this interest by sea stories, but New Zealand has been better provided than any other Dominion with what has been obtainable.

One of the most interesting sea narrativps I have seen has been put at my disposal by Mrs. Dunn, wife of'Comniar.dor A. E. Dunn, R.N.R., who when war broke out was Marine Superintendent in London for the New Zealand Shipping Company Commander Dunn's job has been the drab, modest job of many a fine seaman in this War—dull, dangerous, uncomfortable in the extreme. It has seldom been relieved by such thrilling and glorious episode's as the Dogger Bank and Jutland, but it represents nevertheless the executive reality of what is implied in "command of the sea." Th© Grand Fleet is the final sanction of our sea supremacy, but the little trawlers, the drifters, the dripping destroyers, the fisher folk in blue, and the incomparable Royal Naval Reserve are the spearhead of our power. Wh >n war broke out Commander Dunn applied for a ship, but there were only sectaries' posts vacant, and it was not till October, 1914, that he was offered command of H.M.5. Gazette, a 500-ton Channel steamer destined to sweep for mines. THE "FISHERS." "At that time," Tie says, "I knew nothing about mines, and was somewhat dubious of the undertaking. I spent a month at Portsmouth, and spent a large amount of my time at the Mining School, and then I began to feel some interest in mines and felt that I would sail round | and look at a mine before I blew it up. In December we were appointed to sweep , a certain vital part of the channel in the North Sea. All the officers and , men were volunteers from the Merchant ! Service, and had beer used to large ' ships, and we were all fearfully seasick j Bntil wo'got our sea-legs on The little , tnb was just like a cork on the water, and wo haS to make oar way round by easy stages, and on more than one occasion had to drop anchor because thera was no one well enough to look after the ship. In ths Navy, mine-sweeping is known as 'fishing.' All the sweepers work in pairs, and you go along very^ slowly watching the cable. When a mine is touched a slight tremor is felt all through the ship, caused by the cable cutting the mine away from , its moorings. According to The Hague Convention, a mine should be dead a when it floats on the water, but according to the Germans^ we found that ths mines were often still alive, and then our fun began. The ships are manoeuvred to about 80 yards away, and our marksmen line up at the rail -with Winchester rifles and try to puncture the mine until it slowly sinks out of sight. But if it is not dead it explodes and sends up a column of smoke and water' to the height of about 50 feet. ' "Nothing that I could say could ever describe the dreariness of that winter in the North Sea. It was always grey and cold, and everything was wet all the time. In bad weather we -were often more under the water than on top of it. On several occasions we had to put all hands on to bail out the engine-room to keep the fires going, and.it was quite a common, occurrence for the men to be washed out of their hammocks. But they 6tuck it well. "One. rough night we had been out ■with a small destroyer 'as our opposite number, and got caught in a fearful storm. The destroyer lost practically everything that could be washed away 1 or broken off, and became water-logged. We could not tow her, as we were almost as helpless as she was, and finally our steering gear gave signs of failing. We had just to let our old tub blow where she would go. We were' nearer Iceland than any other place when it calmed down and we could torn and face the weather for our baso. The destroyer reached port, but had to be scrapped after that night's work. "It was very dreary work, and we only had one piece of excitement all the time. We were sweeping one day, and a. Norwegian boat crossed our track. We ordered, her to stop, but she took no notice of us, and we had to send a couple of shots across her bows to make her pull up. We began to wonder if we had struck a German and were going to get the worst of it. "One day while lying at anchor a small trawler came, our way, and a dingy-looking figure hailed me. The voice seemed familiar, but it took me several seconds to realise that,the deckhand was part-owner, of a big shipping firm, and a well-known member of good London clubs. He wanted a good meal ,Tid someone to talk to. He had shared t a. bunk with a fireman, and-had not had a wash, since he went on board the trawler." -■■•■. ; , • /■ THE SUNNY SOUTH.

Orders for the Mediterraneaa were received by the Gazelle with an easily conceivable joy. At Malta the bridge, wheelhouse, and gun stations were covered in with steel plating *f or a protection against snipers—a precaution' to which the crew undoubtedly owe their lives. As a parent ship to a submarine searching the coast of Asia Minor, the Gazello saw a new phase of war. "It was all very peaceful out there, and it was a lovely yachting cruise. When not on night duty, we used to drop anchor in some little bay and have the submarine made fast alongside while we made up some arrears of sleep. At daybreak we would be awakened by tho noise of the goat-bells on shore. We often saw trains of camel going along the roads and carrying every imaginable thing, for they have no other means.of transport. Sometimes we bargained with Greeks for fresh fish, and the oranges and loquats gathered ripe were delicious, while the grapes grow almost wild, and were very cheap. '\We had not been tber* long before the Turks began to fortify the coast, and now every point of vantage bristles with guns, and we give it a wide berth. ■ "We used to see the troopships passing by from Alexandria to Mudros, and often speculated on what wa« going on. SHORT RATIONS. "There was a ship which used to come roaur! every day with food and water for the small craft, but for three days she never came near us, and we were reduced to a very small amount of water and a few biscuits for fifty hungry men. . We could not go on for another day with- ' out food and water, so I went out on to the track and tried to stop a return- , ing troopship, bui she ".vas full of wound- j ed and could not stop; five more ships ■ followed and they were also carrying ; wounded. Later we manaired-to persuade , a patrol hoat to part with enough food and water to last till we returned to Mudros to coal.

