AN EXCITING FOUR YEARS.

Taihape Daily Times, 23 April 1919, Page 2

AN EXCITING FOUR YEARS.

I —°— I WITH "BROKE." "ACTIVE" AND "VIKING." |#j» I AT OSTEND AND ZEEBRUGGE. | To some in on it is given to have iTeat excitement crammed into a few • "•., An illustration of this is the \""3p. of uea<7fng Stoker Charles Wilj liamn, son of the late Captain Wilp;?:is, cf Christchurch_ Mr. Williams I is well known in Auckland, where he resided for some time. He is evidently J a man fond of adventure, for he I went with Captain Evans on Scott's expedition to the South Pole. | Writing to a chum in Auckland. I Loading stoker Williams states: "I j often conjure up in my mind those . ncod old times. Those Waitemata tunts of our s were a good training for ihe work in hand this way. There are quite a lot of New Zealand boys in t 7 'o motor patrol at the samfe base as I am, and Auckland is well represented. They have had some very Lot times. I had a hand in the Ostcnd stunt, when we sunk the "Vindictive'' Seme of our boys from the "Broke" were among the volunteers, who stealer] her into her last, nesting place. Tha majority of her crowd were rescued. Out of our lot we got all hack but one lad. That's wiicre the motor boat patrol comes in. They do the picking up." The writer adds, humorously, that he intends to retire to "my whave Up north cf Auckland in my old lge, ! and live the simple life, eating fish, and -ockles and quffing schooners of good ale." In a second letter he writes from H.M.s. "Active," under date of lecj ember 12th last. "Just a few lines letting you know I am still alive, and I hope it will, not be long before I return to my ancestral halls, not forgetting dear old Auckland. Say, old man, what a life! What stories to relate! Let us go hack in history. Y 0 1895, a youngster started a seafarer's career After many trials and tribulations, he joins the Navy with your noble self. Happy days, Jack, those; nnd many a ship-mate of days gone by is at rest all right. Let's go on with f he story. After many ups and downs the youngster seeks new laurels in quest of the South Pole; and then spends a few months in and around Auckland. Then this adventure, JaCK, old man. I am not going to dwell on the last four years. I have risked life and limb on account of that same relentless spirit I am blessed with. Say, Jack, I wish, like you, I could rest on arms reversed, but the spirit breaks forth and I must go. "Well this stunt is over for anyway, and when I come home I will relate a story of operations on the Belgium coast in the destroyer 'Viking.' After nine months running the gauntlet, day in and day out, we eventually bumped a mine, arid our day's work was done. When I was going up I met peices of the ship coming down. That's all! Then back to depot, and, after three weeks' pick up a brand new light cruiser. Saw much blood spilled. Our operations included a raid on the Island of Silt, just north of the Kiel Canal. Quite successful on our part. A month later, at Lowestoff, the Huns returned the raid, with interest, and out our battle cruiser went adrift, ran, aground, and came out of it badly mauled. Next I joined the operations back on the Belgian coast; took part in Jutland; also tbeSchoen Bank fight one winter's night. Then my old captain of South Pole fame (Evans) claimed me, and took mo to the "Broke" the fame of which vessel is world wide. We did twenty montns in one continual round of slash and bloodshed on the Belgian coast, finishing off with those famous raids on Zeebrugge, and finally Ostend. One word sufficies—it wa s Hell, that's all. Left the' "Broke" to join this ship, with my same old skipper, Evans, and shortly after the armistice was signed"-