With the coming of dawn two solitary hostile machines circling at a fairly low altitude could be seen. They dropped no bombs, but the reason for their presence was soon apparent. Shells from the long-range guns behind the German lines began to moan, whistle and burst in and around the luckless town. A hit was signified by a cloud of smoke, dust and debris, and ambulances again became busy in the stone-paved streets.
One shell, carrying sufficient explosive to blow up an average-sized ship, ploughed up the water of the harbour, but did no damage, and by 6 a.m. Allied squadrons had chased away the hostile aerial observers. Once again the peace of an ideal summer morning reigned over the historic town.
The few minesweeping and other ships which had remained in the harbour through the night now commenced to show signs of returning life and activity. Heavy brown smoke poured from the funnels of some, the staccato noise of oil engines came from others, and men were busy on the decks of all. The night's "rest" was over and the vital work of sweeping, possibly under an irritating fire from shore batteries and the strain of a necessarily ever-alert patrol, commenced afresh. The steady barometer promised a fine day for the harvesting of mines and, for the ships that returned, another night's rest similar to the previous three!
INDEX
Aberdeen harbour mined, [209]
Aden, mine-field laid off, [145]
Admiralty dispatch bearers, [108]
Aerial attacks, [293]-[300]
— bombs, effect of, [297]
— warfare and submarine fighting, [273]
Aircraft and convoys, [116]
Airship, salving of, [273]-[279]
Allied navies, [69]
A memorable Christmas, [191]-[201]
American first army, transport of, [124]
Arctic patrol, [52], [227]
— seas, work in, [193]-[201]
Area of sea covered daily by sweepers, [161]
Areas, command of, [23]
— patrol of, [128]-[131]
Armed liners, [51]
Armies, transport of, [116]
Atlantic patrol, [226]-[232]
Australian first army, transport of, [123]
Auxiliary patrol office, [25]
Bases and their fleets, [113]-[115]
— war, [23], [24], [102]-[115]
Battle of Jutland, [248]-[256]
Beatty, Sir David, [249], [255], [256]
Blister system on monitors, [178]
Blockade, naval, [18]
Boarding parties, [201]-[208], [270]
Bombardment of Zeebrugge, [287]-[293]
Bombay, mine-field laid off, [145]
Bombs, submarine, [91]
Boom-defence ships, [68]
— staff, [111]
Brighton Queen, H.M.S., [54]
Britannia, H.M.S., torpedoed, [101]
British coast completely mined-in, [145]
— Empire, dangerous position of, [117]
Call of the White Ensign, [31], [33]
Camouflaged ships, [73], [95]
Canada, officers from, [44], [195]
Canadian first army, transport of, [123]
Case of mistaken identity, [190]-[191]
Castaways, [238]-[247]
Casualties, naval, in Great War, [27], [256]
Casualty, a, [220]
Chaplains, naval, [109]-[110]
Christmas Day, 1916, [192]-[201]
Clearing large mine-fields, [161]
Coastal motor boats, [62]
— construction of, [62]-[68]
— method of attack, [65]
— bases of, [65]
— v. German destroyers, [66]
— in actions off Zeebrugge and Ostend, [61], [68], [287]
Colombo, mine-field laid off, [145]
Colonial officers, [44]-[45]
Colonies, aid from, [21]
Concentration of British fleet, August, 1914, [17]
Convoy, composition of, [118]-[119]
Convoy ships, [115]
Convoy system, [116]-[125]
Convoying, difficulties of, [122]
Convoys, minesweeping in front of, [121], [162]
Co-operation between fleets of sea and air, [279]
Cruiser Squadron, the Tenth, [51]-[52]
Dan-buoys, [199]
Danish derelict, [202]-[208]
Decoy system of attack, [137]-[138]
Deluding patrols, [236]
Demobilisation, naval, [28]
Depth charge, construction of, [80]-[84]
— method of use, [80]-[84]
— attacks with, [81]-[84], [262]
Depth charges, [70], [84]
Derelict, a, [201]-[208]
Destruction of a U-C boat, [209], [218]
Division of sea into patrol areas, [128]-[131]
Docker battalions, [121]
Dominions, aid from, [21]
Dover lighted barrage, [183]-[185]
— naval base, [103]
Dover patrols, [286], [295]-[300]
Drafting officers, [110]
Drifter units, [54], [55], [114]
Drifters, loss of in Adriatic, [56]
— — in Straits of Dover, [56]
Duffel clothing, [195]
Dunkirk, a night spent in, [293]-[300]
— patrols, [286], [293]-[300]
