THE MOTOR PATROL.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16424, 18 January 1919, Page 11

THE MOTOR PATROL.

j A mANNEL_,INCIDE>"T

i Mr Archie Browji/Vhp was 'operator for tlio'Popular "Pictures in Inrercargill be lore enlisting in the Motor Patrol; and who lias boon „on active service for over two years,'.writes interestindv of a "little experience" in the Channel which throws light upon tho doings of a service of winch the public has not heard a great deal. *Rom his letter, which ' is; dated Octobol 30th, from iI.M. -Motor Launch 161, the '{Southland Times" has made the following' extracts-:' ' • , "I am still going strong on the job and keeping fit and well, although -at times I get verv shaky with my nerves. Still, that's tho hardest pare of this job, and we will just have to put up with it until this lot is over and done with }\ e arc still OU patrol work in tho Channel, but this last month old 1' ritz has not been {{bout, and we believe that submarine hostilities have coased, pending' an armistice and negotiations for peacc. However, we aie taking no risks, and the Xavv are carrying on as usual. From August Bth to September. 24th wo bagged two submarines, and it. 1 am lucky I will receive, prize money for both' these sinkings. The last stunt we had I. thought was going _to be the last one for us. After scrap was over we had a hard job to make poit, and - had to bo assisted oy torpedo boat. Just after midday on September 24th, about seventeen miles out of Plymouth, we were escorting six large colliers when the last one in tho line got torpedoed and she sank in about five minutes. The day-was pretty brecssv, and we were in the act of trying the pjck up the crew when old Fritz came up and opened fire on us from about two milos off, so.there was nothing for us to do but about-ship and I ficjht, and there was only another M*'" uloup: with us. However we stuck to our guns and for the first ten minutes we gave her socks and were gradually paining on her until a shell struck "}| r little packet just near the bows, luckily above water-line. Of course at the time I didn't know what hud happened from where I was in the engine-room, .still the shock told me we had ljeen hit, but 1 was too intent on making five hundred horse-power do its utmost to take much notice of anything else, soon 'we went. I was esnecting a shell, through the r .ide of the enginO-room every minute. Lut a fc-w minutes later i the skipper rane for the engines to be ! stopped and told me to come on dock and i-;ee the last of old Fritz. Oue oP our torperlo-boat destroyers had come down on her from the opposite direction and soon put her down, or rather nut the finishing touches on her. \Vo liaa onlv one of our chaps hurt, but our partner ship had two chaps killed, » slip'.l striking the -bridge. The wholr. scrap just j-eemcd a matter of momenta. 1o me. but after it is over nnd one gets time ie reflect it is tliei that you feel' tho strain of il all. Our chaps fircil; P*S shot* in fifteen minutes. That's not bad going. Guess old Fritz thought. io was "aiiuna shells. Frit/, was armed ■tvirb two •'l.-Vs &"d we have only one 2in. quick-firing gun each, so we put up a rood fight, lief ore we got into port ou r foremost comoartnient had filled with water. Luckily the watertight; bulkhead saved the situation, and T kept/ the pump® running at top speed until w not safolv into dock. fhat evening, , where we soon got put in good soatrim once more. The.-e are the Tund ol minor happenings thai «o on l from week to week that thc_ outsid? oitblic and people in the colonics never hear anything about. We picked lip .?$ of the collier's crew of -10, two mo.n. cither having been drowned or killed: when the vessel wa s struck by th# torpedo. _________