NORTH SEA AFFAIR

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 59, 5 November 1914, Page 5

NORTH SEA AFFAIR

GERMAN SQUADRON OFF EAST COAST OF ENGLAND. f ' - GUNBOAT FIRED ON :: SUBMARINE D 5 SUNK, .-u ,[Pu Pina Amooiation] ■ 1 ,tv ■ ■ - ‘ Wellington, November 4. The High Commissioner reports as follbws:— London, November 5, 12.20 a.m. , The Admiralty announces that early this morning the German squadron fired on the Halcyon, coastguard gunboat, with the result that one man was wounded. The Halcyon reported the presence of vessels, and various naval movements were made, with the result that the enemy retreated rapidly. The rearmost German cruiser threw out a number of mines,, and submarine D 5 was sunk, two officers and two men being Saved. London, November 4. The Press Bureau reports that four were saved from the sunken submarine, D 5. i RESIDENTS ON SHORE AWAKENED BY CANNONADING. OLD CRUISER DAMAGED AND PUTS INTO PORT. SEVEN GERMAN VESSELS STEAMING IN A LINE. FISHING BOATS MINED WITH LOSS OF LIVES. United Peebs Association. (Received 9.0 a.m.) London, November 4. Residents of Lowestoft and Yarmouth were awakened at daybreak yesterday by a heavy cannonade to seaward. A thick mist enveloped the sea, but occasional flashes were seen. Shells fell a couple of miles off the shore, throwing up fountains of water. Many fishing boats had narrow escapes. The old cruiser Halcyon, on fishing protection duty, steamed into Lowestoft with her wireless aerial shot away and the bridge and the funnel damaged, one of the \ crew being wounded. A fleet of fishing drifters witnessed the attack. They saw seven German vessels steaming in a line. They thought they were friendly ships until the destroyers fired. Some of the German warships flew the white ensign. When challenged they replied with a hailstorm of shells. , The Halcyon’s escape was due to the captain’s clever zigzagging. The German shooting was very poor, They should have sunk the Halcyon in a few minutes. A hundred German shells were fired. The Halcyon fired one shot and retreated. The squadron steamed eastward, the last cruiser dropping mines. Two drifters were mined, one losing nine men and the other several. The drifters warned submarines, but D 5 was blown up, " '' ' It is suspected that the German fleet is ’ in possession of a copy of the Admiralty’s new special charts of the North Sea. Otherwise they would be unable to safely traverse the extensively mined area.