PRINCE AT JUTLAND

Evening Star, Issue 21621, 17 January 1934, Page 5

PRINCE AT JUTLAND

PRESENT DUKE OF YORK " MR JACKSON" IN FIRING LINE What is stated to be the. first authentic account of the part played by the Duke of York, then: Prince Albert, in the Battle of Jutland on May 31, 1916, was told to a representative, of the ' Sunday Graphic ’ at a recent reunion of men of the submarine, service which took place in London. Prince Albert > actively took part in this battle. He was in charge 'of a; gun turret on H.M.S. Collingwood, and served under the name of “ Mr Jackson.” Books of biography-■ reveal the bare fact that he was at the battle.! The, story was told by Mr Jack Bailey, a seaman who- was aboard H.M.S; Collingwood, and confirmed from two authoritative sources.

“We.could not help knowing that the King’s son, Prince Albert, as he was then known, was on board ship as we set out from Scapa-Flow,” Mr Bailey said. “The Collingwood, manning guns as large as any in the British Navy, steamed out with Admiral Jellicoe’s Grand Fleet from Scapa Flow in line ahead. We moved at full speed' to cut off the German fleet. At 2i o’clock in the afternoon we knew that the battle squadron under -Admiral Beatty had already engaged the enemy.

“ Almost immediately we got the’ order to clear the decks for action, and Prince Albert took up his ; station as second in command at ‘ A ’ turret, the foremost firing station, on board thp battleship. We waited anxiously for a sight of the enemy. We had 1 heard so much but seen so little.. The men were .keyed up, to a high pitch. Still in line, the battle squadrons, steamed towards the enemy. At 6 o’clock I was in the transmitting room reporting ranges to the officers in command of the gun turrets.- I heard ‘ A ’ turret firing a salvo from its great ISinguns.

“We knew.that at last we had got to grips_ with the enemy. In a moment of respite we saw the German grand fleet on her starboard bow, and in a few seconds we were sending shell after shell at the ship, we had singled' out as our particular foe. That ship was Derffliriger, a battleship of our own tonnage. Salvo after salvo' boomed out, 1 “A ” turret, : containing the King’s son, leading the firing. “We were fighting with our lives, and a prince could be regarded ’ only as one member of a fighting unit. Soon afterwards Derfflinger went up in flames, and our captain, James C. Ley, afterwards claimed to have sunk her. Whether we did or not . has 1 not been officially known, but she sank there in the North Sea.

“After three-quarters of an hour of action, in which our guns were firing as fast as they could be loaded, the order came to cease fire. The -light was bad. We could scarcely see the enemy, and so firing had to. ..be suspended. • ■ ■■■•■ “ All night through, with only a break of a few minutes, Prince Albert kept his station in ‘ A ’ turret, looking after his men and keeping an anxious watch for any sight of the enemy.. All night long we patrolled the North Sea, hoping for a sight of the fleeing enemy. When dawn came there was no enemy ship in sight.

“Whether we won the. Battle of Jutland or not is a matter which an able seaman like myself cannot argue. All I know is that while there was'a shot to be fired ‘ A ’ turret fired away with great skill and accuracy. I know, too, ■ that the son of a King of England won honour in battle on that day. As a result he secured promotion from second lieutenant to lieutenant.”

[The Duke of York; who Served with the Grand Fleet ip. the Great War from 1914 to 1916, was mentioned in despatches' for his services at; the Battle of Jutland.] 1