LAST OF THE EMDEN

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2344, 29 December 1914, Page 5

LAST OF THE EMDEN

I" EXCITED ATJSTRALLiN'BOYS:" The "Times of Ceylon" contains voluminous references to the exploit oB the Sydney. A reporter who went'i among the wounded thus writes his impressions :— .1 "They are all in excellent spirits, an<j' although the two who are inoro severely,, wounded still -suffer considerable painj theyilipar ft'magnificently.' ' ftrVe of thai seven .arc- young .men .between the ages/ of 18 and-21, -and;; in spite of their in-' juries,- they spoke of the action as a;j great stroke of luck for them. / "The Sydney was seldom hit by th 6 Emden," said oue of tho meri;"thank3j , to the magnificent way in which ,quis captain manoeuvred his ship. Ho 2i§-»j I zagged all over the place, and put their' gunners right off. First he would- get out away from the enemy and their j shells would, fall short of us. Then he' would; got. in much..closer whiles..they; were adjusting their range, , and the ehel's would fly high over us. ■ Thrfn he would turn and shoot off at a'tahgdnt,', and it was in this way that after the' first quarter of an hour or 60 they hovG£ seemed able to get our range properlyO "The captain of the Sydney had a' very narrow shave indeed. He was on. the bridgo when, the range-finder was shot away, and could not have been, more than four or five yaTds from tho shell. As a matter of fact, the falling range-finder just brushed the shoulder of the yeoman of signals as it fell, and he was standing within a yard of the captain." . . i Several of the wounded men said they-, were lifted up in order to look out of the ports at the Emden after she had been beached. Her stem appeared to ba; high up on the beach, and her stern was very low; in the water. All three funnels had been'shot away., Her foremast wa.V down'; but her mainmast was Sanding.; Her bridge had been swept away. Shs had a hole in her submerged flap almost big enough to drive a hors* and cart through. • ": "We 'wire afterwards told by some ofj the German sailors," said one, "tha-fe when the captain of the Emden sighted us, he Baid, if she is an Australiac? cruiser, I will sink her. 1 But they gotil the biggest shock of their lives. They, did hot know that we bad oil. board!' eight gunlayers and a good sprinkling of petty officers who had Been much eot-t vice in the Imperial Navy. _ 'J "Apart altogether from this., ,- they! olearly under-estimated the efficiehoy of| the young Australian boys It was mag-«, nincent to see tho way those . boys,! many of them are only about 18 of age, worked the guns. They weraj frantically excited, and , every time a' good shot got home they simply yelled with delight. It took us older all.our time to restrain them." ~.,...