HIS LAST DAYS.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume XXIII, 16 May 1922, Page 8

HIS LAST DAYS.

THE KITCHENER BETRYAL MYTH. Major - General Sir George Aston, K.C.8., contributes to the .New York “Outlook” an article of especial interest on the last days of Lord Kitchener. The writer says: ‘‘On sth June, 1916, Lord Kitchener arrived at Thurso, crossed to Scapa Flow in the destroyer Oak, and lunched with Lord JeJlieoe on board the Iron Duke. He had fixed upon three weeks as the maximum limit of his absence from the hub of affairs in WhitehaD, and he consulted Lord Jellicoe several times upon the question of the shortest possible time in which he could make the passage to Archangel in the Hampshire. He was most anxious not to lose a moment on the sea trip. “The responsibility for the route to be followed by the Hampshire from the Scapa anchorage rested upon Lord Jellicoe. The intention was that sh# should take the route passing up the eastern coast of the Orkneys, using the channel which, as a routine measure, was ordi.'l--arily searched by mine-sweepers. Owing to the heavy sea, caused by a nortlveast- | f rl » v mine-sweeping to the eastward of the Orkneys was oil! of the question on the day of the Hampshire’s departure, and if that route were used escorting destroyers could not face the sea at high speed. If Lord Kitchener’s wishes were to be met, and all possible time saved, one of the westerly routes had therefore to be selected. There were two such routes, one passing close in-shore up west coast of the Orkneys and under the lee; the other farther to the westward, near Seele Skerry lighthouse. The inshore route was selected, for the following adequate reasons : ‘ The greatest risk to the Hampshire was considered to lie in the danger of her being torpedoed by a submarine, not in that of her striking a mine. It is trr» that mine-sweeping on both sides of the Orkneys had been impracticable for three or four days on account of the weather conditions, but it was considered to lie practically impossible for this in-shore route to have been mined by any surface craft. The route was used by fleet auxiliaries, and was under frequent observation both from them and from the shore. The period of darkness in those northern latitudes in June lasts for only about a couple of hours. Danger of the route having been mined by enemy submarines was considered to be very remote. They were believed to have confined their activities, up to this date, to the waters well to the southward of the Firth of Forth, on account of their short radius of action.

“At 4 p.m. on sth June Lord Kitchener went on board the Hampshire. She sailed at 5.30 p.m.,escorted by two destroyers, with orders to proceed at 16 knots (speed being a valuable protection against being torpedoed by a submarine),- and to send the destroyers back if tliey could not keep

up owing to tte ri.v. At the captain of ft* destroyers bac, , t* cause face the heavy sc:>.-:. 7.45 p.m: the Fi’.mpshhe about one anJ ■> ' ah' miles tween the Brough < i Birsaj Head. She sank. bows minutes. There v..tre only vivors, who driven .mhoie the time of the di.-aster shifted to norti nuth west. was fifty miles ah hour. S( /M course of the I: mji.ihire anticipated, tak>her to islands, and ov. j: g to the was only making J3A knots the 16 ordered. ?:’:■<! there beeiM it seems probable that Lord H and a large prcp< ,ti,:n of have been saves - y the ers, by the lampshire’s patrol craft which uTived the disaster dnnrg the “We now know, from German track eh.-.-t, that sank the Hamps hue was laid by the German b.-narine pears to have Fft harbour mine-laying trir tm ?4th or much for the b.. !s. which published, seme f them in ‘The Grand Fleet, them in the. A«i :n>, ,dty bine land. “Now tor t..e myth chenor having icst his life shire because hie mission to the route which h-. would follH trayed to the Gt-jiii ’.n GovertH establish the truth of these would be neeess' jy to prove man Government, knew by 1916, that Lord K itchener to Russia via :p;> Flow, leave that author , - by the let, and that i.e would shore channel. Mot -i particle has lieen prodine.l in favour contention. T!> female rp; 0B credited with i. i g sent Germany of LoiJ Russia in the fi’.mpshue from Bth May, ly which da: chener’s plans h'u! at been track of U 75 showed that H mines in the iisurj channel I ward of the G;i ti.yu), shire would have I- en and which it wield have wind had not Gen north-east en sth dune, the mines were bud. loss of the Hampshire, in liability, Lord ,< ■ liener have been saved il the erly wind had >■:.■'■ ■ banged k|H the north-north- ---i betweeiM p.m. on the e ~-u: g of his “The betrayal worthy of the arter.tion of dowed with reaecn, or of

- equipped ./ith sense decency.