Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/59/1 - September 1916 - Part 6

10    56

on the face of it, an efficient

effective drainpipe;  & does not

pretend to be Nelson's Column

or somebody's obelisk.  This

last sort of drain pipe makes me

more physically sick than the others.

honest sort of smelly drain pipe

ever does.

From the ^centre spans of the

Forth Bridge were hanging

ropes leading to buoys.  Between

[[ drawing of bridge ]]

each the lengths of rope

attached to the buoy

was a series of

loops with weights

on the end - the

weights suspended half way between

the bridge & the water - evidently

in order to help in lifting or lowering

the net there & in order perhaps to keep

an even strain on the rope.

When a ship goes through they must

either lift or lower the net - I

didnt see which.

Outside we cd see the

dim grey form of a very

57

( whole page of drawing with notations )

Direction of

Courcelette

windmill

observation Post

Tank astride of 

Walker's Trench

N S E W

 

10    58

( whole page - drawings of 2 tanks )

Tank on Walkers Trench (or O.G.1)

10    59

big warship - three funnelled,

(drawing)

& very level

decked.  The

Lion or the

Princess Royal,

they sd, wh had gone down to

Calibrate her guns.  I think

afterwds we heard she ws the

"P.R." Princess Royal.  The Lion

& the Repulse were away.

We were put on two

motor boats (new naval craft

included very few motor boats

before this war) & went

off to two torpedo boats.  I think

they were the oldest class

of destroyer - 25 kn boats of

about 1896 & they took us

up through the destroyers & the

fleet.

I used to know most of

the types in the navy on sight

but they have gone beyond me

10    60

in this war - Ever since my father

took me to Portsmouth in

1893 I have read pretty well

every book I could get hold

of about the Navy - at

school the "Navy & Army"

magazine used to be my chief

interest in the week, & the Navy

Estimates my chief interest

in the year - &, for a time, the

"Times" Naval news one of

the invariable interests in the

day.  Cassells ^have asked me to

write them a book about the

Australian Navy to go with

some pictures by Percy Spence.

But I dont know eno' abt

the modern Navy to take it

on;  unless I get to see something

o / inside of it now, I ww

Cassells, I cdn't undertake it.

But this visit & another will

help.

The below First - nearest to /

Bridge lay a double line of

10    61

destroyers - L class (this

is new since the beginning o /

war or thereabouts).

Above them or among them

was a ship with three

funnels & one mast, but o /

destroyer type.  They She ws

(drawing)

one o / new

Light Armoured

Cruisers - the

first I had ever seen.  They

date - the first of them - from

just before the war.

Her funnel ws painted in two

artistic shades of light grey

-the lighter colour in irregular

spots, round like the sun - I dare

(drawing ) ← this is too dark

say an excellent

protection if

she were lying in close

under the land -

Excellently well done as the French

do it;  not our usual wretched

little patchwork

10    62

Behind her were lying 4 big

ships.  I recognised one

at a glance.  The three big

funnels   (drawing)

standing

isolated on

the deck showed tt she ws either

the Australia or the N.Zealand

-the Indefatigable had gone in

the Jutland fight.  She ws head

of her line, the ship we saw

& I read AUSTRALIA on her

stern & brass letters.  Behind

her were two ships not unlike

her but with their two forward

funnels closer together & connected

by upper works.

the Invincible    (drawing)

has gone - So these

were the Inflexible & the Indomitable.

My Russian friend - who is an

enthusiast on / British navy,

and a real expert - ws bubbling

over, meanwhile, abt a ship

on the other side of us - lying

10    63

ahead o / line by herself.

she was a most compact

ship - like the latest ships

are;  bigger than any of them

really, but so compact &

neat tt she seemed like

a well tied up parcel -

(drawing)

just a clean

clear platform for

8 big guns.

She ws the Tiger - of

abt 35 knots speed I believe

& 110 000 H.P.  They say tt

the Repulse (or is it the Hood)

will develop 150,000,

[They tell H.P now by the

number of blades in the Turbine

etc. not by the twist o / shaft

as they did 4 years ago].

The Warrant Officer who ws

3rd in command of our t.b.d had bn

in the Swiftsure up the Dardanelles.

he sd they cd see the guns wh

were firing at them there when they

tried to get through;  and

the mines were floating down

past them thickly.  The Turks

10    64

were firing at them chiefly with

8 in. guns & the shot were falling

all round them thickly.  But the

skipper was handling his ship

so as to avoid them.  "one salvo

over - next will be short - starboard

your helm" - True enough, next

salvo wd fall short.  "Next will

be right - stop the engines & take

the way off" - the ship wd check

her way & fall back, & a 

salvo wd fall into / water

ahead of her - where she wd

have been.

He saw the Ocean & the

Irresistible go - but not the

Inflexible - the Inflexible must

have been behind them.  He thinks

that the fleet could have got

through - at a price.

The torpedo boat took us

up round the fleet auxiliaries &

then back to the Rosyth Dockyard.

This was quite new to me -

in 1913 when I left England

there ws very little to show for

10    65

it.  When the war broke out

none of the dry docks were

ready but the basin & some

o / slips were.  It is just

a big stretch of flat land - reclaimed

flat I shd think - under the

hills of the N. Shore above the

Bridge - with several deep

big docks in it & two basins.

the New Zealand ws lying

alongside there;  & the Warspite

(like the Q.E.); & the Conqueror.

The admiral of the place had his

flag flying on the Crescent (an

old cruiser like the Endymion

but not blistered, as far as I cd

see).  the neutrals ^& we others were to lunch

aboard her.  As we came in to the

stage a midshipman brought me

a note from North - who was in the

[*Powerful & is new in*] the "New Zealand" - asking me to

lunch with him & go back to

the party later.  I was delighted

to have the chance.

He gave me lunch with

himself & the Commander -

10    66

Creighton.  Creighton is a little

chap with keen eyes who

might be the best sort of high

churchman - a Bishop or a

University tutor.  They were

anxious to hear all they cd

about the Somme & they

themselves told me in return

a great deal abt the Jutland

fight.

For the N.Zealand has had

great luck.  She was in all

the three big fights - Heligoland

-Dogger Bank (when they chased

the German cruiser Sqn. &

sand the Blűcher) - & Jutland.

the Australia arrived too late

for the first two;  & only duly a

short time before the third - as she

& the New Zealand were in

their respective positns in /

squadron manoeuvring - she misread

a signal in the haze & smoke, &

turned the wrong way & rammed

the New Zealand.  Her bow ws

badly crumpled & she had to go