NAVAL HISTORY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 23, 11 September 1946, Page 5

NAVAL HISTORY

AN OLD SALT LOOKS BACK

WIIAKATANE RESIDENT’S STORY

SERVICE IN TWO WARS Now living in Whakatane, Mr Albert H. Shirley, late Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Navy, has an interesting story, and a fine record of service, which, dating from the turn of the present century, represents thirtyfive years of almost continuous seafaring. We wonder if anyone else in this district has a story which can compare with that of Mr Shirley.

In 1902, at the age of 16, he joined the Royal Marines, and entered upon his training in Kent, from where, after passing through all the stages including gunnery, he joined his first seagoing ship. On ■September 11, 1903, he was transferred to the Naval Training Depot at Devonport, Devon, and on June 24, 1904, joined the battleship Albamarle, flagship of the 3rd Division of the Mediterranean Fleet, which then consisted of 12 battleships, 8 cruisers and 16 destroyers under Admiral Lord Charles Beresford. From the headquarters at Malta, visits were paid to Egypt, Tripoli, Morocco, Syria and Palestine. A landing was made at Beirut to prevent the massacre of Armenian Christians by Turkish soldiers. He returned to England and joined the cruiser Donegal, and February 6, 1906 found his bound for China. But at Bitter Lakes the ship went aground, and a number of the crew, Mr Shii’ley included, were transferred to the cruiser Monmouth. Arriving at Hong Kong, the headquarters of the China Fleet, he transferred to the flagship King Alfred, and visited Japan, Korea, Siam and Java. His next craft was the river gunboat Widgeon in which he saw service against the Chinese Boxer Rebels up the Yangtse-Kiang. He also Witnessed the bitter fighting which was' waged about Hong Kong. During the two years he was in China, Mr Shirley continued, he witnessed many incidents, and was present during the scourge of the yellow plague, assisting to bury large numbers of bodies. April 14, 1908, found him back in his homeland, but this respite was brief, for six days later he was aboard the cruiser Raleigh bound for service in the West Indies. But mutiny which broke out interfered, and on September 6,1909, he was recalled to England where he joined H.M.S. Cambrian bound for the South Seas (New Guinea and Borneo) to put down the practice of headhunting. March 10, 1911, found him aboard the battleship Queen, bound for Gibraltar. Recalled to England in May 1912, due to war threatening, he joined the small cruiser Media and was for some months patrolling the Dardanelles and the Greek Islands.

After the Turko-Grecian war, Corfu became headquarters, and Mr Shirley was one of a party which landed at Samos Island, town of Vathy, after the general massacre of Greek Armenian Christians. Under Admiral Berkley Milne, he was despatched to Constantinople where the fleet was used to act as a warning to the Sultan, and he then returned to join the submarine depot ship Egmont at Malta. His return to England was preceded by a visit back to the Persian Gulf in H.M.S. Fox, employed on slave protecting duty. But England was only a temporary stop and July 20 found Mr Shirley aboard Admiral Beatty’s flagship Lion bound for Kronstadt on a courtesy visit to the Czar of Russia. The Czar, being an honorary Admiral of the British Navy took battle cruisers for three day’s exercises in the Baltic under Beatty. The ships composed the Lion, Princess Royal, Invincible and New Zealand together with a number of destroyers.

After the inspection, each member of the Flagship’s company shook hands with the Czar and his young son, and the freedom of St. Petersburgh was granted to the bluejackets whilst in Russian waters. Mr Shirley took the opportunity of making a visit by rail to Moscow where he was shown through the Kremlin.

On August 1, the fleet was suddenly recalled to England, and on August 4, war was declared. Whilst serving on H.M.S. Lion, Mr Shirley took part in the Battles of Heligoland Bight, Dogger Bank, and Jutland, where the battleship Warspite saved Beatty’s ships from complete destruction. After this last encounter, the Lion went into dock for extensive repairs, and Mr Shirley joined the 17th Destroyer -Flot-

illa, being present at Zeebrugge, and taking part in several running fights with German cruisers and destroyers. He was also engaged on convoy duty. At the surrender •of the German fleet, he was aboard the destroyer Walrus, which formed one of the escorts and guard-ships of the German ships at Scapa Flow, and was present at the scuttling. When hostilities ceased, he joined H.M.A.S. Australia (April 12, 1919) and took up duty in Australia as an instructor on H.M.A.S. Sydney. A short time later he was in the party that rescued the crew of a New Zealand barque in a heavy gale. Mr Shirley finally completed his naval service in -an Australian training ship as an instructor, being discharged on April 11, 1924, after twenty-two years service. For two years he worked as an overseer for the firm of Lever Bros, soapmakers, in the Phoenix Islands, but the sea still beckoned, and in December 1926, he came to New Zealand, and joined the Merchant Service with the Union Steamship Co. The Pacific Islands, East Africa, Zanzibar and many other places he visited during the course of his travels, till finally he decided to settle down, choosing Whakatane as his home town. But there is one more move he intends to make, and that is to Ohope, at the earliest opportunity, where he can be near the sea he learnt to know so well during his ( thirty-five years of seafaring.