DEATH OF KITCHENER

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 675, 29 May 1929, Page 9

DEATH OF KITCHENER

SINKING OF HAMPSHIRE i SURVIVOR'S NARRATIVE ' Few men hare had a more adven j turous career in the British Navy than ex-Stoker Walter Charles Farn i den. ot Lake Lane, Barnham. now j employed as a porter by the Southern Railway Company. I Farnden joined the Navy in 191 -j. j has scoured the seas in search of the , notorious commerce-raider Emdeu taken part in the battle of Jutland, was one of the 12 survivors of the 1 ill-fated Hampshire, on which Lord I Kitchener met his death, and was ‘ afterwards blown up in the Gentian, during mine-sweeping operations in the Baltic in 1919. After the Battle of Jutland tlie Hampshire, in which Farnden was j serving, returned to Seapa Flow. On ; Monday. June 3, 1916, Lord Kitchener I and his staff came on board, ami j orders were given to leave harbour at 5.30 that evening. The ship wa< i under sealed orders, but a rumom [ soon spread to the effect that the ‘ destination was Archangel. ! Promptly at 5.30 p.ni. the Hamp j shire slipped her moorings and pro j ceeded out of harbour, accompanied hv her escort, the destroyers Unity and Victor. By this time a gale, which had prevailed all day, had shifted from the north-east to th-' north, and was rapidly increasing in violence.

The destroyers almost as soon as they were in the open, found it dif cult to keep up with the cruiser in the teeth of the gale, and conse quently they were ordered to return to port, as they only delayed the ship. Explosion and Darkness

The dramatic incidents which foi lowed are best described in Fare den’s own words: “At 7.30 p.m. 1 was on watch iu the port engine room, when a terrific explosion occurred, and immediately the ship was plunged in darkness. There was no panic, and we all remained at our posts until the order was given to abandon ship. By this time the vessel was down at the hows and was sinking rapidly. “When I got on deck, officers and men were standing by their appointed stations. Tremendous seas were running at the time, and one boat that I saw lowered from the davits was immediately smashed to pieces against the ship's side. My station was the No. 3 Caley float, and after we had assisted in getting the other two floats away we launched our own. There were 15 or 20 men in the float, including myself, and by the time we had picked up one oi two from the water we were overcrowded. Fortunately for us the current set toward the shore, but it was a terrible ordeal being adrift in those surging seas at the mercy of the wind and waves.

“About midnight, after four of the most dreadful hours I have ever spent in my life, our float was dashed against the rocks, near Stromness. and a large wave washed me over the side.

‘ln the ordinary course of events 1 cannot swim, but I swam that night, and eventually dragged myself ashore, f saw the float again hurled toward the rocks, and three of my companions made a jump for it, and succeeded in reaching the shore. The remainder were too exhausted to help themselves and perished in the waves when the float overturned Dazed and shaken, I rested awhile, but when I attempted to stand I found that I had lost the use of my legs, and I had to crawl until I regained suffi cient strength to walk to the nearest cottage. I knocked them up and explained what had happened, and they gave me some warm clothing and put me to bed. They afterwards searched the coast and discovered the other survivors. It transpired that six men had been saved from the second float, and two from the first, making 12 of us in all.” After returning to barracks, Farnden was given 14 days survivors' leave, and in December. 1916, he joined the minesweeper Pansy, and served with the Grand Fleet in the North of Scotland until the termination of the war.

One would expect that after such alarming experiences he would have beeu one of the first to apply for demobilisation, but instead he volunteered to assist in clearing the seas of the minefields, and served in the Gentian until July 5, 1919, when that vessel struck a mine amidships. Farnden was on deck at the time- and escaped uninjured, but six of the crew were killed. He returned to the Portsmouth Naval Barracks and was eventually discharged iu Januarv, 1920.