STORY OF THE Q-SHIPS

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 144, 21 June 1922, Page 2

STORY OF THE Q-SHIPS

FEATS OF ENDURANCE

LOYALTY AND GALLANTRY

UNSURPASSED

GERMAN AMAZEMENT.

(FROJI 0D« OWN COWl8»ON»«l»r.} , LONDON, sth May. Not alone for the splendid war record of the late Lieut.-Commander W. E. L. Sanders, V..C., R.RiR.. will New Zealanders want to read "y-ships and Their Story," engrossingly told by Mr. E. Keble Chatterton (late Lieut.-Com-mander, 8.N.y.R.), au author with many historical sea stories already to his credit. His latest book is published by Sidgwick and Jackson (12s 6d). '■ / .Unquestionably the greatest sphere of the Q-ship operations was off the southwest coast of Ireland, and it. was the good fortune of the authov to have most of his R.N.V.R. service at sea on patrol duty in that vicinity. The "mystery" ships were familiar to him in their various disguises at sea or in harbour at. Berehaven and Queenstown, and throughout the period he kept a dairy. Valuable data,.ioo, was obtained from officers of merchant ships who saw Q-shipe engaging submarines. The book'is dedicated to Admiral Sir Lewia Bayly C.V.0., X.C.8., Commander-in-Chief of the Irish coast during the strenuous years of the submarine campaign. By his encouragement and development of the "mystery" ship service he did much to thwart the operations of the enemy and protect British mercantile marine. This book 'is the first effort to present historically the Grand Guignol afloat. Naturally, of course, New Zealanders will look first for names of New Zealand interest, and in addition to that of the heroic Sanders they will find those of A. D. Blair (Green Island). D. G. Jeffrey, D.5.0., W. Olphe?t, and —. Hannah. H.M:S, Laburnum, too, ' distinguished herself by coming to the rescu,e> of H.M.S. FarnborougK after Captain Gordon Campbell's critical encounter with submarine U63-Va brilliant experience which was rewarded with the V.C.

TWO NEW ZEALANDERS. The Helgoland was a. Dutch "boat, built in 1895, of steel and iron, measuring 102 ft j9in long, 23ft 3in beam tonnage 310 burthen, and 182 net. " After having bee.n transformed into a Q-ship in July, 1916, with four 12-pounders and one Maxim, she was later known% officially as Helgoland, Horley, Brig 10, and Ql7. Her complement included two E.N.B officers-^bpth of whpm\were New Zealanders—Lieut. A.1 D. Blair-&nd SubrLieut. W. E. L. Sanders.

On 6th September, 1916, she left for Falmouth on. her first cruise as a warship, and in a few hours she experienced her first engagement. For at 1.30 p.m. on 7th September, ten miles south of the Lizard,'.she sighted a submarine on the surface three points on the starboard quarter. Commanded by Lieutenant Sanders, and follotv.u% has example of perfect calmness, the gun's crews carried .out their work without flurry or excitement. The story runs: .. . "Within ,fiy« minutes the enemy, from, a distance of 2000. yards, had begun shelling, the brigantine. The first shot fell ten yards shqrt, but the second and third struck the foii6(ftopsail yard—how strange it seems' to use the time-honoured phrases of naval warfare foi' a twentieth century fight—one shell going right through the yard.. J\ happened that on this fine summer's ' day there was no wind; ,so here was the unlucky Helgoland becalmed, and unable to manoeuvre so as to. bring her guns tc bear as required. Ifc seemed as if the enemy intended to lie off and shell this perfect target with impunity, directing the fire from ahead and astern, which was just the way the brigantine's guns would not bear. However, after the second shot from tfo^ submarine, the Helgoland's guns would just bear, so Lieutenant. Blair dropped ..his screens and opened Sre whilst still there was a chance. The fourth round from the after gun seemed to hit the enemy, .ard she' immediately lurched and dived. Lieutenant Blair, then sent two of his hands aloft to look' for periscopes, and in a few minutes one was sighted on the starboard quarter 200 yards away and closing. Two rounds ■from.'each of the-starboard guns were therefore fired, one striking the water very close to the periscope, whictt again disappeared. ■ "Nothing further happened until half ■an hour later, when a larger submarine, with sail set, about the! size of a drifter's mizzen, was sighted right aft. As soon as tliis TJ-boat bore 3 points on the port quarter, she also was attacked,, and dived undet covei of her smoke screen. The afternoon passed, and at dusk (7 p.m.); wher. Sthere was acill no wind, the sound of s submarine's motors was heard as if circling around the brigantine. An hoUx later the Helgoland bent her new foretopsaii, and just before 0.30 a submarine was seen, right ahead,' so in the calm the Q-sh:'p eouid not get her guns to bear. Half an hour .later, an tners was. still no wind, Helgoland spoke an armed trawlei1,. who towed her back; ix> Plymouth. C<ust as the two ships were CBrnmunieating, tjie enemy fired a couple of torpedoes, which, thanks to the Helgoland's shallow draught, passed under her amidships. So ended the briganiineY first cruise. It was unfortunate that at long range she had been compelled to oper fire and disclose her identity, bjjt that was owing to the calm, and subsequently she was fitted with an1 auxiliary mitor." ." . ' • \DEED THAT WON THE.V.C.

