The Memoirs of Admiral Lord Beresford
Officers and men delighted in these exercises; and all (including the
commander-in-chief) learned something from them.
In July, 1903, the Channel Fleet assembled at Spithead to welcome the
United States Squadron, consisting of the _Kearsage_, flag of Admiral
Cotton, _Chicago_, _San Francisco_ and _Machias_. The American
officers were entertained to lunch by the Pilgrims' Society, and it
fell to me to propose the United States Navy, Admiral Cotton
responding. H.R.H. the Prince of Wales accepted an invitation to
breakfast on board the American flagship.
In August took place the combined manoeuvres of the Channel, Home and
Mediterranean Fleets; at their conclusion, the Fleets met in Lagos Bay
for tactical exercises; 25 battleships, 42 cruisers, and gunboats and
destroyers under the supreme command of Admiral Sir Compton E.
Domville, G.C.V.O., K.C.B.
Colonel Robert M. Thompson was a welcome guest of mine at this time,
and subsequently in all the ships in which I flew my flag. Colonel
Thompson afterwards published some observations upon the manoeuvres in
the _Evening Post_, U.S.A., from the point of view of an American
officer who began his career in the United States Navy.
"When the three Fleets participating in those manceuvres were combined,
there were 72 battleships and cruisers, with nearly 40,000 men, all
under the command of one admiral; probably the strongest Fleet ever
brought together in the history of the world. This enormous assemblage
of vessels was handled without a single break. When the entire 72
{489} ran to anchor in eight lines, had there been a straight-edge
placed in front of them it would not have shown a ship, it seems to me,
a foot out of position. They made a 'flying moor,' and when you
consider that in point of time, at the speed the ships were going, they
were only one minute apart, every seaman will appreciate how
wonderfully they must have been handled."
Colonel Thompson very kindly presented a challenge shield for the best
gun in the flagship of the Channel Fleet (afterwards Atlantic Fleet),
to be inscribed with the names of the crew of the best gun at the
annual gunlayers' competition; and at the same time generously placed
in trust a sum of money the interest of which, amounting to £10 a year,
was to be presented to the winning gun's crew. The record for the
_Cæsar_ while my flag was flown in that vessel was 18 hits out of 21
rounds in two minutes.
In September, 1903, the Fleet visited Scarborough; in pursuance of the
principle that to afford the public opportunities for seeing the Fleet
and for making acquaintance with the ships, arouses and maintains a
healthy interest in the Service. Upon this occasion, I invited my old
constituents at York to visit the Fleet. They came in thousands; but
sad to say, the weather was so bad that they could not leave the shore.
When the Fleet was visiting Ireland, a certain worthy character, very
well known in Kingstown, Dublin, whose chosen occupation is--or
was--selling newspapers, came to me, as his countryman, on board the
_Majestic_, to his intense excitement.
"Glory to God, Lord Char-less," he screamed, "is that yourself in the
gold hat!" And he shrieked like a macaw, so that the men began to
crowd on deck to see what was the matter. I had to tell him to pipe
down, or they would turn the fire-engine on him.
The story of the accident to the _Prince George_ and its repair serves
to illustrate the emergencies of sea life. The Channel Fleet was
engaged in manoeuvres without lights off {490} Cape Finisterre, on the
night of 17th October, 1903. Two midshipmen of the _Prince George_
were relaxing their minds after the strain of the day's work with a
hand at cards, when the game was interrupted by the entrance into the
gun-room of the stem of the _Hannibal_, before which apparition the
young gentlemen incontinently fled.
The signal instantly made by the _Hannibal_, "Have collided with the
_Prince George_," was received on board the flagship at 9.41 p.m.
During the next half-hour the masthead flashing lamps winked their
messages back and forth; and at 10.10 the _Prince George_ signalled
that there was a large hole in her gun-room, and that the submerged
flat, cockpit and steering compartment were full of water.
The actual extent of the injury, as afterwards ascertained, caused by
the impact upon the port quarter of a 15,000 ton battleship travelling
at about nine knots, was an indentation in the form of an inverted
pyramid, the apex at the level of the protective steel deck, the base
level with the upper deck, measuring 24 feet 8 inches in height, and 6
feet 6 inches across at the upper deck, and diminishing to a crack at
the apex, where the ship's side had been driven in to a depth of 1 foot
4 inches, by the impact of the _Hannibal_. In the centre of the
indentation was a triangular rift, starting from the crack at the
bottom, measuring 3 feet 4 inches in height and 1 foot 6 inches in
breadth at the top.
At 11 o'clock p.m. I went on board the _Prince George_; examined into
the damage; made a general signal to the Fleet ordering all hand-pumps
and 14 foot planks and plenty of wedges to be sent on board the _Prince
George_. Under Captain F. L. Campbell, perfect discipline had been
maintained; the collision mat had been placed over the injury; and the
men were working cheerily with hand-pumps and baling out with buckets
the water from the gun-room. The rudder was out of action, the
steam-pipes being full of water. The engineer-commander had wisely
shut off steam when the helm was amidships, thus avoiding the jamming
of the rudder. Had the rudder jammed to {491} starboard or to port,
the difficulty of steering by the screws would have been greatly
increased. The bulkheads closing in the compartments which were full
of water, and all horizontal water-tight doors, were shored up with
baulks of timber. But the water was still coming in, because, owing to
the indentation in the side of the ship, the collision mat did not fit
tightly to it.
