Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/61/1 - October 1916 - Part 5

17   42

quite warm inside / Repulse
today altho’ quite fresh.
As they have to shut them
dead lights all the long winter
nights this makes a great
difference to the ships comfort.
We saw the Repulse
has six great 15 in. guns.
From her we went to the
Melbourne. The Melbourne
was provoking patrolling the
Wear Indies before she came
over here. She hadn't seen a
submarine nor yet even
heard one. She had orders
from / admiralty to stop
some ^merchant ships other & bring
them into port; others most
they let pass on ^their showing
their flag. Their [[Cinstrations?]]
were most satisfactory
75 per cent of the ships
company was Austalian
 

18  43
they said. They were [[gand.?]]
They thought tt our men wd provide
their own ^skilled ratings in time. The
They were Melbourne ws often in Kingston
& sometimes at Bermuda.
They had not expected us in
the Melbourne until ^late that day.
They were coaling at till q [[?]] the
morning. Then when they xxxx
xxxx heard we were coming
they decided to they were in a
bit of a way as to how they
could get the ship clean. They
told / crew & / crew jumped
to it so well tt I never
realised tt there ws any
difference between / cleanliness
of this ship & any o / others.
I know what it was - these
boys were not going to have an
 

44
12  44
Australian ship looking
any different worse than a
British one.
From the Melbourne we went
to the Iron Dake. I have been
hoping tt Ross & I wd be
ws
in 1 party wh
4
we
oig to his Hapship
were, And as we came a towyside
on poop
sangway were
ther
with exe
the good humoured
sucle
& half amused
Ser John Tellicse himself
us pon
bokig down on
only a few yards away.
the party was to lunch
did us
with him. they reallyo
very well indeed. Tellicol
asked uo to come down of
have a wast
we went
 

13
 

25
into his sathing room o
naval seni
were intraduced to some, staff
officers - A paper ws slipped
into my hand, pointed a
I found to I was to set on
the right of Six John Felloe
& At Conadian Journalir
on his lett? Ross was nex
but one on my right - with
Admiral Leveson belween
as
✓
time
used my
as well
as I could by asking Sir John
Tehrice almost all the intereu.
points to I wants to be certain
about - & he was extraording
arity interesting. He told me
t Jermans had mess ed their
apportunity. They ought to
have come at us in the first
 

46
 

three months of the war
There were times ten when
I had eventin ships to
their fifteen when we spent
most of our time at sea
as we did then, the wear
tear on 1 sheps ws so great
tt we had always to be
sendiy ships back to
sort. There were times when
I only had seventeen ships
to their fifteen? it only he
I. submarnies
had known it they could have
come at us souetimes with
afair chance of wiping us
out. What saved iro was
I believe th the fact that
they didn't believe we were
such fools as to go without
taking ordinary precaute
 

the
made
full
provision
took it for
granted tt we had also
4
a matter of fact it
5
months before
had
a.
a
safe harbour
on 1 sea coast.
why
we the public
alie
go had a sot of der
said, t when your ships were
in harbour bey were safe,
w
they were al
4
sea the
were taking risks.
had to
we
to sea for
safety's Take
he sd.There
ws 2o
protection
in harbours
those
ab all
we
days.
their
submarines might
come in
I stand a pod
chance
wifeng
you
all
out.
we
had
 

Awd
 

48
no proper defences
here
at Scape How for 3 wonths
after war startedA
German submarne did
come i one day- as a
matter of fact we happened to
have gone out at I time
& the alid are get tak
Are was sunk & they never
attempted it again
Now of course we have
safe harbours all upt
down the East coas it
is too late for them now.
I asked him if the gorman
ever used Zexpelins with
ken
fleet
They did in August
1916
he sd (when
the Talmont
andher lighe auses were
Nokingham
 

43
t1Hcan
I asked him what Anstralia
ought to do in I naval way after
war. Shd they build vattheruin
this
what?
or
well - nothing move tan
battlecrsers he sd, but they shd
be He pattlecemer like the ferman
have - not the same as ours
[of course acy I need submarmen
for their ports be sd, & lotsof
hem
The baltlicruiser has proved
its use, has it not?
acked.
well yes
but not
Same Cattlicruiser -5he wants
to be different. move like
the germano
have
 

50
They knew
Sunte)
where
I was all (time &
I did
not know where they ser
We sot
aithin 40 wiles of kin
think
I asked him
Seaplanes were not
substitute for surships
for
these
purposes he sd.
I asked him why the ferman
came out - in his opinion.
I think he said that
was to tempt us nto
their minefields, if possible.
t It was a very anxious
time when our ship's got amongst
their submanines.
He sd to our ships suffered
very mech from want of
protection especially our
battle craisers. The Gernan
 

54
batelicanisers he sd were
as well armoured is our
battlerhips - we have fin
battleshyps as well protested as
they have their battlecruistn
& our battleships connot
compare with theirs an
protection. The class of stp
(the Lron Duke) is abbt best
we have in th respect, be sd.
Hov we chand to
our tlest ships?I asker.
well no our talest
battle cruwers an worse of in
to respect.
if any theg
Sol
Is side armour useless
nowaday Iask.
No it certainly cam to
be dispenced with & it is
necessaryhe reptit
I suppose shells fall
IIcanpes yo
steeply
 

light at I sugested
52
Abb 20 deprees, he
sd. Ovrlead armoun
ws not a substitute for
side armows What we
had now was about 3
decks. The shell cod often
perctrate the top deck o
cod burst about when it
hit the second deck, to
It ws one such shell which
did for 50 men
in one of our battleships,
but he arwoured dect
as below it & wd cath
the pagments.
Asked whether
German
ch w
had
an explosive
not
flast
after
both
No - we
are