/ The next record wo have of the Auckland hero was in February, 1917, in a three-masted schooner which was destined to be an historic ship in more ways than one. Actually, we are tola, she was the'first prize to be captured from Ger^ many, and it was a unique sight then to see the White Ensign flying over German colours. Within four or five hours of the declaration, of war this craft -had been captured at the western entrance of the English 'Channel, and she never >ecame German again. Her name was Else, then it became First Prize; this was abbreviated to Prize, and then changed to Ql7. r Ready for sea, disguised as a mqn-pf-war, she sep out in February, 1917, commanded by Lieutenant Sanders, of whom ifo- Chattei-ton says: "No befctei> man ' could haye bssn foupd than this plucky New Zealarider, and he had already shown that he_ had a genius for this extra special type'of Q-ship work." It would not be fair to lift, from its seating the excitingly desperate 3tovy of the Prize's encounter vdth TJ93, corDi manded by Lieut. -Commands? Freiherr yon Spiegel, who 'at its termination was one of three German survivors picked up by thp Prize, which by now vgs in a bad way. " Von'Spiegel, on coming aboard, offered bis word of honour to make no attempt to escape, and undertook that, he and Irip men would i-endsr ii'l'i assistance . His parole .being accepted, captors s>iri captives cat to vor'c to save tfie ship. There was a possibii.ity thai another submarine known tn he in i\)e. area would come alone; and finish off the sinking Prize, so all had snore an interest in the jrocesr1-

■ 'Eventually, on 2-rl .May, the Prise war. T>iclted up fiw railes wesi of *h:OM Kesri '(if' Juns.ile by H.X M.L. 161 (Lieutenant ftajmah, .R.N.Y.R.). Two

days later, the Prize, with the German' prisoners still on board, left Kinsale, in tow, for Milfprd, But on the way Prize sighted a German mine-laying submarine on the surface two miles away to the southward. The crew, therefore, went to action stations, and. for a hour the enemy steered on a parallel course, but finally the latter drew ahead and disappeared,. Arrived at Milford, the prisoners were taken ashore, and the Prize at length came to rest.

