Billy Barcroft, R.N.A.S.: A Story of the Great War

THE FLAMING WRECKAGE WAS PLUNGING EARTHWARDS, LEAVING A FIERY TRAIL IN ITS WAKE.
THE GREAT WAR OF 1914 opened the floodgates of hatred between the nations which took part and this stirring story, written when feelings were at their highest, conveys a true impression of the attitude adopted towards our enemies. No epithet was considered too strong for a German and whilst the narrative thus conveys the real atmosphere and conditions under which the tragic event was fought out it should be borne in mind that the animosities engendered by war are now happily a thing of the past, Therefore, the reader, whilst enjoying to the full this thrilling tale, will do well to remember that old enmities have passed away and that we are now reconciled to the Central Powers who were opposed to us.

Two Bells of the First Dog Watch somewhere in the North Sea.
To be a little more definite it was bordering that part of the North Sea that merges into the narrow Straits of Dover and almost within range of the German shore batteries of Zeebrugge.
It was mid-October. The equinoctial gales had not yet arrived to convert the placid surface of the sea into a regular turmoil of short, broken waves. Hardly a ripple ruffled the long gentle undulations. Not a cloud obscured the sky. The slanting rays of the sun played uninterruptedly upon the sloping deck of H.M. Seaplane Carrier Hippodrome as she forged slowly ahead, surrounded by an escort of long, lean destroyers.
Her day's work was apparently over. The operations against the Zeebrugge defences—operations of almost a daily occurrence—had been carried out according to orders. The observation kite balloon had been hauled down and stowed in the Hippodrome's after-well; her brood of seaplanes had, save one, returned from their task of spotting for the guns of the monitors, and everything had been made snug for the run back to her base. She awaited only the reappearance of the stray duckling to increase speed for home waters.