(c) The route was one used by Fleet auxiliaries, and was, therefore, under frequent observation.
At this date, mine-laying by enemy submarines had been confined to water well to the southward of the Firth of Forth, presumably because of their small radius of action. Danger from this source was, therefore, considered to be very remote.
Finally the weather itself was a protection against submarine attack which was at that time more to be feared than the danger from submarine laid mines. Mine-sweeping on either side of the Orkneys had not been practicable for three or four days owing to the weather conditions.
At about 4 P.M. Lord Kitchener proceeded on board the Hampshire, accompanied by his Staff comprising Brigadier-General Ellershaw, Sir F. Donaldson, Colonel FitzGerald, Mr. O’Beirne of the Foreign Office, Mr. Robertson of the Munitions Department, and Second-Lieutenant McPherson, Cameron Highlanders. The Hampshire sailed at 5.30 P.M. escorted by two destroyers. Her orders were to proceed at a speed of at least 16 knots, if the weather permitted, and to send the destroyers back if they could not maintain the Hampshire’s speed. Experience had proved that high speed was a valuable protection against submarines.
At about 7 P.M. Captain Savill, commanding the Hampshire, ordered the two destroyers back to Scapa, as they were unable to face the heavy seas at the speed of the Hampshire. Between 7.30 and 7.45 P.M. the Hampshire struck a mine about 1½ miles off shore, between the Brough of Birsay and Marwick Head; she sank in 15 minutes, bows first. The incident was witnessed by observers on shore, and a telephone message was sent to the Vice-Admiral Commanding Orkneys and Shetlands that the cruiser was in difficulties. He at once ordered out patrol vessels and informed me, with the result that destroyers were sent to the scene immediately.
The evidence of the few survivors of the Hampshire showed that Lord Kitchener was below when the ship was mined, and that an officer escorted him on deck. Captain Savill was heard to give directions from the bridge for a boat to be prepared for Lord Kitchener and his Staff, and Lord Kitchener was seen subsequently on deck, but was not seen after the ship sank. The weather conditions prevented any boats being hoisted out or lowered, although four boats floated clear as the ship sank.
The scene of the disaster was searched during the night by destroyers and patrol craft, but the only survivors were twelve men who drifted ashore on a Carley raft, although many bodies were picked up by the searching vessels, and many drifted ashore.
The body of Lord Kitchener was not recovered.
At the time of the disaster the Hampshire was steaming at 13½ knots, the wind being north-north-west, with a force of 50 miles an hour. The cold water and the very heavy sea were against even the strongest swimmers surviving for any time. The wind, which was north-east at 4 P.M. at Scapa, had become north-north-west by the time the Hampshire was outside, and there was, therefore, no lee on the west side of the Orkneys, as had been anticipated.
The hours that passed after the receipt of the report of the Hampshire being in difficulties were most anxious ones. In spite of the fact that the destroyers had been sent back, it seemed almost incredible that the wind and sea could have risen to such an extent as was actually the case, as the conditions in Scapa Flow were not so bad as to indicate so extremely heavy a sea off the Brough of Birsay; and even when it was reported that the Hampshire had sunk (a report which took some time to come through), there was hope that, at any rate, Lord Kitchener and his mission would be saved by boat. As the hours passed and no news was received of the rescue of any survivors, the anxiety became intense. With the arrival of daylight, and the certainty that this great man, who had served his country so faithfully and well in its greatest emergency, had met his death when under the care of the Navy, the anxiety turned to consternation and grief. Lord Kitchener had inspired the Service with confidence and trust. The Navy had frequently worked under him in Egypt and in South Africa, and he had been one of the outstanding figures in the European War on the side of the Entente. Everyone in the Grand Fleet felt the magnitude of the disaster that had fallen upon the nation, and it can well be imagined that the feelings of the Fleet generally were intensified in me, on whom lay the main responsibility for his safe passage to Archangel, so far as such safety could be ensured.