The Fleet was ordered to proceed to Ferrol.
I sent on a boat to buoy the sunken rocks; a proceeding which aroused
the suspicions of the Spanish authorities; who, however, upon learning
the circumstances, were most courteous and obliging. The boat,
however, was only able to get down one buoy.
The _Howe_ had gone aground in the passage into Ferrol in 1892, and
three vessels had gone aground subsequently.
Captain Campbell took the _Prince George_ into Ferrol harbour, up the
tortuous channel, which, owing to unbuoyed sunken rocks, is difficult
and dangerous. Under my directions Captain Campbell steered by the
screws, both screws going slow, or going astern slow with one
propeller, and stopping the other, according to which way it was
necessary to turn her head, and thus reducing her way if she were
nearing a rock, and by this method keeping her under perfect control.
At this time the ship was heavily down by the stern, drawing 25 feet 2
inches forward and 34 feet 6 inches aft. Her stern walk was flush with
the water.
Immediately upon the arrival of the _Prince George_ in Ferrol harbour
(on Sunday, 18th October) divers and working parties were sent to her
from all the other ships, and the Spanish Government courteously placed
the resources of the dockyard at my disposal. The working parties
worked day and night in three watches. On Monday, the _Hogue_,
armoured cruiser, Captain John L. Marx, M.V.O., was placed alongside
the _Prince George_ and employed her salvage pumps.
The first thing to do was to prevent more water from coming in and to
get rid of the water already in the ship. {492} Mats were made of
canvas, thrummed with blankets, and these, with collision mats cut up,
and shot mats, were thrust horizontally through the holes in the ship's
side and wedged up so that the ends of the mats projected inside and
out; and the moisture, causing them to swell, closed up the holes. At
the same time the water was being pumped out and coffer-dams were being
constructed on the inside of the ship.
The coffer-dam was a stout wooden partition built round the injury in
the ship side, thoroughly buttressed from within the ship with stout
baulks of timber. It thus formed a chamber, which was filled up with
all sorts of absorbent and other material, such as seamen's beds,
blankets, rope, hammocks, pieces of collision mats, gymnasium
mattresses, cushions, biscuit tins, etc. Thus the coffer-dam formed a
block, part absorbent and part solid, wedged and shored over the site
of the injury. In addition, the splintered wood sheathing was cut away
and trimmed up, and the mouth of the submerged torpedo tube was stopped
up with blankets and wedges, and sealed up with 3/16-inch steel plate
bolted to the ship's side.
The extent of the injury may be exemplified by the amount of stuff used
for filling up the coffer-dams and for stopping the leaks, which was:
10 shot hole stopper mats; two collision mats 15 feet by 15 feet; 350
seamen's hammocks, nine boats' covers, 14 coat-shoot covers, eight
steaming covers, 11 coaling screens, 1500 yards of deckcloth, 23
shot-hole stopper mats cut into pieces, 57 blankets, one cwt. of oakum
and cotton waste, and about 1000 wooden wedges, etc. etc. Over 145
tons of ammunition and stores were shifted in order to trim the ship.
The divers and carpenters of the Fleet worked continually in three
watches from 3 p.m. on Sunday, 18th of October, till 6 a.m. on Friday,
23rd of October. There were employed: 24 engine-room artificers, 24
stokers, 88 carpenter ratings, 43 divers and attendants. The majority
of the divers and carpenters were working in three watches {493} for
the whole time; that is, from 30 to 40 working hours each. From the
time stated, a period of in hours, 178 men were employed for various
periods. The total "men-hours" amounted to 3898, of which 3219 were
done by 27 divers and 60 carpenters. Two engineer sub-lieutenants from
other vessels of the Fleet assisted the engineer staff of the ship.
At the completion of the repairs the _Prince George_, leaving Ferrol on
24th October, proceeded to Portsmouth escorted by the _Sutlej_.
Although the weather was rough, the total amount of water shipped by
the Prince George during the voyage was one gallon; a proof of the
excellent work done by the artificers.
The repairs were carried out in six days altogether; the carpenters of
the Fleet being under Mr. Lavers, chief carpenter of _Majestic_, and
the divers of the Fleet under Mr. Manners, gunner of _Majestic_. The
total cost of the stores purchased at Ferrol was £116, 2s. 4d. The
whole incident is an example, but one of many, of the ability of the
Fleet to execute its own repairs.
In the following year, the officers and men of the _Majestic_ turned
over to the _Cæsar_, in which ship my flag was hoisted on 2nd February,
1904, and in which it was flown during the remainder of the commission.
His Majesty the Emperor of Germany visited Gibraltar in March, in the
s.s. _König Albert_, escorted by H.I.M. cruiser _Friedrich Karl_. His
Majesty hoisted his flag as Honorary Admiral in the Royal Navy in the
_Cæsar_. On the 20th, his Majesty honouring me with his presence at
dinner in the _Cæsar_, the boats of the Fleet were lined on either side
of the passage between the _König Albert_ and the _Cæsar_; and when the
Emperor proceeded between the lines, every boat burned a blue light,
all oars were tossed, blades fore and aft, in perfect silence, the
midshipmen conveying their orders by signs. After dinner, when it fell
to me to propose his Majesty's health, and I stood up, glass in hand,
as I {494} said the words "Emperor of Germany," a rocket went up from
the deck above, and at the signal every ship in the Fleet fired a Royal