WITH THE NORTH SEA WATCH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 298, 26 May 1915, Page 7

WITH THE NORTH SEA WATCH.

A BATTLESHIP IN A GALE. A JvAVAL SUKGJCON'S EXPKUIKXCK. The following description of a gule in tin; North Sea is vritteu by a jiaval surgeon in a ]{ritisli battleship:— '•.Mail 'urt 'isself 011 tJic upper deck, sir. JStavb'd side forrard. sir!" "All rifi'ht l'U .'lie there directly." Slipping 011 a pair of gum boots and a coat over my pyjamas .1 made my way along the passage and after-Hat beneath the swaying and bumping hammocks. Water everywhere running about in small rivulets making one's unstable, footing upon the slippery decklining still more precarious. Passing along the ship's narrow lore and alt passage, now followed by my colleague, Surgeon , who had also "shown a leg," and lurching from side to side, I continued along the main deck, progress 011 the tipper deck being dangerous, and, indeed, almost absolutely impracticable. Arriving at the narrow perpendicular fore-engine-room ladder, we clambered ui) in the semi-darkness on our way to the upper deck, being almost blown down by the force of the wind on opening the hatch at the top of the ladderwav. Seizing an opportune moment, we hastened along the space intervening between us and the bakehouse (this being the onlv available place on the upper deck), where the injured 111:111 had been placed, having to cling on to any available projection of the supcrstructurn on our way. Inky darkness reigned supreme during this interesting passage, masses of Winding spray striking us violently 111 the face and drenching us as wo struggled forward against the gale. My colleague, who had only joined the ship a few' davs previously, had a somewhatdim idea as to where we hud actually arrived, and was not a little glad of the, assistance of an oilskin-clad figure -who sit "this moment helped him towards our goal, and, thrusting him through the bakehouse door after me. disappeared about his business. This whs the seaman who had called and had preceded us to where the injured man lay.

SUROI'RY -UNDER DIFFICULTIES. The, accident had been caused liv a huge sea overwhelming a party of seamen, in charge of the lieutenant-com-mander, who were endeavoring to make fast a 21-foot torpedo which had broken loose and was careering about on tlie upper deck not far from the bakerv. The patient. a seaman, had been dashed against some part of the superstructure or struck by the torpedo —it was not quite sure which —and had sustained a severe contused abrasion some .four inches above his right ankle, while both bones of the leg were broken. The remainder of the party were lucky enough to get away with contusions, abrasions and small lacerated wounds, but tiiey all narrowly escaped drowning. With the aid of a small .packing-ease lid. which happened to be handy, and with a handkerchief and the baker's apron, wc made some temporary splints and bandages, and -fixed the -patient on ton of ioiie of the dough-mixing, troughs, with a heavy sack of flour oil one side of him to prevent him rolling to port, a bulkhead being on tile other side; and so we made him as comfortable as circumstances would allow. During this time, the ship was plunging and lurching from side topside, with all sorts of cork*screw movements, and tolling from 25 to 40 degrees. There was quite a ton of water in the little compartment rushing about wildly and adding to the general uproar of the storm, so that it was only by shouting that we could make each other heard, except during occasional .momentary pauses in the violence of the ship's motion. At every roll of the vessel the water was up to our knees, and with each sea that came on board more water poured in over the high coaming and sometimes even through the device oyer the top of the sliding iron door as an especially heavy sea thundered ftgainit it. As it was obviously dangerous to venture out on deck, we, the surgeon, sick bertl) stewards, baker and his assistant, and myself, were 'prisoners together with the ,unfortunate patient for the remainder of the night.

CHAOS OF THE STORM. ' I fomfd it was necessary to hold on to j a ring in the bulkhead in order to prevent the patient and tlie •Hour 'bag l>y' his side from being flung to the deck at almost each heavy roll or lurch to port. This became exceedingly trying after an hour or two, and discovering that the baker had a hammock stowed away we managed between us to get it slung, and with considerable difficulty we succeeded in transferring the patient to it. During the following hours at different times one or other of us was flung down violently into the water, jn which there were now floating and rushing about all kinds of objects which liad broken loose and fallen into it. It behoved one, indeed, to keep one's weather eye lifting, j A' moment's inadvertence, a - second's ; drowsiness, and over one went. It was j hard to keep one's balance by gripping j and clinging, and the utmost, vigilance j did not save us many an unpleasant contusion. Later, when the gale was subsiding, on my way through the mess-deck, I caught a glimpse which almost made me think for a moment that some German shell must have landed there. Chaos, pimple, if not particularly pure. Mess gear here, there and everywhere. Water everywhere, boxes, tins, pieces of bread, and innumerable articles floating about, and still more chaos. Men struggling about vainly, endeavoring to retrieve, their belongings amid the misery, of it all, colliding with one another and staggering hither and thither, for the most part with a cheery face, in spite of the conditions, though there was cyidence enough that on such occasions iis these even, a comparatively hardy sailor may temporarily succumb.