THE MINESWEEPERS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 111, 4 February 1919, Page 6

THE MINESWEEPERS

AND TRANSPORT GUNNERS •

GOOD SERVICE RECOGNISED

, A luncheon aboard H.M.S. Philomel, which was moored.at Clyde Quay Wharf, was given yesterday under the auspices of the Navy League to the crews of the minesweepers Simplon and Nora Niven and to the gun-crews of overseas vessels lying in Wellington Harbour. The entertainment was provided out of funds donated by overseas shipping companies. The Mayor, as president of- the league in Wellington, occupied the chair, and among those present were Sir James Allen, Minister of Defence, Colonel G. P. C. Campbell, Commander of Coast Defences, and Lieutenant-Commander Keily, late of the Philomel and at present* in chaTgo of the minesweepers. Toasts honoured were "The King," "The Visitors," and "The. Ladies."

The Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) apologised for -the absence of Mr. Harconrt, chairman of He .executive of the Wellington branch of the league. He briefly sketched the rise of British sea power during the 'past century, and spoke of the' confident belief that every • Britisher had shared from the commencement of the war that the British Navy would play its part and acquit itself nobly in any. encounter with the enemy. He, said that in the period 1914-17 the number of men •making up the personnel of. the British Navy had increased from 145,000 to 430,000, and the tonnage had grown from 4,000,000 tons to 6,000,000 tons. He thought it'his duty in proposing the toast of"The Visitors.'." to say something of the work of the Army ns well as of the Navy. He spoke of the growth of thei British Army and of New 1 Zealand's contribution to it; and. he concluded by saying that Sir James Allen bad seen the whole work through and that it would have been difficult to find a Minister of Defence who would bave performed his duties with greater faithfulness and energy. (Applause.) , Sir James Allen, in replying to the toast, thanked the Mayor for'the complimentary references to the Army and to the work he had done. Eeferring particularly to the New Zealand Division, he said that the men before him would be proud to know that the New Zealand Division at the end of the war was the finest division on,the Western front—the only division which was up to its full strength, ilyery other British division and every 'German division had been reduced, two or three times, but the NewZealand Division never: (Applause.) The reason lay in the fact that the pe°P' B of New -Zealand were solid, patriotic, loyal, and determined to win—and they had won. The Army, however, cbuld have done nothing without the help of the Navy, and he only wished that New Zealand had a closer connection with the Navy. Eeferring to the men who had gone away as gunners with the transports to protect the trflops, he said that there was nothing the country could, be more pi owl of than the fact that not a single New Zealand' transport had been lost. The men whom he was addressing , had been protecting our trado, or helping to do it. Ho was very proud of the way in which the minesweeping"crews had done their work, and proud of the behaviour of the crews, for they had behaved well. He did not know that theirvjob -was finished yet, but they ware going to finish it up, and he was looking forward to the day when they could come back and say that they had got the last mine and no more remained. Sir James met with a splendid reception from the men, who honoured him 'with a most spirited rendering of "He's a Jolly Good Fellow." Lieutenant-Commander Keily thanked the Mayor and the Minister for what they had said of the Navyi . A featuro.of this war as distinguished from previous wars in- which Britain had been engaged had been the > way in which the Army and the Navy had pulled together. They had never done,it; before. Ho had had th 9 honour of serving in a New Zealand ship, the only : ship afloat which was absolutely a New Zealand ship-the Philomel herself; and all those who were aboard the Philomel (he added laughingly) thought themselves a little different from anybody else afloat—considered themselves, in fact, to be "devilish fine fellows." He thought that if the minesweepers could only get good- weather their work would soon be completed.' Colonel Campbell briefly contrasted British with German :naval methods, mentioning' some of the outrages for which the Huns had been responsible at sea. Prom", the beginning of the war,' ho said, nothing contrary to the laws of humanity would have been introduced had-the Germans not led the way, ' After lunch the' men, adjourned to a srorts meeting which -had been arranged far their benefit at Kelburn Park.