> HOW SANDERS DIED. _ On 13th August, the Prize was oniis>mg on tne north-west Irish coast with one of our D-class submarines, the idea ■being that when, the enemy came along the_ Prize1 would, be attacked and heaveito m the customary manner while the British submarine...would stealthily make for the enemy and torpedo him whilst, „bq Jo speak, he was not looking. "On the forenoon of 13th August, imagine -this ■ schooner with her newlypainted' black. topsides and red boottopping, flying the Swedish flag and heading east. Suddenly ÜB4B was sighted to the north, so Sanders hove-to and signalled the British submarine that there was a. German submarine to port. Shells began to be fired from the enemy, who closed. The British 'Submarine saw the shots falling but coiild not see the enemy until 4.10 p.ifi., when the German was descried to starboard of the Prize. There was a considerable lop on at the time, and the Prize was seen with her White Ensign flying at the peak, and her. guns manned. Five hours later the British submarine came to the surface and spoke Prize, who stated that she had opened fire on the enemy at 200 yards, and had' hit "him. Thjs we now know from another source ■was perfectly true, but the hits were not in a vital part of the German. During the dark*hours ÜB4B bided his time, and at midnight fired two torpedoes, the secqnd_ of which, hit, causing & terrific explosion, so that nothing more was eeen, and the good ship Prize, with "aer gallant captain and all his brave men, ended her career after one of the most brilliant periods that, can be found in the records of sea achievement. TJB4B was on her maiden voyage from Germany via the north of Scotland .and northrwest of Ireland to Cottaroin the Adriatic, where she arrived on 2nd September, sinking merchantmen on the way. This modern type of submarine, with her 4.1-inch gun and her ten torpedoes, was a difficult craft to sink. Her second officer had been taken from the 'German Mercantile Marine, so we can assume that his critical-eye would scru-, tinise the echooner and detect something which convinced his captain "that this wa<3_ really a traprship. That' the submarine should have bean content, whilst on a long passage, to waste co many hours over a mere sailing craft of quite small tonnage would have been doubtful; 'but the Prize, having once shown her White Ensign and used her guns to effect decided the German that she must, be settled with after dark, "when she would be a good target in that August might. It_ was a fair fight, but the chances we're aj} in favour of the German, since it is practically impossible to see a periscope at night, whereas the Q-ship!s sails would loom up and, show in which direction the target was heading ; and, further, the submarine had. the advantage-of mobility all the time. ' "The facts which have just been stated are authentic, and it is as well that they should now be. made known. Ignorance always breeds falsehood, and after the. loss of the Prize there were all sorts of wild stories goinff about both in th^'Service. and in the Mercantile .Marine. Some of them are too ghastly to be related, but a favourite version was thfit the brave ■Sanders had been taken prisoner and lashed to the"" submarine's periscope, which then submerged and so drowned him. - Another story, which was. very prevalent, was that he had been cruelly murdered. There is not a word of truth in these suggestions. Lieutenant-Oom-mander Sanders died as he would have wished, aboard his ship with his men. Hip body tests in the Atlantic where the .remains of his glorious Prize sank; but his memorial, unveiled by Lord JelEcos as Governor of New Zealand, will inspire generations who come after."

MODEL OF: A TRUE' BRITISH SAILOR, "For dogged devotion to dangerous duty," we read, '-'for coolness in peril, for real leadership of men, for .tenacity in 'sticking it,', this hero among those' .great p,nd gallant gentlemen of the1 Q-ehip service will remain as a model of what a true British sailor should bs. Had he lived, his influence would have 'been tremendous, but by refusing a safe billet when he was fully entitled to it, and preferring deliberately to court death because that way duty and honour ipointed, his exampie should be a great source of strength to every young apiprentice beginning his life. in the Merchant Service, every midshipman of His Majesty's Navy, and every young *nan content to learn the lessons whiclx_are taught only by the sea. On land, for their historic exploits at the Dardanelles and in France, we gratefully remember the Australians and. New Zealanders. Ifc is fitting that one of the latter should have bequeathed to iis such distinction on thft 6ea.; it is characteristic of the great cooperation when the children of - the Empire flocked to help their mother ■in her throes of the World War."

"It has been told me (to the. writer) by one who ought to know, that when Von^ Spiegel came aboard Prize, after being" picked lip out of the wateivhe remarked to Sanders: 'The discipline in the German Navy is wonderful, but that your men could have quietly endured our shelling without reply is beyond all belief.' Before leaving the .Prize he said good-bye to Sanders and extended an invitation to stay with him on his Schieswig-Holstein estate after the wai. No one will deny the extraordinary gallantry of Prize's crew and the heroic patience in withholding their, fire untilthe psychologic1 a 1 moment, 'though the temptation was yery trying. IV Lieutenant'Yi'. E. Sanders was awarded the Victoria Cross, anc he was promoted to the rank of Temporary LieutenantCommander, K-.K.K." Tiie gallant story must, be read by New Zsala'nders for themselves.

"After her very .nepesniry refit, Ljs-ttenant-CommaTideil Sapders still remamed in 'the Prize. Admiral Jellicoe, PiriTt Sea Lord, had sent for him and ofiersd hjai .oonjTPn,nd of another ship; he could nave had a destroyei, a P-boat, or an- ah.jp within regson, but his un^s daunted spirit, to which Lord Jellicoe on arriving ;n New Zealand after tie var paid weh hjsjh tritmte, refused a safer appointment, and preferred to carry on-. I have besn told by an officer Who enjoyed i]a_nrler,»'R friendship and - confidence at this time, that he went out to sea a#ain with ihe consciousnesa that Before lonfjhe would have played the live-bait irarne too far, and that the fish would set away with the bait. If thai is ( , true, thsn we wins*; admirs Sanden ati.l more for hL1; hprpisai in lijfi dsvot.ion to duty. It is Mirely of thk stuff that the great martyrs of Christendom hava been made."

