"BRAVE BROKE."

Clutha Leader, Volume XLIII, Issue 92, 1 June 1917, Page 3

"BRAVE BROKE."

The circumstances in which the name of Broke gained a worthy name in the annals of the British Navy, apropos of j u c , e r nt ga . llant fi K ht °f HM - Broke »nd H.M. Swift against six German destroyers, aro narrated by Major Sir Robert J. Walker, Coldsrtcam Guards, who is at present on the headquarters staff of the Auckland military district. 'The destroyer Broke, which has earned immortal fame in the recent action in the Channel," he savs, "derives her name from the hero of the due between H.M. Shannon and the United States frigate Chesapeake. Sir Jhilip Bowes Vero Broke, rear-admiral, ten at Broke Hall,, near Ipswich, in "<o, entered the Royal Navy in 1792, *»s promoted captain in 1801, and apRted to command H.M. Shannon in 1806. In her he fought the memorable wel with the Chesapeake, off Boston, on June 1, IPI3, which has made orare Broke' ever since a hero in Popular English Bong. The Americana were confident of success, but proved ao match for Broke's hardv and thorWgnly disciplined men, who, after delivering with excellent effect two ternac broadsides—the Shannon was a «-gun frigate— sprang across the gunwale, and, after a moment's struggle, r »n up the English colors 15 minutes i u commencement of the action. A bW recoived in boarding seriously affected Broke's health, and he retired yom active service with a baronetcy, dying in 1841. ''The words of the popular old Eng"sn song commemorate this achievement:— The Chesapeake so bold out of Boston, I've been told, Came to take a British frigate neat ( and handy-oh. 'But now, although Broke has lived up to the example set her by the famous captain of the Shannon! the galjant American Navy is allied with "Utain against a common foe."