THE KING'S TRAWLERS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2656, 30 December 1915, Page 3

THE KING'S TRAWLERS

SEARCHING FOR U BOATS

FISHERMEN'S SPLENDID WORK:

Mr. Ashmead Bartlett, tho well-known war correspondent, contributes the following interesting article to the "Daily News and Leader" on the work of the trawlers in tho Aegean Sea: — "What would King Gargo 'ave done without these 'ere trawlers?" This was the historic remark of a West-country skipper as he gazed round tho Aegean Sea from the bridge of his trawler, when the submarine scaro was at its height. Tho AVest-countryman had ample justification for his remark. From tho latter part of May until the middle of July the Narrow Seas wero left almost entirely to the care of the destroyer flotillas and trawlers. There were not nearly enough of tho former to protect all our lines of communication in the Mediterranean from the raids' of the enemy's submarines. The trawlers had, therefore, to assist. Their work was dividod into two ■ categories, namely, patrolling or carrying supplies and troops from tho base at Mudros to the various beaches of Gallipoli. The first trawlers were brought out to tho Mediterranean to be employed in sweeping the Dardanelles for mines and to prepare a passage for our pre-Dreadnought Fleet to force the Narrows. Between the bombardment of the outer fort on February 19 and the great combined attack made by the whole fleet on March 18, many of the trawlers were engaged in the most difficult mid dangerous work of endeavouring to sweep She Straits of mines. The strength of the current and the consequent sagging of the nets made this an extremely difficult task, and tho results were disappointing. On March 11, 12, and 13 efforts were made during the night to sweep tho minefield below the Narrows, and many of the trawlers were'hit and suffered casualties. Some kept their regular otowb during this dangerous work, and others were manned by volunteer crews Trom the fleet, and wero placed in charge of lieutenants and subiieiir.ouania. Unfortunately, the enemy's fire w.io too severe, and it was found impossible to clear the minefield, and after the failure of the attack of March 18 sweeping operations were abandoned. Since that time the work of the trawlers has been divided into two classes. They so far afield, searching the coasts of tho islands for possible hostile submarine basest, and examin'ng every sailing ship which comes within tbe war zone. Ramming Orders. They have orders to ram any submarine, or anything they imagine to be a submarine, without hesitation and many have been the reports and scares that have failed to materialise. The trawlers engaged in transport duty have, perhaps, the harder time of tho two. They leave Mudros laden with biscuits, fresh meat, tinned meat, live goats for the Gurkhas, ammunition, and a hundred and one other articles which an army requires for its daily use. Piled on the top of this mass ofgoods and livestock, officers and soldiers take passages to and back from the front. It was no uncommon sight to seo a general sitting on a biscuit box with a goat gnawing at one boot and the other boot iiidden beneath a quarter of frozen beef. More often than not there I*3 not a vacant square inch of space left on the deck. The life is not all beer and skittles, for, on arriving off Helles, the Turks formerly often greeted us with shell fire, and it is very disconcerting, just as you have cast anchor, to have a shell come whistling overhead from Acht Baba or from the Asiatic coast. No sooner does a trawler arrive, anchoring as close to; tho shore as the depth of water will allow, than barges are sent off by tho naval landing officer, towed by steam pinnaces full of hired labourers—Greeks and Egyptians—who proceed to tumble everything from her decks into ths barges, which are then towed ashore. But if tho shell fire happened to be heavy, tho labourers promptly took to cover, having apparently tlio" right to do so under tho terms of their contract, and tho work had to bo carried on by the crews or fatigue parties from tho shore. A regular service of trawlers was ar-1 ranged between the various islands and beaches thus: By leaving Imbros at 7 in tho morning, you could arrive at Suvla Bay at nine, leave again at eleven, and go on to Anzac, then leave Anzac at one, arriving at Helles at three, and then leave again at fivo and get back to Imbros at seven at night. Or you could go round the reverse way. Every day trawlers do this round trip, picking up officers and men and stores en route. The work of the crews is hard, but they stick to it manfully and carry it on most efficiently. Sunk off Anzac. It is a remarkable tribute to their skill in seamanship that when one considers the -thousands upon thousands of voyages they have made and the immense distances they have covered. I think only one trawler has been lost during the whole campaign, and she was sunk off Anzac by shell fire in the very early day 6. Owing to tho fact that the Turks have been in possession of the promontory of Gaba Tepe, they have always been able to nee exactly what was taking place off the Anzac beach', and they have frequently shelled the trawlers, giving them a very hot time. In fact, most of these peaceful fishing craft have now some honourable scars to show from shell wound and shrapnel. _ The skippers and crews belong to a hardy race of seamen, rendered almost extinct by modern snips and modern methods of travel. They grumble, but they carry out their orders; and above all, in spite of all they say, they are proud of the Navy ana of the chance of working side by sido with naval_ officers and naval men. A great spirit of friendship lias sprung up between the two, and each recognises the value of the work of the other. This summer their task has been child's' play, steaming about a sea that is generally smooth as glass, but now the winter is coming on tho work _ must still go on, under conditions which will be very different, and then it will be, when the storms are "blowing from ■ tho south-west or from the north-east,.thai the hard lessons they havo learnt in winters spent in the North Sea and off the wild coast of Scotland will come in most useful. Seamanship will count a lot this~wmter, and the old West-country skipper s proud remark: "What would King Garge 'ave done without these 'ero trawlers P" will be amply justified.