On the afternoon of the 9th news was received that the destroyer Lynx had been sunk by a mine at 6 A.M. that morning in a position stated to be two miles to the northward of the mine-field as then located. It was very regrettable that only three officers and 21 men were saved out of her fine ship’s company; those lost included her captain, Commander John F. H. Cole, an officer of great promise. The loss of such a comparatively shallow draft vessel showed that some of the mines had been laid near the surface, and mine-sweeping operations were suspended near the time of low water.
At 4.30 P.M. Commodore Tyrwhitt, of the Harwich force, reported that the German mine-layer Meteor, which had been sighted by his vessels in the vicinity of the Horn Reef, had been abandoned and sunk by her own crew and that he had subsequently rescued four officers and 39 men, survivors of the armed boarding-steamer Ramsey, who had been prisoners on board the Meteor. The Ramsey had been on patrol south-east of the Pentland Firth, and it was ascertained from the survivors later that she had sighted and closed the Meteor, which was disguised as a neutral merchant-ship, shortly after daylight on August 8th, with the intention of boarding her. On closing, however, the Meteor suddenly showed her true character; her powerful armament, hitherto concealed, opened a heavy fire on the Ramsey, which was returned by the latter ship’s greatly inferior armament of 12-pounder guns. But the surprise was too complete and the odds too heavy, and the Ramsey was sunk very quickly with her colours flying, four officers and 39 men out of a complement of 97 being picked up by the Meteor. Acting-Lieut. P. S. Atkins, R.N.R., the senior surviving officer of the Ramsey, came north to report himself to me, and gave full details of his experiences. He stated that when the officers of the Meteor abandoned and sank their ship on sighting Commodore Tyrwhitt’s force, the crew, with the British prisoners, went on board a neutral fishing vessel. Shortly afterwards the British light cruisers passed close to the fishing vessel, and Lieut. Atkins signalled to the Commodore, stating that they were survivors of the Ramsey and asked to be taken off. He added that the Commodore, who was at that time being attacked by both aircraft and submarines, replied, “Steer south-west; I will return and pick you up.”
Lieut. Atkins thereupon asked the Captain of the Meteor to steer south-west, but the Germans naturally enough objected, as they desired to make their own coast. However, in spite of the fact that the British were unarmed and numerically very inferior, their arguments prevailed and a south-west course was steered for a short time until another fishing vessel was sighted; the British suggested transferring to her; this was agreed to by the Germans. As the British were leaving, the German captain, Konstten-Kapitän von Knorr, asked Lieut. Atkins if he had any money, to which he replied, “How could I, seeing that you picked me up in pyjamas?” Captain von Knorr pressed money on him, but Lieut. Atkins said that he did not see that he would require it. However, he eventually took it, Captain von Knorr handing him an English £5 note and other money. It is pleasant to record so gentlemanly and courteous an act, which stands out in strong contrast to the usual behaviour of German naval officers during the War. The money was given to me, and I sent it to the Admiralty, asking that it might be repaid, with the thanks of the British for the courtesy shown to our prisoners of war.
The 1st, 2nd and 4th Light Cruiser Squadrons were ordered to return to their bases on receipt of the news of the sinking of the Meteor.
The mine-sweeping operations in the Moray Firth on August 9th showed that the mine-field was larger than had been at first reported, and additional paddle mine-sweepers were sent from the Clyde to assist the other vessels.
Mr. Asquith and Mr. McKenna were on board the Iron Duke from the 7th to the 9th, and various matters of importance were discussed. When questioned as to urgent requirements I pressed for the building of a large number of sloops, a class of vessel which had proved most useful, both as mine-sweepers and as patrol vessels, and which could supplement the numerous destroyers then building, which took much longer to complete.
The persistence of the fog at this period is shown by the fact that the Agincourt, returning to Scapa from Portsmouth, was unable to enter the base for 36 hours after passing Cape Wrath, only 60 miles distant, and was forced to cruise to the westward, making repeated attempts at entry. The Ajax was similarly delayed in entry for 12 hours during the same period.
On August 10th the armed merchant-ship India, of the 10th Cruiser Squadron, was torpedoed and sunk by an enemy submarine off the coast of Norway with considerable loss of life.
Four destroyers were sent on August 13th to locate and engage a submarine that had attacked one of the Fleet mine-sweepers. They did not succeed in finding her, but on the following day an armed yacht engaged a submarine off the Aberdeen coast and claimed to have hit her by gunfire; and the trawler Shamrock claimed to have run over another submarine.
The 1st Light Cruiser Squadron from Rosyth, the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron from Scapa, and seven destroyers carried out a search between the 16th and 18th for enemy vessels in the northern and central portion of the North Sea, sweeping towards the Skagerrak, and covering a large area by wide zigzags.