LORD JELLICOE.

Taihape Daily Times, 25 August 1919, Page 6

LORD JELLICOE.

GREAT ADMIRAL’S INTERESTING‘ ’ spnnc-H,‘ ‘ ‘ ' WELLINGTON, Aug. 22. A civic luncheon was tendered to Viscount Jellicoe and" officers of the New Zcaland tc\>-day. Mayor Luke‘ presided. Among the guests were the I Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward and members -of the Cabinet. Lord Jellicoe, replying to the'toast cf his health, gave .some interesting details concerning those who had been in command of H.M.S. New Zeaiand from time to time. First there was Sir Lionel Halsey, than whom there was no greater Admiral of this country, including New Zealanders themselves. The successor to Sir Lionel Halsey was Captain‘ John Green, now Rear-Admiral, well known cn ‘the China Station, while next came Captain, now Admiral Richard Webb.‘ Admiral Webb, the speaker reminded those present, was responsible for the orders which had directed the mer—chant ships in the early ‘days of the war. Next in succession came" Captain Donaldson, to whom fell the lot of escorting to their final home the‘ German High Seas Fleet on the occa—l sion of their ignominous surrender, a surrender from which it would never recover_ Lord Jellicoc paid a, tribute to the ‘mercantile marine for the i great part played in the war. The men of the mercantile marine, he said, will l go down to history in clouds of glory. There had been one officer from the{ mercantile marine from New Zealandi who had been a shining example—i Lieut.-Commander Saunders. That' oflicer had been in command of a decoy ship which, after only being in commission for. one week, was attacked by an enemy submarine. “ When the German captain of that submarine was brought to London after having] been defeated by Licut.-Commander Sanders and his officers and crew of! men from the ‘.llerCa.".'(il(- marine, he} was interrogated as usual '3}: the naval intelligence oificers, and what we got cut of him was that he could not have § iaelieved that any navy l.‘-1 the world co;-,1g produce men with such spirit o*.‘ d.-‘_cipline as to stand tue shelling he. had givcnthe Prize (Lievu-Comnlan-Gé, sanders ’ship) wihmut making a sign of returning the fire until the submarine was so close that"the latter was in -a hopeless position.” " In-' cidentally Lord Jellicoe mentioned, as an instance of the wonderful construc-Aticn‘-of the German submarines, that the one dealt with by Licut.-Comman-er Sanders, although its conning tower and guns were blown‘ away, and the captain himself under the impression -iv, had sunk, managed. to I'o-fich ~homo-