SHIPS AND THE SEA

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 18, 20 July 1935, Page 27

SHIPS AND THE SEA

(By "Argus.")

Part I.* . , Looking back over the years, there are few among^ us who can recall any engagements fought by ships attached to the New Zealand Station during the Great War. Yet there is one ship still doing honourable duty in the service of the Royal Navy which played a big part in the struggle, which began nearly twenty-one years ago.. That ship is the Philomel, which carries >on as an important part of the Devonport Naval Base at Auckland. Even in the days immediately preceding the war, the Philomel was regarded as being old for a fighting ship. She had been launched at Devonport in 1890, and was listed as a thirdclass cruiser. Built of steel, the Philomel had a displacement of 2575 tons, and her engines had an indicated horse-power of 7500. Twin propellers could drive her at a speed exceeding "19 knots.1 The vessel's armament consisted of 8 4.7 in guns, 8 threepounders, 4 maxims, one light piece, and two torpedo tubes. Her complement was 217. On the outbreak of war, the Philomel had only been commissioned by the New Zealand Government as a training ship a few weeks. When the first warning from the Admiralty reached New Zealand, on July 30, 1914, she was at Picton under Captain P. H. Hall-Thompson, C.M.G., R.N., with a small crew on board, it being intended to fill out her complement with boys under'training. She at once proceeded to Auckland, from- which port she sailed- in company with the ships Psyche and.Pyramus ori August 15, convoying the- Union Company liners Monowai and Moeraki to Samoa with the first New Zealand Expeditionary Forces. IN PURSUIT OF RAIDERS. As soon as Samoa was surrendered on August 31, the Philomel made off at top speed to Vavau, in the vicinity of which, port the .German cruisers Scharnhorst and Greisenau hadt been reported., She brought the first news to reach Tonga of the entry of Britain into the war. While at Nukualofa, she received a suspicious wireless message, and at once put to sea again. No'trace of the raiders was, however, found. ' ' ' With H.M.S.s Minotaur and Psyche and H.1.J.M.5.. Ibuki (a builder's model of which is in .the Dominion Museum), the Philomel left Wellington on October 16, 1914, .with the first New Zealand Expeditionary Force to leave for Europe. At Albany, which was reached on October-28, the Philomel and the Pyramus left the convoy to look for the Emden.'but off Christmas Island the Philomel received radioed advice that the raider had been destroyed by H.M.A.S. Sydney. For some time .the Philomel remained in the Indian Ocean, 'searching ships and convoying French troops. While engaged in patrol work in the Red Sea she fired her first shots "in anger." They, were aimed at a fleet of dhows' off Mocha. The dhows were sunk, but the crews and the. villagers fled inland. Christmas Day, 1914, was spent escorting nine large transports from Port Said to Europe. This duty took the Philomel as far as Malta. Early in February suspicious movements ashore near Alexandretta, which gave rise to the supposition that military stores were being taken there, caused a landing to be made. An armed party,was put ashore with the intention of inspecting the packs of animals being driven to Alexandretta, while the Philomel shelled certain Turkish trenches. As soon as the party had advanced a little way up a dry river-bed, some three hundred Turks rose up on three sides. A difficult retreat across ground enfiladed by the enemy was successfully carried out. THE FIRST NEW ZEALANDEU KILLED. . There were many casualties, which were added to by men exposing themselves to rescue the wounded. AbleSeaman Knowles, R.N.R., who is believed to be the first New Zealander to fall in action v.\ the war, was killed here. For his conduct in this and a later affair, Lieutenant Fitz Adam Millar afterwards received the D.S.C. Others mentioned in dispatches were Lieutenant Pirie Gordon, R.N.V.R. (also awarded a D.S.C.), C. H. Hollawby, P. 0., F. Gardner, A. T. Lipou, W.'-M. Stansbury (killed), and B. S. Beagley (killed,atJAden).- ,;J. T: Moreton was injured in the retreat, and the p,arty put off in the boat unaware of his absence. A volunteer party of nine, led by Lieutenant C. J. Keily, of Wellington, went back after him, and after four hours' search in the darkness, aided by the ship's searchlight, found the missing man. Moreton, however, died two'days later. . , After this episode, traps were distributed by the enemy in the locality, and it was known that all the civilians went armed. It was even proved, later, that German officers were directing the watch on the ship. The Turks held five British subject, R. James, W. Nowell, B. Salveny, C. Smith, and J. Hubb, whose lives it was Captain Hall-Thompson's task to save. One of his best arguments was that .600 Turkish soldiers and seven officers were held by the British! Negotiations with Rifat Bey, then in command at Alexandretta, eventually resulted in the lives of the hostages being spared.