VARIED EXPERIENCES. "We had great sport during the blockade of the coast of Asia Minor We had to stop and search suspected vessels for contraband, and occasionally we made some good "hauls. They usually travelled at night and it was no joke to/stop and search a strange ship on a rough, dark night. And we had to get snatches of sleep id the daytime. It seemed to me that sometimes we only needed a black flag to turn us into a complete pirate ■ ship. One 'day we had backed into a small bay to have a look round, and i everything was just as usual and very quiet, but as we started to move out, . therb came a rain of lead around us. ! Everyone scuttled for shelter and the old Gazelle showed a clean pair of heels until we were out of rifle range, and then, we gave them a taste of our 12-pounders, which somewhat spoiled the look of their village. One night we pame upon a small schooner towing several open boats, full of women and children—Armenians and Greek-Christians fleeing from the Turks. , With only the clothes they stood up in, they had been in the open boats for seven days and were suffering terribly ■ from cold and exposure. They were very thankful for some of our ship's biscuits, which the poor little kiddies ate as if they had been chocolates. | •RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. "Next the Gazelle was fitted up for mine-laying, and associated with the French jnine fayer, Casa Blanca The work had to be done on very dark nights and no lights were allowed. The first expedition passed off all right, but on the second one we were alone and had to lay eight mines across the entrance to the Gulf of Smyrna. We had just begun, our work when a searchlight from one of ths forts picked us up, and the guns opened fire. In addition they kept revolving the searchlights on. us, so that we were almost blinded, and should have been done for if the Doris had not come along and blazed away with her big guns, while we dropped the rest of our mines and sneaked away. "On the next trip the Casa Blanca laid several, and then one exploded, but, luckily, clear of the ship. Of ours, ths first three lots floated away.all right, but the next lot exploded as soon as they touched the water and blew up several of the others as' well. The noise was awful, and bits were flying about in all directions. Several of the men were hit. jby pieces. We were recalled to Mudros ! for a doctor, -and gave the remainder of j our mines to the Casa Blanca. A few | hours later, wo heard that' -she had struck 1 one of her own mines and had I gone idown with a loss of eight officers ' and-eighty-nine men. We were 1 now the | only mine-iaypr attached to the Allied Fleet, and they kept us busy. We used to lay over SO mines every nigjht that we could go out, and we took quite a lot of talent with, us on those trips—the Commanding Officer of ■ our senior ship, two doctors, and one English and one French torpedo officer, besides our own crowd." : The mine-laying job ended with a message of thanks from Admiral de_ Robeck. Then there was much,patrol work." On one occasion fhe Gazelle removed over 1000 refugees, from Aivali from the vengeance of the Turks. Later she took the population and effects from Long Island. It was difficult to persuade them to move, but they were not safe down there. RESCUING THE SERBS.

."One "night after coaling and provisioning at Pbrt'Joro', we were ordered to proceed to Valona Bay by the Corinth Canal It was a rough night, and the canal is ■ four miles long and in someplaces only 80ft wide on the surface, and we had to find our way in the dark. From Vftlona we we're sent on to Durazzi to help in the evacuation of the Servians. The weather was glorious, but the nights were very cold,, and the mountains were covered 1 with snow-. No fresh provisions were to be had, and tinned stuff was a fearful' price. The wretched Serb 3 had an awful time. They had to tramp all the way through the heat by day and' the intense cold ■by night. They had very little food, and many perished from typhus. There were 65,000 Austrian prisoners sent down to Valona Bay, but only one-third reached there. The remainder died on the way, from cold and exposure. About 100,000 Servian soldiers had to be removed from Durazzo, besides .many civilians who had come down with the army, and 2000 Montenegrin refugees. And we had only ten small vessels to work with, so it took a number of trips to complete the .work. A large number of horses and cattle had been driven overland, but there was very little fodder for them, so I;am afraid" many, would be lost. The fittest of the men were marched down also, but most of them were too ill. The condition of the people was awful. I never imagined that men and women could sink to such a low state of vitality and yet live through it. Had it not been for the help of the British Mission to Servia, in providing food and rations, many thousands more'•would have died. About 200 English nurses from Lady Paget's Hospital at Uskub came down with the army, and they were very cheerful over their troubles. We took the refugees down to Corfu, at tho rate of .600 a time. They were so dazed that we had 'to drive them on board like a flock of sheep. They.would drop down anywhere, and never move until they reached Corfu, about forty hours later. Then we had to drive them all off again.

"The entrance to' Durazzo Bay was very heavily mined, and all the work had tobe done at night. We had an Italian pilot given us, but if ever it wag dark or rough he never managed to find a ship, and we could not altogether blame him! The whole of the journeys down we were followed by enemy aeroplanes, and when the birds of the air began to drop bombs on us, I thought we were done for. But our luck held out,' and we got all the refugees through safely, and had no casualties. Many pieces of the bombs we have as souvenirs."

The Gazelle and two other ships engaged in this work were specially commended by the Admiral, who brought their work to the notico of the Admiralty.