“TROOPING."

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XLII, Issue 11613, 12 August 1918, Page 2

“TROOPING."

the war. MEN WHO MAINTAIN THEM “Tough are they made Who ply their trade lu ships upon our seas. ” In these lew lines “A.W.8.” in the Westminster Gazette, pays a fitting tribute to all men who brave the perils of the sea —perils which, during the war period, have been cousiderablyi[iHcreHsedjby|tlie pratical deeds of the enemy in his efforts to - starve our nation. That our navi- ■ gation risk has been great has been brought home to us repeatedly by the heavy toll of the submarine and yet our ships, largo and small, continue to face the danger, ploughing every ocean with cargoes of foodstuffs and for the nation in her time of need. For, where would our nation be today bat for the admirable work _ of the merchant service? And wnat of the men who man these ships? To say the least they are rendering a valuable service toj the country, a fact which the people of _ Great Britain are compelled to realise tul ly now that the food restrictions have been imposed upon them. The necessity of maintaining the service my be judged from the present great I activity in the construction of more I vessels to replace those that have | fallen victims to the enemy. CARRYING THE TROOPS. I In another and equally important I work many men of the merchant i service are serving our country well i but so little la heard concerning j their doiiigs'that there is an inclinai tiou to overlook a service deserving lof much praise. This comprises the [ transportation ot* troops undoubfc- | edly one of the greatest undertak- | inga in connection with the war. In i this respect New Zealand has played I alpromiueut part, and it stands to I the credittof our Dominion that so I many thousands of our tioopa have been carried safely across the seas. Without exception, since the Samoan Force “left in August, 1014, tins transportation has been carried out wthout any serious mishap. Considering the fact that our transports have travelled a greater distance than almost any others, and have j repeatedly passed through the danger } zones, the performance is all the more meritorious . Many of our well known steamers have been requisitioned for this work, and the crews are composed almost entirely of New Zealanders. Some praise must therefore be given to our boj 7 3 engaged in “Trooping.” year in and year out they carry out their various duties aboard each transport, enduring many hardahipsa, and yet, except for the fact that they are permitted to wear a badge bearing the inscription “On Transport Service, ’’they receive little recognition. Their Jasks, no matter what department—stokehold, engiueroom, providore, deck, wireless, or military quartermaster’s —are by no means light, particularly during voyages through the danger zones when a torpedo or a mins is liable at any moment to bring, the ship’s career to an end ADVENTUROUS VOYAGES.

That tne trnsportation of our troops has been made without mishap does not imply that the voyages have been without incident. Many of our transports have some exciting experiences on voyages through the danger zones, ami a brief account of one voyage of a New Zealud transport will serve to prove that our men “On Transport . Service” have much danger to face in carrying out their duty. The early stages of the long voyage outward were marked by heavy weather, this making matters generally uncomfortable for all on board. The huge seas which broke over the vessel at intervals greatly retarded progress, and it was a relief when conditions moderated and a call was made at a way port. Resuming, all went well until departure was taken from the last port or call, when the transport was accompanied by several other vessels and au armed merchantman. Reports were received that enemy suomarints were operating in the vicintiy, and a sharp look-out was kept. A strange vessel was sighted, and was brought to a standstill by several shots from t!ie escort. After giving satisfactory proof that she was not operating for the enemy sne Was permitted to proceed. A day later the “alarm” sounded, and it was learnt that one of the convoy had sighted and fired on a submarine. Nothing further was seen of the enemy vessel, hut during the next few days several “alarms” were given. On nearing the port of disembarkment destroyers were picked up, and anything suspicious that was reported was quickly pounced upon by these active vessels of the Fleet During one morning a great amount of was passed, probably the remains of vessels which had been unfortunate enough to be sunk by the enemy pirates. After many days of anxiety it was a great relief to reach the port of disembarkation safely. A SHOT AT A SUBMARINE. During the early portion of the return voyage a good deal of excite meat was provided. It was evident from the strong escort which accompanied the transports that the en emv were active outside the port. Early on the second day a submarine was reported near by, and the destroyers were immediatly on *its track ;'|but not before it discharged a torpedo at the New Zea land transport. Fortunately the vessels were zig-zagging and the torpedo shot past a few yards astern of the vessel. Later in the day submarine tr«cxs were sighted, but the enemv did net venture above the surface. During the next few days several alarms were given by various vessels, nothing, however, eventuating, until early one morn ing when a shot tjoni tne New Zealand transport's gun caused some excitement. The gunner on watch had sighted n submarine some distance swav and shortly afterwards, at a closer range, when he decided to fire, the shot, in his opinion, putting an emi Co the snh. At any rate, no further trouble was experienced. The long voyage was completed without further incident, except for a weak of boisterous weather

Many other voyages of our traps ports have likewise been foil cf incident, ana some even more so; while ‘several of cur vessels engaged on special war duty have been sunk, fortunately when' no troops were on board. Not a few New Zealand-

ers, whilst on service at sea, have fallen victims to Hun piracy, and of all those who have thus lost their lives the following lines, (from “Mare Liberum,” concerning the horror wrought by German submarines) penned by Henry vau Dyke, late United States Minister to Holland, are appropriate: ‘‘Unnumbered ghosts that haunt

the wave Where you hare murdered, cry you down, And seamen whom you would not

save Weave now in weed-grown depths

a crown Of shame for your imperious head.”