THE PHILOMEL'S WAR SERVICE

ALARUMS AND EXCURSIONS

British alike. The Ballarat (or, as she then was, H,M. Ambulance Transport Ballarat, A.70), with reinforcements for the Australian' Imperial Forces, arrived near the entrance to the English Channel on April 25, 1917, under the escort of the torpedo-boat destroyer Phoenix. At 2 p.m. on that day, although fifty look-out men were stationed on each side of the ship, in addition to the official watches, she was struck by a torpedo from an unseen submarine. The explosion, which was terrific, carried away the starboard propeller, bent the port propeller shaft, wrecked the gun isupports, and split the six-inch gun which was mounted on the steering-house. The main steampipe of the engines and the wireless aerials were wrecked, and the watertight bulkhead from the tunnel to the engine-room was buckled and fractured. The ship filled rapidly, and the main engines were soon under water. "S.O.S. signals were sent out immediately from the wireless reserve apparatus, and the signal sounded for troops and crew to go to boat stations. In a few minutes more than twenty boats had been sent away; rafts were put out and troops transferred to these. Destroyers' were observed approaching the ship, and these picked up the troops and crew from the boats and rafts. The torpedo-boat Lookout then ranged alongside, and more troops were transferred to her. The ship was deep in the water, and none among the troops remaining on board knew in how few minutes she might founder. "REAR RANK STAND FAST." "Then occurred one of those splendid examples of discipline in the face of danger which in all ages have been commended. In reply to the commander's question ,as to how many more men the Lookout could take, her

officer commanding replied 'Thirty.' An order was given to the troops fallen in on the promenade deck. 'From the right, thirty file, right" turn, quick march.' Directly he had spoken the commander realised that he had set in motion double the number of men who could be taken; the troops were on the move, but the additional order, 'Rear rank stand fast,' brought thirty Australian soldiers to the halt while their comrades passed on to safety. Thus they remained until a drifter arrived alongside and completed the work of rescue.

"Chief Officer D. M. Hulton, Chief Engineer J. Cosgroye, Second Officer E. Parker, Carpenter "■ W. Holland, and Bosun G. Price remained on board with the commander, for, having seen his troops away, his next care was to save his ship, if it could by any means be accomplished. With the assistance of six A.B.s sent aboard by the commander of the destroyer Acasta, hawsers were passed, and the drifter Midge and another destroyer commenced towing the Ballarat towards the Lizard, the Phoenix all the time steaming round to ward off further attack, the Acasta and the drifter Saurin standing by, and other drifters making.; fast astern to assist in towing and steering. But all efforts to bring the ship to shallow 'water were without avail. At half-past four in the morning, when only seven and a half miles oil the Lizard Light, she sank in 44 fathoms of water. The commander (Captain G. W. Cockman, R.D., D.S.C.) and Iris salvage crew had just previously' left her. The entire ship's company of :1752 souls had been removed without a single casualty."

Mrs. Owens and her infant son werci on board at the time. The ship was lost, but there were no casualties. The six months in steam followed, Captain Owens being appointed first officer of the Auckland-owned Little Agnes. Back to sail, Captain Owens was on the brigantine Nautilus, running under the Chilean flag in the pearl shell trade in the South Pacific. The vessel was wrecked on Hariharitui Island, and for 74 days Captain Owens lived on coconuts and fish. After various commands on island boats the captain took command of the barquentine Pendle Hill, and he sailed her in the intercolonial trade for over ten years without mishap of any kind. His fastest voyage between Sydney and Auckland was seven days. During the war he was running the barquentine Wanganui, which made two voyages to San Francisco. Captain Owens had been living in retirement in Herne Bay for the last ten years. He is survived by his wife and two sons. At the time of his death he was 86 years old.