THE SECOND MARY ROSE

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 60, Issue 4233, 19 January 1940, Page 2

THE SECOND MARY ROSE

A SEA EPIC OF LAST WAR. (By R.H.O.J In the quiet peace of the Cathedral Church at Portsmouth there hangs a tattered ensign which flew amid the shriek of shell and riven steel in an action that is remembered with pride by those who know the story. Beneath the flag is the model of a 17th century ship, whose story is remarkably akin to that which flew the ensign. Both bore the same name—“ Mary Rose,” and it is fitting that their story should be memorialised together. The first Mary Rose was a small 48 gun ship commanded by Captain John Kempthorne, and she carried a crew of 200 men. In December, 1669, she was in the Mediterranean where Algerian corsairs were actively engaged in harassing shipping. The Mary Rose was escorting a convoy bound for Tangier, and had just shepherded her charges through the Straits of Gibraltar when a number of pirate vessels were sighted bearing down on the convoy. Seven of them were counted and Kempthorne at once realised that he must fight. Ordering the convoy to scatter he turned and preparing for action, stood toward the approaching corsairs. Expecting to take the single ship in their stride, the pirates swept down swiftly on the Mary Rose. The action commenced, and Kempthorne and his men stemmed the first rush. Attempts were made to board the English ship from both sides, but although hemmed in, she beat them all off. The corsairs then stood off and lowered boats, hoping that by' attacking from all angles at once, they might overcome the opposition by sheer numbers. But as fast as they came, the Mary Rose was ready and drove them back.

At the end of four hours, one of the corsairs was sinking, and the others were all seriously damaged. Giving up all hopes of vanquishing so redoubtable a foe, the Algerians looked round for the convoy, but they had all made their escape, thanks to the determination and courage of their escort. Captain Kempthorne made what repairs he could, and, as a lame duek, managed to reach Cadiz. From there he returned to England, where he was knighted for his gallantry.

The ensign belonged to the second Mary Rose, whose action, whilst not as successful as that of her namesake, was none the less gallant. She was a destroyer of 1017 tons displacement,. completed in March, 1916. In 1917 the submarine activity of the enemy made it necessary for ships from and to Scandinavia to be convoyed. Owing to the. varying speed of the merchantmen, and the fact that merchant skippers were unfamiliar with the art of station keeping, it was difficult to keep the convoy together. This was particularly so at night, and daylight frequently found the ships strung out in a not too accurate line. ENCOUNTER AT DAWN. On the night of October 16, 1917, a convoy of twelve merchantmen—five Norwegian, three Swedish, two British, one Belgian and one Danish was plunging through a heavy swell in a westerly wind. The ships had left Lerwick at 6 p.m., for Scandinavian ports, and were being escorted by H.M.S. Mary Rose and a smaller destroyer, Strongbow. Just as the first light of dawn began to show, Strongbow was scouting ahead, followed by the faster ships of the convoy, while Mary Rose was rounding up the stragglers. At 6 a.m., while the light still reduced visibility to less than 5000 yards, Strongbow sighted two cruisers ahead. It was impossible to ascertain their nationality, so the destroyer challenged several times. A faked reply aroused her suspicions, and while her captain, Lieutenant-Commander Edward Brooke, was in the act of ringing for full speed, the cruisers opened fire. The little ship was hit by the first salvo, and stopped. The range was about 2000 yards, and the 5.9 inch shells of the cruisers smashed her to pieces.' With bridge, engineroom, wireless and steering gear wrecked, and afire in several places, she was out of the fight. Meanwhile Lieutenant-Commander Charles L. Fox, of the Mary Rose, was racing at full speed toward the sound of the firing and the gun flashes. Some miles away he sighted the cruiser, and was under no illusion as to what he had to face. He knew that his destroyer had little chance against such opponents, but a well-plaeed torpedo, or even a running fight might enable the convoy to 1 escape. | OVERWHELMING ODDS. Tearing through the water at her full thirty knots, Mary Rose made

straight for the cruisers, her three four-inch guns blazing away as she came on. Then the sides of the enemy rippled into flame as their guns opened fire on the new target. Shells began to splash into the sea, and columns of water spouted all round the speeding destroyer. Still she tore on. The range was down to 4000 yards, then 3000, then 2000, but still she was not hit. The German gunners adjusted their range, and at last got~on to the target. Hit by a full salvo, the little Mary Rose staggered, and was brought up all standing. Still she fought on, but with a motionless ship to aim at, the cruisers hammered her mercilessly. Above the roar of bursting shell came the scream of tearing metal and the shriek of splinters as the 5.9’s struck home. Soon all her guns were silenced, but Lieutenant-Com-mander Fox, gathering the handful of men left alive on deck, got the after gun into action again. Then came the end. Another full salvo struck the game little ship, and her battered hull could stand no more. Heeling over, she plunged beneath the seas, only ten of the complement of 98 being rescued.

Then the cruisers attacked the convoy, sinking the merchantmen ruthlessly, only one Belgian and one British ship escaping. The Strongbow, although a blazing wreck was still afloat, and to her the cruisers returned after dealing with the convoy. Again there came an avalanche of shell which overwhelmed the destroyer, and, leaving her afire fore and aft and in a sinking condition, the enemy steamed away to the southward. In the action 137 British officers and men were lost, and 43 neutral seamen were killed ot drowned. The survivors were rescued with great gallantry by the armed trawler Elsie, which performed much of her rescue work under fire, and were landed at Lerwick.

And so, in the quiet peace of an English cathedral, is the ensign that fittingly commemorates the heroic action of the men of the Mary Rose, who died to Uphold the traditions of a service renowned for its heroism and devotion to duty.