WAR NEWS BY MAN

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14590, 27 April 1918, Page 9

WAR NEWS BY MAN

'WE'RE NOT DONE VET."

DESTROYER'S DASH TO MEET THREE KiNK.MV LIGHT CRUISERS

-UfaOKIOBrS -STORY iOF THEi MARY -I ROSE.

I The following account of the action m the North Sea last October, m which the British destroyer Mary Rose attempted to defend the convoy committed to her charge, is compiled from official sources : — j The Mary Rose left a Norwegian port m charge of a west-bound convoy of merchant ships m the afternoon of October lis. At dawn, on the 17th flashes of gunfire were sighted astern. The captain of the Mary Rose, Lieut.-Com--1 mauder Charles Fox, who was on the bridge at the time, remarked that he ' supposed it was a submarine shelling the 1 convoy, and promptly -turned his sl£p to investigate ; all hands were called to ac- , tion stations. . '

| The Mary Ro.«e had increased to full j speed, and shortly afterwards three light i cruisers were sighted coming towards her j at high speed out of the morning mist. I The Mary Rose promptly challenged/and receiving no reply, opened * fire with every gun that would bear, at a range of about four miles. The German light cruisers appear to haye been nonplussed by this determined single-handed onslaught, as they did not return the fire until the range had closed to three miles. They then opened fire', and the Mary Rose held gallantly on through a barrage I of bursting shells until only a mile separated her from the enemy. . QNE GUN LEFT. j Up to this point the German marks- ; manship was poor, but as the British | destroyer turned to bring her torpedo tubes, to -bear, a salvo struck; her, bursting m the engineroom and Cleaving/ her | disabled, a log on -the water. All guns, with the exception of the xifte,r one were j out of action, and -their' crews killed or j wounded; but the after gun continued m action under the direction of Sub- | Lieutenant Marsh, R.N.V.R., as long as [the. giu^ would bear. The captain came down fronv.< tjie wrecked bridge and- passed aft, encouraging and cheering his deafened , men. He stopped beside the wrecked, remains of the midship gun, arid shouted to the .sur-. vivors of its crew: "God;ble&* my, heart, lads, get her . going again ; we're not done yet !" The enemy were pouring a concentrated fire into the hiotionless vessel. One of the. ''boilers'* struck by a shell, •exploded, and through the inferno of j escaping steam, smoke, and the vapor of bursting shell, came that familiar, cheery voice: "We're not done yet." As the German light cruisers .sped, past two able seamen (Able . Seaman , French and Able -Seaman Bailey), who alone survived among the ..torpedo tubes' crews, on their own initiative laid and fired the remaining tqrpetlo. •, , Able Seaman French was killed immediately and Able Seaman Bailey badly wounded. Realising that the enemy had passed ahead, and that the 4-inch gun could no longen be brought to bear on them, the captain went below and set about destroying his cyphers.'" " "ABANDON SHIP." The first .lieutenant; (Lieutenant Bavin) seeing one oi the light Cruisers returning towards them., called the gunner (Mr. Handcock) and bade him sink. the ship. The -captain' then came on deck, and gave the order, "Abandon ship." All the boats, had been , shattered by shell fire at their davits, but the survivors launched a Carley raft and paddled clear of the ship., : . The German light cruiser then approached to within 300 yards, and poured a succession of salvoes into the already riddled hull. , The Mal:y' Rose sank at 7.15 a.m., with colors 'dying. The captain, first lieutenant, and gunner were 1 lost with the ship, bub the handful of survivors, m charge of Sub-Xdeutenant J. R. D. Freeman, R.N., on the Carley raft, fell m some hours later with a lifeboat belonging to one of the ships of the convoy. Sailing and\ rowing, tuey made the Norwegian coast some fortyeight- hours later, and were tended with the utmost kindness by the Norwegian authorities. All survivors, unite m. testifying to the cheerful courage of the senior surviving officer"; Sub-Lieutenant Freeman, throughout the last phase of this ordeal. Able Seaman Bailey, who, despjje severe shrapnel wounds' m the leg, persisted m taking his turn at the oar,- is also specially, mentioned for an invincible lightjheartedjhiess thioflghout. Unhappily, there is ho -record of Wihat wjas m the mind. of. .the captain of the Mary Rose when he made that singlehanded dash m the face of such preposterous odds. He held on unflinchingly, and he died leaving io the annals of liis service an episode not less glorious than that m which Sir Richard Grenville perished.