My first thought about our ship was that she was such a big target that a torpedo could hardly miss her, and as yesterday was the date the German threat to sink every armed ship at sight came into force, our danger is no doubt great. (She was afterwards torpedoed in the Mediterranean with the loss of 402 lives.) All are ordered to put on our life belts, and even as we lie here many are going about with these cumbrous things on, but most are content to carry them under their arms.
A meeting was held yesterday, and crews of two N.C.O.'s and thirteen men were chosen to man each of our fifty-five boats in case we should get holed, while the rest of us have to scramble into the nearest boat that has not its full complement.
March 3rd.—We still lie in Plymouth Bay. Rumour says two German cruisers have broken through our cordon and are somewhere on the prowl. This is the latest reason I have heard for our still lying here.
A corporal shot himself this morning, the result of a letter from his sweetheart who dreamt that she saw him badly wounded, with his head swathed in bandages. Stupid fellow, superstition should have told him that this meant a wedding. He made a clumsy job of it, and a big mess in the Orderly Room where it happened.
2 p.m.—At noon we cast off and in less than an hour had sailed through the tortuous waterway and were out in the open sea. We have two destroyers ahead and one astern. All are happy at the thought of being on the move, lying in the bay was getting irksome. All have now taken to their life belts. As a precaution against a surprise we have a submarine guard of 200 men on duty at a time. These parade the top deck with their rifles.
March 4th.—Our escort left us last night at 7. Few are thinking of submarines as is proved by two out of every three appearing for breakfast without their preservers, or war babies as they are often called.
March 5th.—Yesterday afternoon while I was busy inoculating down in D. deck six short blasts were given by the whistle, denoting danger, when all had to rush to their allotted posts at the boats with life preservers on. I guessed it was only practice, which is invariably carried out the second day a troopship is at sea, and as I had only four more injections to give, and these four men had not heard the signal, I finished these, detaining my orderly who got as white as a ghost. All must have got into their places quickly, all were in perfect order when I reached the Orderly Room, the post of all officers not in command of boats. An officer tells me that on his last voyage an important and very stout Colonel was in his bath when the alarm sounded. He obeyed the order to fly absolutely at once, getting into his life belt and taking up his station without another stitch on.
To-day I was in my cabin when I heard a terrific roar. Thinking a torpedo might have hit us I put my head through the port-hole and saw several getting into their belts, so I made for the deck to find our big gun was practising on a barrel that had been dropped astern. Such practice is usually carried out several times on a trip.
March 6th.—We are nearing Gib., and as the danger gets worse here our zig-zagging has increased. It rains hard, with a fairly thick fog, and is altogether disagreeable. The M.O. for the crew had to be locked up to-day and has a military guard placed over him. He had been threatening all about him with a big amputating knife.
6.30 p.m.—Just passing "The Rock". It is dark and a brilliant searchlight has been fixed on us. Once more in the Mediterranean, and I expect I have a long, trying summer to spend somewhere in its neighbourhood.