Nelson Evening Mail SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1931 SALT OF THE SEA

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 21 February 1931, Page 6

Nelson Evening Mail SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1931 SALT OF THE SEA

THERE occurred in England recently a picturesque incident which somehow escaped the notice of those who cable to us so much well-chosen news from the Old Country. Perhaps they thought that, because it did not directly concern this country, it would not interest New Zealanders, but we feel that it will certainly appeal to all who read this column.

In the fashionable and prosperous watering-place of Scarborough, in Yorkshire, which, it will be remembeied, was bombarded by the Germans during the war, there is a useful institution called the Graham Sea Training School, the object of which is very much the same as that of the Sea Scouts, namely to create a sea-sense in the. lads who belong to it, and give them a practical training in seamanship. To this end the school owns a schooner, the Maisie Graham, in which, during the summer and in favourable weather during the winter, cruises are made, the lads manning the vessel under competent navigators and instructors. Last summer, it seems, the Maisie Graham and her crew of young sea-dogs cruised across the North Sea into the Baltic, and there visited, among other ports, the ancient city of Lubeck which in its heyday was one of the principal towns of the famous Hanseatic League. At Lubeck was living a redoubtable German naval officer, Admiral von Turk, who w r as in command of the Belgian port of Zeebrugge at the time when on that famous St, George’s Day the British Navy made its ever-memorable attack on the Germans’ dangerous submarine-base. When Admiral von Turk saw the Maisie Graham in Lubeck harbour, he could not do enough for her crew. Fie appreciated their visit, entertained them ashore, and showed them every possible kindness. Well, in December last, when Scarborough was comparatively quiet, and the inclement and stormy North Sea was hardly inviting to the members of the Graham Sea Training School and their little craft, they de cided to give a dinner to those who had supported and encouraged their institution, and among others an invitation was sent to Admiral von luik. Many who had shown confidence in the lads’ seamanship by accompanying them on short cruises, and many who had contributed funds to the school, accepted the invitation, and among them was Admiral von Turk. The veteran German naval officer journeyed across the North Sea in order to attend the Scarborough lads’ dinner. But there was present another redoubtable seiloi, Ad miral Blount of the British Navy, who had served with the dauntless expedition which had stormed and blocked Zeebrugge harbour, when it under the command of Admiral von lurk! Imagine what a thrilling experience it was for those young lads to see those two erstwhile antagonists confronted before them. The British Navy can boast of many brave deeds, to recount all of which would fill this column for months, but surely never in the course of its glorious history has it performed a more dauntless and more hazardous service than that at Zeebrugge. No one would appreciate such bravery more than the Admiral who commanded the port, and no one would know better the nature of the task performed than the distinguished British Admiral who with his former foe was the guest of the school. We have not received accounts of the speeches made at the dinner, but Admiral von Turk’s address to the boys of the school has been preserved. It is short, but very much to the point, and no one who reads it can doubt that it came from the heart: ,

You, my dear boys, said the German Admiral, who spoke in English, are real English. You belong to the sea. You. rule the waves and never shall bo slaves. Your wonderful licet and wonderful army proved that you never could be slaves. You musu keep up the honour of vair flag and

your country. One needs to pause awhile and think, in order to grasp fully the meaning of such a. speech, coming from such a source. Behind the w'ords of the Geiman Admiral lay the shattered hopes, naval and military, of the once pioud Prussian people and of the uerman Empire which they had led to disaster. Admiral von Turk had seen the German Navy grow from a small thing to the second greatest naval armament in the world. He had performed his part in training it for Der Tag, when, doubtless bo had hoped it would play on the sea as magnificent a part as, it was expected, the German Army would play upon the land. He had seen both of these expectations tragically wrecked. He had seen bis nation’s battle-fleet return to port terribly punished and defeated after the battle of Jutland. Ho had seen the Kaiser’s abominable sub-marine-campaign fail ignominiously, after having covered his nation with dishonour. He had seen the German Fleet surrender to the British Navy without having really tried conclusions on the sea. He had seem the mighty German Army retire, djefeated. behind the Rhino to be disarmed and disbanded because it had failed to uphold Germany’s prestige in the :'Seld. He bad seen the Kaiser flee to Holland, the Empire overthrown, and the German people pay forfeit for the mistakes and delinquencies of their rulers and military caste. He bad seen the humiliation of his nation, and had drunk the cup of defeat (o its bitter dregs. But Admiral von Turk bad seen something more than that. He

had seen at Zeebrugge the incomparable valour of the British Navy. He had seen the impossible in war made possible. lie had seen all his defensive preparations —his batteries, his machineguns, his mine-fields, his torpedoes — set at nought and overcome by men who knew no fear. And when he came to consider the source from which such bravery sprang he found it in the lofty ideals, the high code of honour, and the pure patriotism of the greatest Navy. And when ho examined the sources of that Navy’s greatness, he found them in the sea-sense of the British people, ami in their love of the salt water, so admirably exemplified in the boys of the Graham Sea Training School, whose acquaintance he had made when in their frail craft they visited the Baltic ports. There are many counterparts of the Graham Sea Training School, in Great Britain. Indeed, every English seaport and fishing-village is a trainingground of youth in seamanship and the ways of the sea. So doubtless will be the natural development in this country. In this direction the Sea Scouts of New Zealand are doing good work, and they are deserving of every encouragement from the people in whose midst their organisations exist. Lord Jellicoo did much by establishing the vogue of the 14-footer sailing-boat in Auckland. We see no reason why every New Zealand port should not have its counterpart of the Graham Sea Training School of Scarborough. For New Zealand, geographically maritime, must necessarily develop a maritime character and love of the sea, which are best created by fostering in the impressionable mind of youth those romantic instincts which naturally awaken in the mind of every healthy boy who, living beside the sea, is stirred by its mystery and witchery.