HUN WAR ON SEA FISHERMEN

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2890, 30 September 1916, Page 11

HUN WAR ON SEA FISHERMEN

SKIPPER'S STORY OF HERRING FLEET ATTACK (From t-lie "Daily Mail.") Mr. David Stewart. master of the I herring drifter Jane Stewart, which was among tlie seven boats sunk by a German submarine recently, gave an account ofi'his' adventure one night in August last. "We left the Tyne 011 Thursday last, a fleet of abouty sixty drifters,' after the herring.- _ At night we were about thirteen miles northeast of Shields. it was a dark night, "no moon, and the Eea as flat as milk. AVe were just drifting aloiig. I turned in, and so did three-members of my crew, leaving my son-in-law, Charles finite,, to look" after the ship. We were not a big vessel, just a fifteentoiiner with paraffin motor and a Danish engine, five of a crew all told. At 11.15 the four of us in our bunks were awakened by a gun-shot or a bomb. When we got on deck, 110 clothes on to speak of, we saw the lights of the Speedwell disappear. Then we heard another bang, and the Speedwell went down. We guessed it was a German, submarine at work, and sure enough it was, for in five minutes or so the submarine was alongside another trawler, and wo could hear the German crew talking. "We heard voices aboard the drifter Volunteer, a Leith boat, but could not hear what was said. A bomb exploded. ■ We' could scarcely see. the Volunteer, .but-wo heard her smash, up. Then the German came for us very fast, and very straight. _ Wo thought she-meant to cut us in two. She 'stopped.as sudden-'as a train when she got alongside us, and a commanding voice shouted,. 'Pass a rope.' 'He was a big young fellow! quite six feet I should say;ln fact, they all looked like six-footers. ' Sandy's Sunday Clothes. "I threw a rope and he lashed up tight. Ho ordered us' to come aboard his craft. The submarine deck was so narrow that w6 had to hang|oh with teeth and toe-nails,, as you might say, while we crept towards the platform. Two of the crew held-revolvers 'in their hands, but they did not point them at us, and the rest had revolvers and hatchets in their, belts.. . "A German officer went- aboard my craft with a bomb in a box under one arm and an electric torch. When he got down he came across my brother-in-law) Sandy Hastie, who is 61, very keen 011 saving his. Sunday clothes. 'Hurry up, dad,' said the German; '.you'd better leave, those where ,they are.' He said .it in good English, hut in a joky kind of way. Sandy did as he was told, and crept on to the back of the submarine. The officer put his bomb down, waited until he heard a click, and 1 then climbed on to the submarine. The men hacked through -the

rope with their hatchets, we sheered off quick, and in. about three minutes the Jano Stewart blew up. "We wore asked a lot of questions —had we seen any battleships!' I. said, 'No, but plenty of torpedo craft.' They, asked if any of the drifters had guns aboard them. I said 'No.' I beard, afterwards that he had asked the other crews the same questions. and that they gave him the same, answers. He pointed to another drifter, the Spiero Matorio, of Fife, and said he was going to put us aboard. To dodge the German if she could she had put out her lights, but the commander steered straight for her a'nd demanded to know why the lights had been put- out. He got no answer, then ordered her crew, aboard' us, and blow her up. Afraid of Patrol Boats. "The fifth boat be approached was the Lizzie. She kept her lights burning and he put us all aboard her. Not I ill then did we know that, while we were sitting on tile nit. of the submarine hull the crews of two other drifters had been sitting on ibe forepart. Tho German commander said tn me as we went aboard the Lizzie, 'You must lie here till davlight. If you attempt lo move I will sink, you.' He nut his hand on my shoulder as he said it. He was quite civil, but lie made me understand very well that lie meant what he said. He said it three times. \Yr> were sitting on the hull of the submarine for an hour and a quarter. All, the time the captain was shouting orders to his crew. Hf never st-op-«"'l to lake hrenlh. Beside him wore, three men with telescopes sweeping the sea. We could see they were afraid of British patrol boats 'coming nn.