I have often wondered since that fatal day whether anything could have been done that was not done, but short of postponing the departure of the Hampshire altogether, until weather conditions admitted of a channel being swept ahead of her, nothing could have been done. Such a decision would have resulted in two or three days’ delay in starting, and would never have been agreed to by Lord Kitchener. Moreover, with the knowledge then at my disposal as to enemy mine-laying possibilities, I did not consider the delay necessary as I should not have hesitated, if need had arisen, to take the Grand Fleet to sea on the same night and by the same route as that traversed by the Hampshire.
My own sorrow for the incident was overwhelming. There was, at first, doubt in the minds of some people as to whether the loss of the Hampshire was due to a mine or to a submarine, but these doubts were set at rest by the sweeping operations which were undertaken as soon as the weather admitted. They resulted in the discovery of moored mines of the type laid in southern waters by enemy submarines, these mines being easily distinguishable from those laid by surface vessels.
During the month of June cruisers were kept constantly patrolling the route to Archangel to protect shipping against possible enemy raiders, as the traffic was very heavy at this period. The Donegal, Antrim, Devonshire and Roxburgh were the vessels employed. They visited the Norwegian coast in the vicinity of Stadlandet, en route to and from patrol, with a view to intercepting vessels carrying ore from Narvick.
The submarines of the 11th Submarine Flotilla were employed in watching the waters in the Kattegat and cruised in the Skagerrak and off the Norwegian coast, looking for enemy submarines and surface craft. A regular submarine patrol was also begun off the Horn Reef, and was continued up to the time of my relinquishing command of the Fleet. At first two, and later, three, submarines were used for this patrol, which was of great utility in giving information of the movements of the few enemy surface vessels that ever ventured so far from their base, and also proved of use for attacking enemy submarines. At the commencement, the efficiency of our submarines for patrol and look-out purposes was very inferior as compared with that of the German submarines, by reason of their bad wireless equipment, which admitted of a range of some 50 miles only. As soon as submarines were attached to the Grand Fleet, I represented strongly the absolute necessity of effecting an improvement in this particular, stating that I was quite prepared to sacrifice some of the torpedo armament should this be necessary, but that it was a vital matter to install efficient wireless apparatus in the only class of vessel that could carry out a watching patrol in the vicinity of German bases. Eventually arrangements were made to provide them with a wireless installation which gave a range of 300 to 400 miles.
When our submarines had been equipped in this way we were at once able to establish an efficient chain of outposts off the Horn Reef by the Grand Fleet submarines; and from Terschelling to the northward the Harwich submarines were on duty, with the result that in daylight, at any rate, it was very difficult for the enemy to put to sea unobserved and unreported. The comparative inefficiency of the wireless installation in our submarines, and to a lesser extent in our destroyers, was one of the disadvantages which we had to face during the first two years of War. It should be added that while patrolling in the Kattegat, submarine G 4 sank by gunfire on June 19th, outside territorial waters, the German steamship Ems, on passage from Christiania to Lübeck with oil, zinc and copper. The crew were rescued.
The cruiser and light cruiser movements during the month, other than the usual patrols, were as follows:—
The 1st Light Cruiser Squadron, with destroyers, left Rosyth on the 14th for the Naze, thence steered up the Norwegian Coast to Udsire, and returned to Rosyth.
The Comus and Constance left Scapa on the 25th, swept down the Norwegian coast and returned on the 27th.
The 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron and destroyers carried out a similar sweep from Rosyth between the 29th June and July 1st.
On June 22nd the first mines from a British submarine mine-layer were laid by E 41 in the German Bight.