THE JUTLAND BATTLE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16785, 29 August 1916, Page 6

THE JUTLAND BATTLE

STORY BY A SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD MIDSHIPMAN.

"SOME MOVIE SHOW." A midshipman of 16 years, who was on board one of the British ships which accounted, ho says, for four German vessels, including the Lutzow. <n tho Jutland battle, has -written two letters to his parents since that event, one giving; a brief but characteristic story of his experiences. Tho first, evidently di signed to give word of his safety, was written two days after tho sea fight, and reads: — "H.M.S. —, First Battle Squadron, " Friday, Juno 2 " Dearest Mother, —Life is very dull nowadays, and there is nothing very much doing. I am awfully sorry for not wiiting before now, but honestly, I havo not the time, especially lately. "How is Dad? I hope he is getting along all right. Excuse tho shortness of this note, but I have so much to do.— H. ." "P.S. —There was a very fine 'movie show' the day before vesterday, ' some movio show,' believe mo!" On the following day he wrote: — "H.M.S. First Battle Fquadron, " Saturday. "Dearest Mother, —1 am now allowed to tell you something about tho action off Jutland, which we fought on May 31. iVo doubt you have already heard all there, is to know about it! " Well, here goes. "When wo were going down the North Sea on the 31st, at about 3 o'clock in tho afternoon, a came through to say that the battle eruiseis were engaging tho enemy. "When this signal came wo proceeded to charge down to meet them at ' full speed ' Of course, we went to action stations d'rectly we heard tho battle cruisers wore in action. "At about 6 o'clock_ wo sighted the battle cruisers firing furiously. At first 1 could not make out which was battle cruisers and which was enemy, but when things got a little clearer, it was quite easy to see that tho battle cruisers were firing at tho Huns on the sky line. "We formed battb 1 ne. All this time stray shots wore falling all around, and they wrio most disconcerting. Just as wo formed up, our cruisers wont past, firing at full speed with their small_ guns at the enemy, who wore at this period of tho proceedings hidden in tho mist, except for their flashes. "Wc opened fire at 630 on a fourfunnelled cruiser, and after a short time we stopped to see what damage we had done. She was on fire from stem to sternpost, and we could only just see her bv the smoke and flame all around hor. We thought that was enough and loft hor However, several of her shots fell short and burst on impact wth tho water. They burst into splinters, and peppered tho ship in odd places. Unfortunately, one of the splinters took a man's arm clean off, and before assistance came, he had nearly bled to death. "At this period I was looking through the hole tn the roof of th" turret and saw a Gorman submarine como to tho surface for about two minutes and then disappear again. "There was s funnv old cruiser all this time on our starboard ouarter. Owmfr to the fact th.if she was aln adv nearly sinking, the fleet loft hor alone until (J think it must have bein bv accident) she find one solitary gun. That was enough. We put one saho into hor, whHi sot her on fire. Then another ship_ put another saho into hor. at which she literally disappeared in a cloud of smoke, all tho funnel-, wont oior the side, there was an enormuus sheet of flame, anel she d sapp^aroel. "Next a drstro\or appeared on the scene, which fired two torpedoes at u=. Each foitunatelv went under our stern Wo hit the destroyer with our thiid salvo and she stopped, on firo everywhere. "Just then another torpedo was fired at us, I imacriri" bv tho submarine 1 men tionod. wliir.h also passed under our stern. "Then suddenly we cot the shook of our lives. The German battle cruiser Lut/ow loomed out of tho fog at pomf-bhnk ranco Of courbo wo loosed off as soon as possible and so d d thov Wo hit them with en third salvo and the\ lit us but fort uunlolv we hit them fair and square, while they only hit us in a soit of half-hearted wa\. Our last silvo put hrr on fire overvwhcio, and she was sinkinsr fast "How is life in London' "Bv the wny. do von think ynu could send mo mv allowance as soon as possible please, is T want win" new to replace whit I lost dming hosllitii, \hn wll vou bank mv £22 with tho Oipitil and Counties Bank as so*>e is- pof-sihlo ln caso I need it.— Bwr your loving son.—PL"