ROYAL OAK OFFICERS

Evening Star, Issue 19844, 18 April 1928, Page 6

ROYAL OAK OFFICERS

ADMIRALTY BOARD’S REVIEW CAPTAIN AND COMMANDER TO IE RE-EMPLOYED ADMIRAL PLACED OH RETIRED LIST Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright, LONDON, April 17. (Received April 18, at 10 a.m.) In the House of Commons an Admiralty statement was presented, expressing the view that Admiral Col lard was initially blameworthy. Mr W. C. Bridgeman (First Lord of the Admiralty) said that Captain Dewar and Commander Daniel would be suitably rc-cmployed as vacancies occurred.

Admiral Collard bad already been relieved of bis command, and would be placed on the retired list.—Australian Press Association-United Service. INITIAL BLAME TO ADMIRAL CAPTAIN AND COMMANDER'S ACT CENSURED (British Official News,) Press Association —By Telegraph—Copyright RUGBY, April 17. (Received April 18, at noon.)

After reviewing the proceedings in the courts martial on Captain Dewar and Commander Daniel, at which Dearadmiral Collard gave evidence, the Board of Admiralty said that it was of the opinion that the initial blame for what happened lay with Admiral Collard in dealing with trivial causes of dissatisfaction in a manner unbecoming to his position, and showing himself unfitted for high command. In the ease of the other two officers, who wore sentenced to be severely reprimanded and dismissed from their ships, the board had decided to confirm their sentences, though it was of the opinion that in Commander Daniel’s case no offence against the King’s regulations was proved under the second charge. As it had been suggested that the offences committed by these officers were more or loss technical in character, the board thought it necessary to say that it had taken a grave view of their conduct. Commander Daniel, having been ordered to give a report to Captain Dewar on certain events connected with the departure of the rearadmiral from hi.s ship, supplemented it by an additional paragraph partly containing unnecessary comment on tho rear-admiral based on hearsay, ami ■partly making cirticism.s of an improper nature.

The board was of opinion that officers of their experience, must have been aware of tho procedure for making a complaint, and that tho mailing of n complaint must not bo used for subversion of tho discipline of a superior officer.

Captain Dewar should have deterred his junior officer from going beyond a formal report on the facts which he had been ordered to prepare. Ho did not discourage Commander Daniel, but accepted his report, which was contrary to traditions and prejudicial to naval discipline, and the board had therefore confirmed the sentences on these two officers, but had decided that the.se sentences should not preclude them from further employment. Mr W. 0. Bridgeman (First Lord of the Admiralty), in the House of Commons, said that the Board of Admiralty was making a careful- review of the regulations in order to ascertain whether there were any grounds for the suggestion that officers and men might be uncertain how 4,0 act if they had any to make against aav officer of superior rank. Commander Kenwortljy (Lab.) asked whether further employment in the ease of Captain Dewar and Commander Daniel meant further employment atsea.

Mr Bridgeman said that he could not give an. undertaking that they would he employed at sea. because the number of vacancies was limited, and he must wait until suitable vacancies occurred.

“ OH THE KNEE ” NEW LIGHT ON THE FAMOUS ORDER Referring to the recent occurrences) on H.M.S. Royal Oak, in which Rearadmiral Collard and the captain and commander were involved, “J.J.R.” writes in the Sydney 1 .Morning Herald ’ as follows : In those far-away days of the “ on the knee” riots at Portsmouth, England, I was a member of Collard’s gunnery class, and 1 remember that while the Press of England was trying him for that famous order, his sense of humour did not desert him for a .single moment. He was, in his physical aspect, “as much like a cherub as it was possible for a man ever to lie, and, apropos of this cherubic charm, he made three drawings of himself while he awaited his trial. Drawing No. 1 presented a cherub, wing-bedecked, with Collard’s face, and the captain “as my mother secs me.” N T o. 2 showed the same cherub with a mouth as wide as a barn door, from which issued the order “on the knee.” This was labelled “as the sailors see me,” Drawing No. d showed Mr Cherub, wearing heavy sea boots, and with them Jiieking sailor men all round the decks of a Dreadnought. This last ho called “as tho public see me.” Will you permit me to add a fourth verbal sketch of Collard as I and many others saw himF Tho general public should know that tho “ on the knee ” order was a very ordinary one, well understood of sailors, and it was given usually when men, standing ten deep perhaps, were listening to instructions from any officer. The men in the front rows were ordered on the knees to make it possible for those behind to so© and hear their instructor plainly. It had no other significance. On the day of Collard’s fiasco, in tho front rank of the .squad, was a great drunken lout named .Moody, and he it was who caused all the trouble when ho declared that “he wouldn’t bend his knee to the Virgin Mary, much less would he do so to any gunnery instructor,” and tile riot was on. The order was insisted upon, and later the squad was dismissed. That night, after much beer and inflammatory oratory, the boys proceeded to tear things up by tbe roots. I was among the bluejackets sent on the double to help quell the resulting disorder, and I shall never iar-

get seeing Collat'd, a very small man, walking through that hunch of fighting mad heroes utterly unmolested. He showed that night that he was a real captain oi men. lie was untouched, as I say, but a warrant officer named Green got a clout on the side of his head with a bottle that put him out of commission for a few days, COURT MARTIAL. Coilard was sent to Whale Island to await his court martial, and any man | who knew the rights of the affair was allowed to see him there, and so aid him in preparing his defence. I watched hundreds of men form a line as long as a city block, who were all anxious to save him from being made the victim of a blasphemous rowdy. Well, truth prevailed, as it has a habit of doing, and Coilard was freed become an admiral of the greatest Navy in the whole world. Green recovered, and Moody did five years for his little burst of mutiny. The consensus of opinon among those who knew and served under Coilard was that he was the fairest, souarest, and hardest of officers; he played no favorites. “Cook’s son, duke’s son,” were all one to him, and his record a£ a gunnery 1 instructor was a particularly fine one. He turned out great gunners, sparing them nothing of hard, grilling work; he took them into a hell of endeavor after perfection, but he went with them into this hell like the game little fighting cock he was, and apparently still is. I. of course, know nothing of the merits of the present case, but I’ll dare swear that Coilard is still as just, as hard, and as fair as in those old days in Portsmouth. Maybe he will dig out those old sketches, and over them grin sardonically while he is being “ tried ” once more in the Press of the country he h#* «er**d so long and well.