The Battle of the Falkland Islands, Before and After

by Henry Edmund Harvey Spencer-Cooper

Survivors stated that von Spee was originally going direct to the Plate to coal, but that having captured a sailing vessel full of coal at Cape Horn, he changed his plans and decided to attack the Falkland Islands. It was also stated that the Leipzig had a large amount of gold on board.

One of the survivors rescued by the Cornwall was a naval reservist, who in time of peace had occupied the post of German interpreter to the Law Courts at Sydney, in Australia. When hauled into the boat the first words he used as soon as he had recovered his breath were: "It's bloody cold" in a perfect English accent. It is a well-known fact that sailors rarely make use of bad language, and the bowman who had hauled him out of the water is said to have fainted! Evidently the language of the Law leaves much to be desired.

The torpedo lieutenant of the Leipzig was amongst those saved by the Cornwall. When brought alongside he was too exhausted to clamber up the ship's side unaided, but when he reached the upper deck he pulled himself together and stood to attention, saluting our officers at the gangway. When he came into the wardroom later on he explained that he had been on board before as a guest at dinner at the time that the ship paid a visit to Kiel for the regatta in 1909, adding that he little expected then that his next visit would take place under such tragic circumstances.

This officer surprised us all by suddenly asking when the Cornwall had had bigger guns put into her, and went on to say that when we fired our "big guns"—meaning when we started to use lyddite shell—the damage was appalling, arms and legs were to be seen all along the decks, and each shell that burst started a fire. He went on to say that the Cornwall's firing was very effective and accurate, but doubtless most of the prisoners told their captors the same thing. We explained that the armament had not been changed since the ship was originally built. He also told us that the German captain had assembled all the ship's company when their 1,800 rounds of ammunition were expended, and said, "There is the ensign, and any man who wishes may go and haul it down, but I will not do so." Not a soul moved to carry out the suggestion, but about fifty men, having obtained permission, jumped overboard and must have perished from the cold. There were only eighteen left alive on board at the end, so far as he could judge, and of these sixteen were saved. All the officers carried whistles, which accounted for their being located in the water so easily.

The prisoners naturally wished to glorify themselves, their captain, and their shipmates in the eyes of their fellow-countrymen, before whom they knew that these stories would eventually be repeated. Therefore these yarns about the ensign, the men jumping overboard, and the opening of the Kingston valves must be taken with a grain of salt.

The Cornwall had one or two interesting examples of the damage done to a ship by modern high-explosive shell. The most serious was a shell that must have exploded on the water-line, as the ship was rolling, for the side was afterwards found to be indented 5 inches at a position 5 to 6 feet below the water-line, and consequently below the armoured belt, a cross bulkhead being at the precise point of impact. Curious as it may appear, even the paint was untouched, and there was no sign of a direct hit from outboard, except for the bulge that remained and the starting of a good many rivets from their sockets. The cross bulkhead behind was buckled up like corrugated iron, and the two coal bunkers, which had been empty, were flooded, giving the ship a heavy list. When we got into Port William we managed to heel the ship sufficiently to enable our carpenters to get at the leak, and they succeeded in completely stopping it in two days, working day and night—a fine performance, for which Mr. Egford, the carpenter, received the D.S.C., whilst his staff were personally congratulated by the Commander-in-Chief.

Another shell passed through the steel depression rail of the after 6-inch turret, by which it was deflected through the deck at the junction of two cabin bulkheads; it next penetrated the deck below and finally burst on the ship's side, causing a large hole. An amusing incident was connected with this. The projectile cut a fire-hose in half, the business end of which was carried down the hole into one of the officer's cabins, where it continued to pump in water for the remainder of the action. At the end of the day this officer found all his belongings, including his full dress and cocked hat, floating about in two or three feet of water.

Another officer was seated on a box in the ammunition passage waiting for the wounded, when a shell struck the ship's side close by him, the concussion knocking him off. Getting up, he saw the doctor near by, and thought he had kicked him, so asked him angrily what the blazes he thought he was doing. It was not until after a long and heated argument that he could be persuaded to believe that he had not been the victim of a practical joke.

In another case a shell shot away the fire main immediately above one of the stokeholds, which was flooded. Stoker Petty Officer W. A. Townsend and Stoker John Smith were afterwards both decorated with the D.S.M. for "keeping the boiler fires going under very trying circumstances."

It was mentioned before that some ships had leave to open up their machinery for repairs. The Cornwall was to have steam at six hours' notice, and had the low-pressure cylinder of the port engine opened up and in pieces for repairs when the signal to raise steam was made. Chief Engine Room Artificer J. G. Hill was awarded the D.S.M. "for his smart performance in getting the port engine, which was disconnected, into working order." It will have been noticed that the ship was steaming 20 knots two and a half hours after the signal to raise steam. This was a remarkable performance, and reflected great credit on her entire engineering staff.