LAST OF A ZEPPELIN

Marlborough Express, Volume L, Issue 82, 6 April 1916, Page 4

LAST OF A ZEPPELIN

SUNK IN THE NORTH SEA*

SIGHTED liV TRAWLER.

The refusal of the view of thtj-* British trawler King Stephen t<jjvescue the crew of the German ZejHi pcJin LI 9 when it was in a sinking, condition in the North Sen caused ai storm of protest in Germany. Thef explaJiation given by the master oS tht> trawler is that the. trawler's cre\*3 numbered nine and the Zeppelin'slcrew 22,. and it would havo been an! easy matter for the Germans to havef overpowered the Grimsby men andE taken them Lack to Germany.

The narrative given by Air William* Martin, the master of tiio trawler, ifil as follows: —

"I spotted something away offi which looked like a white cloud out the water, Lut I knew it could nos Lo thatj so 1 heaved up gear and. putf on full speed for the object, thinking! at first it might bo wreckage, which[ would be worth towing into port. Ad wo got nearer I saw it was a German! Zeppelin. Only about 120 feet of her} was showing above water —the sharjj wooden nose of li.er head and then a( part of the balloon.

A GERMAN BARGAIN

I "It was bearing up out of ther water like an elephant getting up enj | its forefeet. When we cain-j undexf it it looked high, standing abuut 40f ieet above water, 1 should yay. E could sco about 15 lilen in tiie topj hamp&r, some on their hands and i knees, slithering about anyhow, aoacl others in the ring with . their head» through the companion way, theiii arms clinging on by the side of it« They looked as if they had come from: . the North Pole, for they woro big fur jackets1 and furry haLs, all big^ I heavy rig for cold weather. "I shouted. ' What is the matter?,*

" ' Send us a. bn.it and I will givef ' you £5,' answered one, and he toofc. off his coat as he did .so, .showing his- | brass buttons. j *'I kucw •■Jiiin at once for :i naval [ officer and the captain of the shipw Ho was like )Ui" own nav-il officers, a 1 youngish fellow, pornaps ,\ 30 odd, thinnish, about /"-ft. Sin., a red face^ ;as if lie had weathered it a Jot, and had a way of ■ ordering men about.

APPEALS FOH' HELP

"I could, hear hauvmori'ig in tha Zeppelin, and by and by other heads cropped up until there were abouti 30 altogether. I thought a bit, and! then I said: 'Well, if there were not? •?o many of you I would take you off,; but there's too many.' The officer! straightened himself up and. saidt there was nothing in that. _. "I thought again, and I said : _' ButJ supposing we take "you off and you! sling <ls overboard ;:md navigate thef trawler to Germany? That will ber another, decoration tor you, but iifwon't be much for us.' .

•'He said: '1 pledge you my,word! that we will not do anything*of the* kind.' He took his dying;. '»ath thati he would noo, interfere with iis, arid! that Leonid have plenty of money ifl' T saved them. >

"I thought again. They were 3O and we were nine. They were armed and wo had not as much as a pistol aboard, an 11 would not take the risk., 11" there -had been another >hjn .standing by to help me 1 could bayetchanced :t, but there was nothing ia 'sight. Besides, T ■■remembered what* tho t Germans have done, and what* they might do again: ! , ' _ "I steamed awsy from the-.Zeppelinl about 930 in the morning. The captain said they wp sinking. ' NoV^ look here,' I rAid as a last word, c you will come Iwve and take charger of me." 'No,'he said, and he pledged his word again. , AVo drew away. -"Some of the German oi'evv at firsi; shouted ' Mercy, mercy, wive us!', arirl .ihen shook uicir fists-at us as they say-' it was no use. I went away to> find' a or a oatrol vesseJE better provided than we for looking; alter an enemy crew. "In peace time, of course, I would) have had all the Germans aboard in! two ticks. As I left them I .could see* the airship surging a bit. The AveightJ of the engines under the, water was tugging at her. She rose and fell aJ bit. At • dinner time as ;we wet& 4-otiig towards the English coasi| iti besan to blow, a A^nd w^s . ris4*iS south-west, and it /sinwi thick • v»nd(\ heavy with a drizzly raiiu BylO.i3(> p.m. it wa? blowing hard and so thick; AvHh rain' that I could not seridl. rockets up. ■"As soon ns I got into the river ati daybreak I reported all the facts, and: two' British .lesti'oyeis Aycnt out at? '.noe to search' for the airship." . '

THE AIRSHIP .DISAPPEARS

The two naval vessels which were? spnt to the scene of the Zeppelia disaster, after making a, complete search in the vicinity,' returned to their base and reported that them was ao sign of the- airship. ' The French paper , Journal dcs I>ebats, discussing ;.. the incident., declares that there was .nothing else* to bft-iupn^,. The wre,tifh,-jd murderers onboard" the"'El9T says the Journal,succumbed, probably after terrible* agc>ny, not by virtue of the harsh; la-w"; of retaliation", tut as; a natm-al consequence of a measure of precaution, which nobody can blame ttio British, sailors for having taken. Everybody else Vould have: done the samo in? similar circumstances. Germans cannot any longer expect as of rijrht the> lienefit; of those usages -which civilised' nations havo gradually adopted tc sc^t-en tin? hardships of war. It was the Germans who willed it. so -th'nr*?-, tore they have no reason to. com plain-v.h;-;n thty are the victims of their o'.vn barbarity.

FIRST TO INSPECT A SHIP

The wracked Zeppelin LI9 was well known -.-long .the'1-west oon^t of Dan-, mark. She was formerly .stationed at Hamburg and Tenderii, and wps frequently mentioned in newspaper reports from the captains of North. Sea vessels. For^sorr.^ time she natrolled the area around the Horn) Reef, and afterwords she relieved the wrecked LlB at Tondern. The Ll9^ was first mentioned srvwal months ago, when, atxjoompanied by the LT and LS, she stopned a Swedish: steamer in 'the middle of the North Sea, sending: a party on b'vird tcr inr,i.ifcct the ship's papers. This was said to be the first time on record that a Zeppelin had Ktoi>i>sd and boarded"

a ship. The airship came? down within a few yards of the surface of/ th.t! Avater. She then laun^ed.a,'boat/ carrying the inspecting officers, lvhqf' I'ought ?ome inovisions. /