He Stole A Cruiser For De Gaulle

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 247, 18 October 1941, Page 11

He Stole A Cruiser For De Gaulle

THIS knight errant of a naval * officer, known as Scarlet Pimpernel, R.N., or—affectionately—as Pimply," was summoned to that room at the British Admiralty where worldshaking decisions sure reached. "If Hitler gets the French Fleet," he was told, "the balance of seapower is likely to swing against u s. And unless something drastic | is done, he may get it." The situation after Marshal Petain's tentative request for an armistice looked black. Heavy units of the French Navy were in the Mediterranean; if allied with Mussolini's sea weight the greater part of the British Navy might have to be sent to redress the balance, leaving the northern waters less adequately guarded than the situation needed. "Anything I can do, sir?" Pimply asked. "Not openly. It would have -to be under-cover work," the chief said, after conferring with the others who form one of the most vital war committees known to history. "The general heart of France favours us still. But the average Frenchman —the man we rely on to act when the time is ripe—is emotional, and, if fed too clever enemy propaganda, he's apt to turn Anglophobe. It looks as if the would be the likeliest ship." On Board in Disguise That was why this eminently capable though unrecognised British naval officer made it his business to get aboard the noble French cruiser lying in a French Mediterranean port, temporarily immobilised. . Pimply was not in a position to walk across her gang plank and announce himself as an emissary of Britain asking for adherence to the Allied pact. Toulon was full of Hun "tourists." The life of a confessed British N.O. would not have been worth a moment's purchase. The French Fleet—its potential power— was a strong bargaining weapon for better armistice terms. Naturally, the Vichy men—the worst of them, like Laval—would be on their guard. But Pimply reached the cruiser. Being adept at disguise, he boarded her as a French naval officer. To his consternation, the first commissioned officer he encountered was a inan he had previously met—at convoy conferences and other surh necessary functions. But Pimply possesses a quality that has saved him from disaster on countless occasions. His face is as plastic as soft rubber. Moreover, he is a master of dialects. Not immediately was he able to sound general opinion. "Talk about volcanoes!" said Pimply, when recording his experiences. "We were told—it was brayed through the ship's loudi; speakers—that the whole Royal Navy had been sunk off Yarmouth, and that the Germans were already landed in East Anglia. . We had no authentic news for a time, because it was forbidden to receive, the A Bad Moment ■ "Only—l got to wind'ard of them there, ' I know a bit about wireless ?od rigged up a whispering set in \ the cubby-hole they gave me as a cabin; it meant using earphones, and there was interference in plenty; but I got a lot, and it made things seem brighter. But one night I went ashore with de Thamis, the man I'd

This story, reproduced from the Vancouver Daily Province, tells of an unsung hero of the Royal Navy who rivals the daring deeds of the romantic "Scarlet Pimpernel" in a fantastic plot that worked. For obvious reasons his real name cannot be given.

By Captain Frank H. Shaw

met before, and when we were in a cafe dansant I must have let mv face slip a bit, for I saw by his expression that he was smelling a rat.

"However, I called the waiter and ordered more wine. De Thamis liked a drink; he mopped up the bubbly like a camel." 1 He managed to sober de Thamis 1 once they were back aboard;, but as 'yjmen... recovering from intoxication do, the - Frenchman remembered his suspicion first of all. "I remember," he said. "You are— L we have met in England." » " "Think there aren't any pro-Nazis t in England?" asked Pimply, t Surprisingly de Thamis said: "My I one hope is in England's survival— I and if I denounce you as a traitor i aboard you will—disappear. The t whole civilised world is looking to I England for salvation."

"Why didn't you say so before?" Pimply asked. "You'd have saved me a lot of money in bubbly-water, for one thing. You talked proVichy louder than anyone." From that moment began an insidious undermining of opinion aboard the cruiser. The real feelings of the officers could be gauged but those of the lower deck were different; and without the co-operation of the rank and file the project could not be carried into effect. Apart from this, life aboard the cruiser was monotonous; a slackening of discipline became apparent. Then the executive officer went sick. De Thamis saw to it that he was appointed executive in his place. Conditions eased, and de Thamis and Pimply were able to spread a lot of good seed.

