NEW ZEALANDERS AND THE MOTOR LAUNCHES

Evening Star, Issue 22086, 20 July 1935, Page 2

NEW ZEALANDERS AND THE MOTOR LAUNCHES

[Written by Heemione for the ‘ Evening Star.’]

Now that the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in New Zealand has its regular meetings and parades, it may bo of interest to them and others to know that they have traditions to maintain, made for them by a body of men who left New Zealand to take part in the late war, as units of the R.N.V.R. Little lias been published of the manner of work these men performed, yet they were officially recognised by the New Zealand Government, their pay was subsidised by it, and their gratuity money made up to New Zealand standard.

I propose to refer particularly to those who left this country as motor mechanics, for service in the Motor Boat Patrol. About 100 were enlisted, and served in many parts of the world. Two received the conspicuous gallantry medal, a high naval award, which carries an annuity; three received the French Croix do Guerre; and seven tho distinguished service medal, , while many of the were mentioned in despatches for distinguished services. In 1916 Commander Armstrong and Engineer-lieutenant Mitchell came to this country to enlist recruits for the motor boat section of the R.N.V.R. The New Zealand Government had to be approached for the necessary permission, which was granted for a limited number.

Two classes of men were required. They were to be commissioned officers for the handling of the boats, and noncommissioned officers to tend the engines. The majority of the motor mechanics selected had probably never been to sea in a motor boat, but they were required to have a sound knowledge of motor engineering. Canada had already'sent a fair representation. Although Australia was approached for men, none were officially sent for this section of the service.

The Otago section of the mechanics left Dunedin about December, 1916, in civilian clothes, under Lieutenant Anstice, from Nelson, I think, who was also in mufti. They were to proceed to Garden Island, Sydney, there to await a troopship. Arrangements had been so poorly made that they were admitted into Australia as wharf labourers. No money had been paid out in advance, and they had no official standing, even on the Australian troopship Orontes, by which they travelled to England. The Australian troops frequently referred to them as munition workers. , Exactly 11 weeks after leaving New Zealand the Otago section reached Plymouth. Here again a lack of coordination was shpwn, as nothing was known about them, and there were no instructions. Lieutenant Anstice marched his party over to the Davenport Naval Barracks, and the authorities there got in touch with London, An amusing incident occurred at the barracks, giving the men their first insight into the discipline of the British Navy, A gunnery instructor wished a messenger to carry a chit over to an officer concerning the party. “ Here, you,” he- roared, “take this chit over to Commander tell you to walk I want to to run, and when I tell yda to run I want you to fly. Now fly.” His voice rose in a crescendo, until he was almost in an apoplectic fit. Word came through from London, and the party were rushed through to London, an all-night trip from Plymouth to Bristol,; and then right across England to London. . . . No one met them. Lieutenant Anstice, a very worried man, went .off somewhere to make some inquiries. Practically all of the men were penniless, but a Y.M.C.A. stall at the station helped them out. After some ’ hours Lieutenant Anstice gathered his now disgusted-group together and entrained them to Southampton. Again no one was there to receive them. They proceeded, however, to H.M.S. Hermione, which was the mother ship throughout the war for the motor launches. Surprise was expressed at their arrival, though it was known- they were coming soon, and some tentative arrangements had been made to board them ashore.

The following morning the work of training commenced in earnest. The accumulated back pay was paid over, and a list of tailors supplied who would provide uniforms, overcoats, and boots. £lO was allowed for this purpose, and it proved to be inadequate. The majority of the men started their naval life in debt to the ship. About 300 men, all mechanics, were being trained in a large shed on the wharf adjacent to the Hermione. Work started for the day at 9 a.m. with prayers, rushed off at a furious pace by a lieutenant commander, or No, 1, as he was called. About the only passages remembered the first morning was “ Protect us from the violence of the enemy-” ~ . After prayers there were some physical exercises, and then the new-comers were allotted their official numbers and watches, port or starboard. The watches were rarely kept except for misde- ■ meanours. Then followed classes of every kind —drill, signalling, both semaphore and Morse, knot tying, and rope splicing, rowing, and the important engineering classes. Instruction was also given in the ranks and ratings of the Navy. Next came an inspection of the motor launches, so eagerly looked forward to. These launches, of which some 550 were built, were much larger than had been expected. They were 85ft long, and built of wood. They had a displacement of about 35 tons. The engines were two sets of six cylinders, with open crankcases of approximately 210 h.p. per engine, with lOin bore, and llin stroke. Reversing was done by means of a sliding cam shaft. The revolutions were from about 90 to 460. The exhaust valves were water-cooled. The petrol capacity of the tanks was 2,040 gallons.. There was also an auxiliary engine, for the purpose of compressing air to start the main engines, driving the bilge and deck pumps, driving the dynamo for storage batteries, and power for the searchlight. The boats were mostly armed with threepounder guns, and full-sized depth charges. The armament, however, depended on the nature of the' work. The crew of one of these launches consisted of nine in all—two officers, two engineers, and five deck hands, or whom one acted in the capacity of cook. The deck hands were almost invariably from the Royal Naval Reserve, trawler section. The party had expected to find very fast launches, and were disappointed to know that the maximum speed, as checked many times by destroyers, was about 20 knots, and that could not be maintained for any distance. But there were many compensations.

These boats went out in all weathers, hi various parts of the world, and, chough exceedingly lively, were thoroughly seaworthy, and the writer has not heard of the loss of any through stress of weather. It is true they were sometimes sent hack into port by destroyers, or monitors, not because they were not seaworthy, but for the reason that their

usefulness was impaired by very heavy weather. After some 10 or 11 weeks of intensive training, and having passed an oral and written examination, the men were ready for drafting to stations. It had early become apparent that these mechanics were liable to be drafted to any kind of boat that had an internal combustion engine. Consequently, some went to sea in trawlers, some in “ Q ” boats, or mystery ships, as these were called, some stayed in the repair shops, while the rest went in the motor launches.

A rating would receive word one day that he was drafted to M.L. 513 on tha Portsmouth Patrol. He was to report to the doctor and the pay office. No medical examination had been mad» since the New Zealanders had left home, so it was wondered how hard % real Naval overhaul would be. It was not hard. On entering the doctor’s cabin he looked at the rating's papers and said: “Well, Jones, how do you feel?” The rating replied: “All right, sir,” whereupon the doctor, hardly looking at the man said:-“ Very well, carry on.” The naval medical examination was over.

The principal reason for this formality was, of course, to give a . man a chance to give a medical reason why he should not be drafted. Then to the pay office, where the pav is counted on to the top of the rating’s-hat. (To be continued.)