,' THE D.S.O. On IGfch June, 1917, the Prize, with Lieut.-Cojuman.der Sanders, v.'f.s in action wjih another Gei'man submarine, and for >.in gpjlontry he received tiie D.S,Q. "Ha Kd had a' vs?v irvmg tima. When, ac iI.SP. the "German M;el_la had hit, the fa'ls of the pert, davit had been :jhot aiv?,-,.', .-.nd another nhol had «t-;ck iba ship ovi ■'••hs ats.rboard side' K-micjshit>? :,vzi on the top of tho Bne2i--3tvaSa plate. This shell Usd e.vplodet! ami ruuser! His ship to Isak. Lieut..Commander Sanders, who was

lying concealed ..between the mast and the hatch, put up his arms to shield his face from the burst fragments and so received a piece of shell in his right arm above the wrist. In addition, the "force of the explosion knocked him over and hurled him to the other side of the deck, where he was picked up by Sapper Mead. In "spite of the pain and the shock, Sanders was just sufficiently conscious to give the order 'Action at 11.33, when screens wore downed, White Ensign rung up, and fire was returned."

Q,SHIPS EVERYWHERE. ■ In the spring of 1917,: it was decided that the 2905-ton s,s. Admiralty collier, Bracondale, would make a useful Q-ship; her name was changed to Chagford, and she was fitted out at De^-onport armed with a 4in, two 12-pounders, and a 'couple of torpedo tubes. At the end of June she was given over to Commander D. G. Jeffrey, R.N.R., v;ho is now out in the Quest. He was the officer who was included in the Shackleton 1914 Antarctic Expedition (in command of the Aurora), but he joined'up with the Navy • for the war instead. On sth August the Chagford was 120 N.W. of Tory Island, looking for. submarines, when she herself T/aa torpedoed just below the bridge and in this cne explosion wa3 caused' very great injury, for it disabled both her torpedo tubes and her 4in gun; it shattered the boats on the starboard side as well as. the captain's cabiXj and chartroom. In addition, it also wrecked all the voice-pipe connections to the torpedo tube 3 and guns, and it flooded the #i-gine-room, and plit the engines out of commission, killing ons of the crew. Lieutenant Jeffrey therefore ' abandoned ' ship, and just as the boat 3 were getting away two periscopes and & submarine were sighted on the starboard side 800 yards away. As soon as the enemy came to the surface fire was opened on her by the two 12-ppunders and both Lewis machine-guns, several direct hits being observed. The submarine fjhen dived, but at 4.40 a.m. she fired a second torpedo at the Chagford, which hit the ship abaft the bridge on the starboard side. From the time the first torpedo Mad hit, the enemy realised t|jat Ch&gford was a warship, for the 4m x gun and torpedo tubes had been made visible, arid now that ,the second explosion had come Lieutenant Jeffrey decided to recall his boats so that the ship might genuinely be abandoned. Then, in'tow of H.M. trawler Saxon; (the Chagford, evidently breaking up, the tow rope had to be slipßed, and on 7th August she took her" final plunge and; disappeared, Jeffery, was landed at Obah. ,

New Zealanders will be keen to. rea,d for themselves the subterfuges arranged by the Q-ship men to hide their identity —their rusK to the "panic" stations, their touzle^ wig disguises. Even whan a Q-ahip had to be abandoned in reality, the spirit of the panic party survived; •a captain's servant was missing as the. last boat put off; he reappeared with a bag in 1 which was his master's best monkey jacket; "I thought as you might want this, sir, seeing you'll have to go and see the admiral wjien we get back to,Queen,stown." •' / !- \ \ MEN .INDEED! Reviewing this absorbing book this morning, the Morning Post concludes : 'JAnd the qfficers; on whom the chief responsibility rested—some personally known, to the writer—Campbell, Sanders, Grenfell, Bernays, and many others; such officers could call upon men for that last ounce which $n" order alone cannot produce, but which free will only'can give. > Those, who survive. must be proud indeed of *,he tremendous loyalty accorded to their ■ leadership, whilst "those who lost their lives must have had tha «atisf action of knowing, up to 'the last moment, that their trusted ships' companies were faithful unto death. In "consequence, Mr. Chatterton's book should be read by every Briton who is proud of his or her race; while, for the coming generation, it will serve as a guide to virile'manhood. Those who went down to the sea ft I Q-ships were men indeed!"