In the main, the lower deck was hostile to the Vichy regime. Assured of a following, Pimply decided time was almost ripe for action. "I admit I felt a bit nervous," Pimply admitted. "But just as we had got things in train for a getawajfc Oran jtiappened. Personally I thipk thes Royal Navy did quite right;in taking that action. It was a warning to the French Fleet that we wouldn't stand idly by while the greatest treachery of all was enacted. But ; we went on working; and used the! Italian treachery as a strong card."£ Night, Pimply decided, was the best time for the operation. To cutout a great ship of the cruiser's calibre wasn't' like edging a rowing ■iMHavaiMsaiaiMaaai mm

boat through the defences. But nignt wouiu conceal the stokeholu aciAny to a extent. Orders had been issued that no steam was 10 be raised without supreme command's instructions, i- orti.naiely ■, the od bunkers nadu't been stripped, it isn't easy to pump out a ship's bunkers nowadays. Bui tne oii nau to u<j Fuel oil is viscous; left to cool, it cannot be maue io ilow the conducting pipes. The bunkers are criss-crossea with steam heating pipes. Enough steam had thus to be got to feed this installation. It was got—De Thamis applied for permission for extended boat-drill. That meant steam on the winches for heaving them on board after the exercises. Permission was granted, and the engine-room crowd was loyal. The fuel oil was kept in a constant state of readiness. So the fatal day arrived. "Along about 4 p.m., de Thamis, an executive, gave leave to watch-and-part. That meant that most of the crew went ashore until midnight; indeed, quite a number got permission to stay until 7 a.m. The men loyal to Free France were given a quiet tip to return early. A great many of them elected to stay aboard. "Once the liberty men went away, we told the engine room to set about making steam quickly. We had had another boat drill, so any smoke we made was accounted for by the auxiliary engines—the donkey funnel leads into the main funnel for'ard. You have to think a lot of things when you're confiscating a big ship! "Then we arrested the captain. The loyar men came back. Every so often the engine-room would report as to steam. It fell dark; that enabled us to turn on the big burners under the boilers. "Back came the liberty men, seething with excitement—i was afraid they might have blown the gaff ashore. Maybe they did; I know we got a signal for the captain to report ashore. Stole the Surgeon, Too "We acknowledged and trumped up a whacker to explain why the order couldn't be obeyed; the captain, we said, had fallen down a hatchway and hurt his leg. "The nigh authority said he'd send his own surgeon aboard—so we took high authority's surgeon to sea with us; he was a strong de Gaulle man, it turned out! "When the night was at its darkest we unmoored in a whisper. That required some art; we couldn't cast off the chains from ashore, so had to cut the shackles inboard and be ready to slip at a word. "We cast off. The ship handled like a dream—as if anxious to be free. We crept round with our bow pointing to open water. As we did so some liberty men came down and raised Cain. "The alarm was given; there was nothing for it but to go full speed and chance accidents. We charged into the open sea at the rate of knots. Fortunately we hit nothing serious. "Trustworthy men were at the lead; I acted as navigator, De Thamis had the wheel. The shore batteries fired—blank, I think; but later we heard shot whistle by. We were all drunk with excitement; we whooped as the crashes sounded. "Fortunately no French ship in port had steam up, so we couldn't be followed; but just at dawn, as we flattered ourselves we were getting on 0.K., a destroyer challenged ana 1 fired a torpedo—on wireless orders, ; I suppose. "We dodged that; just as we ' dodged the aircraft that came out > for a looksee. We made a mighty • smoke screen to avoid those fellows. r- who dropped a" few they ? were wide—probably purposely so. i "So we got her away—handed her : over to the admiral in trust for the i Free French Navy. "The cruiser is now manned by ; Free Frenchmen with De Thamis in i command, and she is doing a lot of good work—for democracy?' s We shall hear more about De - Thamis and "Scarlet Pimpernel, ; R.N.," I wager, before the war is I over. ■