On the Sea

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 4, 6 January 1915, Page 5

On the Sea

THE LOSS OF THE BULWARK. SHOCKING SUDDENNESS OF THE DISASTER. SUNK WITHIN FIVE MINUTES. ~ London Jan. 5 The disaster which overtook the battleship Bulwark in Sheerness Harbour is described as having been ssudden, overwhelming and complete.. The ship sank within three minutes. A sheet of flame seemed to split the vessel almost amidships and throw "the severed sections apart. A fraction of a minute later, even as Sheerness shook with the force of the tion and the smaller craft in the vicinity rocked with the shock, a heavy pall of smoke hung upon the surface of the river where had been the Bulwark. When the smoke cleared nothing was seen except the survivors struggling in the swell beside some mangled bodies and pieces of wreckage. The Bulwark had disappeared. ,

The force of the explosion was so great that houses in Sheerness and in Southend, seven miles away, and on the other side, of the Med way, were violently shaken. Residents rushed to the streets in alarm. A dash to the waterfront followed, hut. nothing was seen hut the cloud of smoke which hung overhead. Through the Maze there darted to and fro several small craft, and as the veil lifted these picked up from the eddies the struggling few who were left alive. SOMETHING AWFUL HAPPENED. j.\.a WHO tV'Ub Olio UihU'u a vessel a snort distance trom tne uuiWiiiu baiu.—"x was at ure<*j£iaßb lit uwu> i.Oll nU.iUieS to eignt O'CiUCa wue.i a ueaia an explosion auu went on aecK. My ttrsfc impression was <Wuas ma report was produced by una Uiing ot u b.uute by one ot Due SUjp.s, but tue uoi.se was quite, exceptional. Vvneu x got on decn. X soon saw tha.ii something awful had happened, xno water and tlio sky were obscured uy dense volumes of smoue. Wo wero it

once ordered lo tne scene ol tae dis-

aster to rentier wnat assistance we could. At first we could see notliing, but when tne smoke cleaned wo wcru hornhed to find tnat tne battlesmp Bulwark hau gone. Sue seeuieu to have vanished entirely from sight, but a little later we detected a portion of the battlesmp showing about four feet above the water. We kept a vigilant look out for the unfortunate crew, but saw only two men. 1 don't know whether the other boats rescued any one. One man we -aw was ::ead "

Another eye-witness said that when Clife explosion occurred a great volume of flame and smoke shot into the air. The vessel seemed to split in two and then heeled over and sank. She disappeared in less than five minutes. ALL THE OFFICERS PERISHED. In command of the Bnlward wm Captain Guy L. Selater, who had hold the command since last November. He and all his officers perished. The executive officer was Commander Albeht M. H. Phillips and the navigar ting officer was Lieutenant Commander John S. S. Penrose. The gunnery officer was Lieutenant Nigel R. Ferguson and the torpedo officer Lieutenant Edward T. I>. Finch. THE FORCE OF THE EXPLOSION. Houses all over the adjoining countryside were shaken by the explosion jind pyen before men on. ships anchored ■near ,by could reach their own

deck the Bulwark had disappeared. The neighbourhood presented a terrible appearance, being strewn with an enormous amount of wreckage, while pieces of the ship were thrown six or seven miles on to the Essex shore. "ENGLAND STILL MISTRESS OF THE SEAS." fßt Emotkio Telegraph—Oovymqhi) United Press .Association. New York, January 5. The Times' article on British naval strategy, attributed to an American naval writer ranking next to Admiral Mahan, says: "The British fleet has accomplished what was expected of it in the circumstances and produced strategy of the highest order. England was still mistress of dJie seas. The amateur strategists who demand that the English should steam madly over the minefields in order to reach the Germans, simply ask the English to commit national • suicide. A policy of watchful waiting must be pursued. Every man is doing his duty, which is as much a key-note of the service to-day as in Nelson's day."

JAPANESE STEAMER FOUNDERS. Tokio, January 5. The steamer Dartomaru, No. 2, bound from Dalny to Osaka, foundered near Fort Hamilton. Twenty-four were drowned. GERMAN STEAMERS UNDER ASSUMED NAMES. Copenhagen, January 5. A Norwegian shipmaster from Gibraltar reports that some German steamers' attempted to sail under Norwegian names to avoid seizure. The Hamburg-Amerika's Graeccia, under an assumed name, and carrying three months' provisions for two German warships, tried to cross the Atlantic. An English cruiser captured her and took her to Gibraltar.

SPECIE THROWN OVERBOARD FROM THE EMDEN. Fremantle, January 5. The Times of Ceylon reports that the Eniden's prisoners state that previous to beaching the vessel sailors threw overboard two bags of looted gold. AFTER COMMUNION ON CHRISTMAS DAY. • Timm and Sydney Sun Sibvion. Loudon, January 5. Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, in a let. 1 ter, states that the navy spent Christmas Day waiting for the Germans. Church services wore held, and communion dispensed, with the ships cleared for action, and the men at their guns. THE KRONC> PRINZ WILHELM. Las Palmas, January 5.

The German steamer Otavi, from Pernambuco, landed thirty-eight sailors of French ships sunk by the Kron Prinz Wilhelm, and fifty-five British from the steamer Bellevin, sunk on December 4th. THE CHILIAN ENGAGEMENT. INHUMAN GERMAN LEAVE BRITISHERS TO DROWN. (Received 8.45 a..m.) London, January 5. M. Verbruggen publishes in the Santiago <]a Chile newspaper, "La Patrie," a German clergyman's interview with, a German officer after the engagement off Coronel. The officer

slated confidentially that on his ship 136 were wounded, not six as officially stated. He admitted the sea was not excessively heavy, and they did not rescue the "British because they were ordered not to rescue them. M. Verhruggen attests the absolute truth of the interview.

SUGGESTION FOR THE SEARCH WORK. TIMM AND SyDNDT St** BURVIOM. (Received 8.0 a.m.) Loudon, January 5. The Times' naval correspondent referring to the loss of the Formidable, says wo may find it expedient to pay off the older and less protected ships and provide Ifast merchantmen for patrol and search work. THE KRONPRINZ WiLHELM'S WORK. (Received 8.55 a.m.) Loudon, January 5. The Kronprinz Wilhelm, during November, sank the ship Anno de Bretagne, hound for Australia.