WITH A PREFACE BY
LADY BEATTY
NEW YORK
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY
PUBLISHERS IN AMERICA FOR HODDER & STOUGHTON
MCMXVII
COPYRIGHT, 1917,
BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A book containing accounts of the work continuallyand unceasingly being carried on by thegallant officers and men of the Royal Navyshould prove of considerable interest to all, and,at the present time, especially to the Americanreader. I am glad that a New York journalisthas had the opportunity of witnessing a part ofthe titanic task of our courageous sea-fighters, andof personally gaining an idea of the hardshipsendured by the plucky men who are watchingour coast. This little book may help considerablyto enlighten the general public on the workof the branches of the Navy, and prove that themen engaged in this tedious, hazardous, andnerve-racking vigil are going about it with thesame old valour befitting the traditions of theRoyal Navy. They have fought the savagebeasts like true sportsmen. They have rescuedenemy sailors, clothed and fed them, without asign of animus, knowing that victory will crowntheir efforts to throttle the enemy of humanityand of civilisation. And that enemy is now the[vi]common foe of the United States as well as ofEngland. He has been the sly enemy of theUnited States even before the declaration ofhostilities by the American Congress, while hewas the avowed enemy of other countries engagedin this terrible war.
These stories, light though they be, give aconception of what it is to search the seas in asubmarine, and the bravery of the youngestbranch of the Navy—the Royal Naval AirService—is palpable even from the modest accountsgiven by these seaplane pilots. They haveconfidence in their supremacy over the enemy,and are all smiles even in the face of imminentdanger. It shows that often British coolness andpluck have saved a machine as well as the livesof men.
Of special interest is the talk with the captainof a mine-sweeper while he is on the bridge ofhis vessel. He tells of the many neutral livesthat have been saved by English seamen at therisk of their own vessels and the lives of theircrews. Noteworthy is it that Great Britain inthe course of this war has not been the cause ofthe loss of a single neutral life. Mines have beenplaced at random by Germany's pirate craft.
The grit of the English seaman comes to light[vii]in the author's journey in a naval ambulancetrain, as does also the fact that the service takesthe utmost care of its wounded and sick. In theaccount of the Royal Naval Division it is touchingto note that the men who are fighting inFrance and who distinguished themselves so valiantlyin the Ancre and other battles, still clingto sea terms or talk.
The accounts in this volume may cause thepeople of my native country to appreciate thenecessity for silence on the part of the BritishAdmiralty, as now that their ships are linkedwith ours in the effort to defeat a common enemythe same idea of giving no information to theenemy even at the cost of criticism undoubtedlywill be included in orders. Nevertheless, whileplaying the trump of silence, it is encouraging toread stories of the Navy so that the readers havecertain knowledge that silence and brief reportsdo not mean that nothing is being accomplis