HONOURED BY KING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVII, Issue 21530, 18 December 1939, Page 7

HONOURED BY KING

Officers Who Fought Action Foreign Press Praises Navy British Official Wireless (Rec. Dec. 17, 9.30 p.m.) RUGBY, December 16. The Admiralty announces that in recognition of the gallantry and the successful action fought by the Achilles and Exeter against the German battleship Graf Spee, the King has been pleased to appoint Commodore Henry Harwood to be a Knight Commander of the Bath, and Captains W. E. Parry, of the Achilles, C. H. L. Woodhouse, of the Ajax, and F. S. Bell, of the Exeter, to be Companions of the same order. Commodore Harwood has also been promoted to Rear Admiral in his Majesty’s Fleet to date from December 13, the date of the action. The Admiralty has called for recommendations from Rear Admiral Harwood in respect of good conduct and forwardness in action of the officers and men in the squadron under his command. The* promotion and honours announced by the Admiralty are assured of enthusiastic endorsement by the public, which greeted the news of the engagement in the South Atlantic as a brilliant vindication of British sea traditions. Extracts from the foreign press which have reached London

show that the significance of the action is also widely appreciated abroad. The cordial references in the newspapers of France naturally have given pleasure here. “L’Ere Nouvelle” says: “Our friends once again have attained their mastery, their courage, their tactical knowledge and that sea sense which Is their second nature.” The skill of the British commanders is the subject of much comment in the neutral press. The verdict which recurs frequently finds typical expression in the remarks of the “Louis Post Despatch,” which says that the bogey of the pocket battleship seems to have been deflated. The same idea recurs in the conclusion reached by the Latvian “Segodnia” that the British "habit” of naval victory has been revived. “The Times,” recalling that the broadside of Graf Spee is in weight of metal half as great again as that of her three assailants put together, states: “So powerful a ship was bound to do damage, and H.M.S. Exeter Was forced to drop out of the swiftly moving fight, but not before her guns, the heaviest in the British Squadron, had done severe execution. Indeed, by the time Exeter was crippled the German ship’s retreat had already become something like flight, and she was forced to take refuge with her side breached, her bridge blown away, and several guns out of action, in the territorial waters of Uruguay. “As notable a discomfiture of greater

by lesser armament can only be explained in one way—by the outstanding superiority of seamanship and gunnery on board ships possessing lighter guns.” Clever Disposition In their tributes to the magnificent seamanship shown by the Exeter, Ajax and Achilles, the “Manchester Guardian” and the "Daily Mail” do not overlook the fact that it was due to the tactical disposition of the Admiralty in dealing with commerce raiders that Graf Spec was so soon brought to bay. Emphasis is also laid on the fact that if Graf Spee, which it is believed had already sunk seven merchantmen, had been permitted to continue to operate at a focal point of ocean commerce traversed by neutral shipping of all nationalities, she might have become even more menacing than during her predatory career to date. Toned Down in Germany A Berlin message states that the German official news agency continues to tone down the unfavourable aspects of the Montevideo reports beyond recognition. It claims that several British reconnaissance 'planes joined the battle and were shot down. The reaction of the United States to the German shortwave account of the Graf Spee battle is one of contemptuous hilarity. Faced with radioed pictures of the Graf Spee showing damage, Americans are chary of accepting the German assurances that she bears no visible traces of battle. The “New York Times” editorially comments: “Germany lost another battle when she lied about the Graf Spee. The discount rate of official German statements has always been high. A few more like this and it will be close to 100 per cent.”