Effect of danger on human senses, [261]
Effect of shell fire, [256]
Electrically controlled boats off Zeebrugge, [290]-[293]
Engadine, H.M.S., [255]
England's food supply, [18]-[19]
Evening quarters in warships, [41]
Examination ships, [68]
Excitement, suppressed, before an action, [259]
Exploratory minesweeping, [158]-[161]
Fight, an epic, [226]-[232]
Finding the ships, guns and men, [21]
Firth of Forth, mines in, [209]
Fishing fleets, armed guards with, [279]-[285]
Fleet sweeping, [161]
French ship, mysterious disappearance of, [264]
German High Sea Fleet, [249]
— naval position in 1914, [18]
— submarine bases, [127]
— mine-laying, [143]
— raiders, Wolfe and Moewe, [145]
— mines, description of, [145], [148]
— — and Hague Convention, [150]-[152]
— mine-laying policy, [154]-[156]
— submarine offensive, [155]
— minesweeping, [169]
— submarines, loss of, [186]
— mine-field, a Christmas spent on, [192]-[201]
Grand Fleet, [233], [255], [286]
— bases, [103]
Granton Naval Base, [103]
Guarding a mine-field, [201]
Gunboats patrol, [53]
Gunnery classes, [43]-[44]
Harbour duties, [115]
— mines at entrance to, [209]-[219]
— sweeping, [162]
Harwich patrols, [286]
Hermione, training ship for new navy, [33], [36]-[49]
Hope of action, [202]
Hydrophone attack, [134]-[135]
— branch of naval service, [76]
— flotillas, [134]-[135]
Hydrophones, [70]-[84]
— object of, [70]
— portable, [71]
— — use of, [71]-[72]
— construction of, [72]-[74]
— limitations in use of, [77]-[78]
— directional, [75]
— — use of, [76]
— fitted in U and U-C boats, [76]-[77]
Iceland fishing fleet, [195], [200]
Indian Ocean, mine-fields in, [145]
Indicator nets, [85], [89], [138], [258]-[263]
Intelligence offices in naval bases, [108], [129]
Interpreter officers, [68]
Invincible, H.M.S., [255]
Isolation of mined areas, [159]
Jellicoe, Sir John, [252]
King's Messengers, [108]
Lance bombs, [91]
Life-boat, work of, [222]-[223]
Lighted barrage, [183]
Lightning reveals U-boat, [260]
Lion, H.M.S., after Jutland, [56], [254]
Liverpool harbour mined-in, [209]
Loss of ships, percentage of, [54], [55]
Lowestoft harbour mined-in, [209]
Lusitania, sinking of, [18]
Manning of British ships in past, [20]
Mercantile fleets under convoy, [116]
— Marine, [122]
— shipping in danger zone, [209]
Merchant ships, loss of, due to mines, [155]
Methods of attacking submarines, [134]-[142]
Mine barrages, [129], [139], [156], [179], [286]
Mine-field, Christmas on, [192]-[200]
Mine-fields, deep-laid, [139], [179]-[186]
Mine-layers, [233]-[236]
Mine nets, [39], [138]
Mine-protection devices, [175]-[178]
Mined areas, isolation of, [159]
Minesweeping, [54], [121], [157], [178], [209], [293]-[300]
Mine-laying from U-C boats, [152]-[153], [157]
Mines destroyed by British Navy, [155], [158], [209]
Mines, floating, [150]
Mining School, Portsmouth, [163]
M.L.'s. See under [Motor Launches]
Modified sweeps, [96]-[101]
Moewe, German raider, [145]
Monotony, effect of, [280]
Moonlight, effect of on searchlights, [297]-[298]
Moral effect of air raids, [295]
Moray Firth, mine-field in, [161]
Morning divisions in warships, [41]
Motor launch flotillas, [36], [115], [134]-[136]
Motor launches, Admiralty contract for, [57]
Motor launches, arrival of, [38]
— construction of, [58]-[62]
— description of, [56]
— area patrolled by, [61]
— loss of, [62]
— in actions off Zeebrugge and Ostend, [62], [287]
Mysteries of sea war, [264]-[272]
— of submarine hunting, [126]-[162]
— of German mine-laying, [143]-[156]
— of minesweeping, [157]-[178]
Mystery ships, [96], [101]
— numbers employed, [96]
National Insurance, [125]
Naval bases, [102]-[115]
— centres, [129]
— College, Greenwich, [35]
— policy, British, [31]
— School of Submarine Mining, [163]
— situation in 1914, [18]
Navigation, dangers of, in war time, [265]-[266]
— training in, [46]-[49]
Navy, expansion of, in past wars, [28]
Nerve tension before action, [261], [288]
Nets, submarine, [56], [85]-[89]
New fleets in being, [50]-[69]
New navy, composition of, [50]-[69]
— formation into flotillas, [68]-[69]
— growth of, [23]
— officers and men of, [25], [33]-[34]
— raison d'être, [18]
New Zealand, H.M.S., [255]
New Zealand, officers from, [39]
— waters, mines in, [145]
Nieuport pier, destruction of, [292]
Night attacks, [258]-[263]
— patrol, [209], [292]
North Sea, area of, [20]
— British naval blockade of, [124]
— gales, [220]
Northern mine barrage, [182]
Officers, training, [36]-[49]
Oil trails, [218], [263]
Paravanes, [175]-[177]
Patrol areas, [23]-[24], [128]-[131]
— boats, [130]-[133]
— — on lines of communication during Jutland, [257]
Personnel of new navy, [32]
Petrol fumes, danger of, [275]-[276]
Picric acid, for causing and alleviating pain, [257]
Port minesweeping officers, [111], [163]
Princess Royal, H.M.S., [255]
Privateers, old and new, [117]-[118]
"Q" Boats, [96]-[101]
— description of, [96]-[99]
— number employed, [96]
Q19, action of, in Straits of Gibraltar, [99]
Queenstown naval base, [103]
Raiders, German, cruises of, [145]
Red Cross work, [248]-[252]
Refits, [226]
Rescue work, [220]-[225], [238], [273]-[279]
Rescued crews, [247]
Resource II., H.M.S., [36]
Restriction of submarine danger zone, [126]
Return of fleet from Jutland, [254]-[256]
Rosyth Dockyard, [103]
Routine sweeping, [161]
Royal Naval Reserve, [37]
— — Volunteer Reserve, [36]
Royal Navy and Merchant Service, [26]
— — manning of, in past, [26]-[27]
Russian army, transport of, [123]
— lines of communication, [22]
— War of 1854-1856, [26]
Salving live mines, [151]-[152]
Scandinavian convoys, [123]-[124]
— — attacks on, [124]
Scapa Flow, [103]
Scottish waters, mine-fields in, [147]
Sea fight, elements of, [255]
— flanks of armies, [286]-[300]
— power, elements of, [26]
— stalking, [270]
Seamanship classes, [41]-[43]
Searching for mines, [162]
Shallow-water sweeping, [162]
Shell-shock cases, [257]
Ships of the new navy, [20]-[22]
Sick bay, shells burst in, [256]
Singapore mine-field, [145]
Sinking of last U-boat, [99]
Sloop flotillas, [52]
Smoke screens, [92]-[93], [290]
S.O.S., [238]
Sounds, submarine, [70]-[73]
South African mine-fields, [145]
Southampton, H.M.S., [255]
Southampton Water training ground, [38]
Spanish Armada, [233]
Spectre of the Goodwins, [265]
Spotting officers at Zeebrugge, [288]-[291]
Staff Headquarters, [24]
Standard ships, [120]
Submarine Engineering of To-day, [154]
Submarine hide-and-seek, [77]-[78]
— nets, [258]-[263]
— phase of naval war, [17]-[20]
— sounds, [70]-[73]
— v. submarine, [140]
— v. merchantman, [19]
— warfare of the future, [127]
Sutphen, Henry R., [57]-[58]
Sydney, H.M.S., [123]
Tactical methods, [134]-[135]
Task of Allied navies, [18]-[35]
Tenth Cruiser Squadron, [52], [232]
Theatre of war, principal, [20]
Thornycroft, Messrs John T., & Co. Ltd., [65]
Tides, effect of, on moored mines, [149]
— — on minesweeping, [171]
Toast of the British Navy, [48]
Tracking U-boats, methods of, [129]-[131]
Training an anti-submarine force, [36]-[49]
Transport of Allied armies, [116]
Trawler units, [54], [55], [113]
Treachery, guarding against, [270]
Tripods (for observation) at Zeebrugge, [280]
U-Boats, fishing for, [87]-[88], [258]-[263]
— sunk, [263]
— sunk by Q19, [97]-[100]
U-C boats, [144]
United States, effect on German mine-laying, [156]
— help from, [21]
— navy, [69]
— warships attacked, [125]
University, a naval, [46]-[49]
Unrecorded sea fights, [204]
Very's pistols, [246], [276]
Victory, H.M.S., at Trafalgar, [30]
Von Hipper's fleet, [255]
War base, a typical, [102]
— bases, [23], [102], [115]
— — description of, [104]-[115]
— Cabinet and convoys, [125]
— Channel, [160], [172]-[175]
Wardrooms in naval bases, [112]
Warspite, H.M.S., [254]
Waterloo, a replica of, [250]
Weapons, curious, [85]-[95]
Weather, effect of, on naval operations, [233]
Whaler units, [53]-[54], [115]
William Whiteley's, a naval, [107]
Winter patrol, [209]
Wolfe, German raider, [145]
Wounded, transport of, [256]-[257]
Yacht clubs, officers from, [32]
Yacht, armed, [53]
Zeebrugge, bombardment of, [287]-[293]
Zeppelin attacks fishing fleet, [282], [285]
Zeppelin raids, [48]-[49]
Zigzagging to avoid U-boats, [116]
Zones of war, drafting to, [50]-[51]
— vessels leaving for, [187]
THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED, EDINBURGH
1920
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Extract from Naval Demobilisation—issued by the Ministry of Reconstruction.