GALLANT ARETHUSA.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 February 1916, Page 8

GALLANT ARETHUSA.

VALUABLE WORK IN WAR, BATTLE OF HELIGOLAND BIGHT.. GLORIOUS TART IX GREAT TIGHT. The probable loss of the famous little British cruiser Arethusa, us the result of striking a mine off the cast coast of England, recall.-; the battle of Heligoland Bignt on August 2S, 1!>1 when Commodore Tynvhitt and his ship's eoni]iany so greatly distinguished themselves in directing (he operations of the destroyer flotillas. As a result, of this engagement the Admiralty ordered the following verses to he engraved upon a brass plate and placed in a conspicuous place upon the Arethusa:—

Oomp, all ye jolly sailors bold, Whose hearts aro cast in honor mould While English glory T unfold. Huzza for the Arethusa! Her men are staunch, To their fav'ritc launch, And when the foe shall meet our fire, Sooner than strike we'll all expire On board of the Arethusa. And, now we've driven the foe ashore, I Xever to fialit with Britons more, Let each fill his glass ,To his fav'ritc lass; A health to cur captain and officers true, And all that belong- to the jovial crew On hoard of the Arethusa. Tlivat intei-pst attached to the Areihusri even before the war bv reason of the fact that she was the first ship of a new class in the British Xavv. Her tonnage was 3750, her speed .10 knots and her armament two Bin and six Jin puns. The construction of small cruisers of a fast type was decided upon bv the Admiralty in 1012. and the Arethusa was laid down at Chatham on October 28. IM2. Under the Estimates for 1012 eight of those cruisers were laid down, eight more were commenced in l!il." and four in 1914. The Arethusa had only just been completed when the war commenced, and in the battle or Heligoland Bight she was an immediate opportunity of distinguishing herself. In this engagement the dennans lost two new cruisers, the Mainz and the TColn, and one older cruiser the Ariadne. A four-funnelled cruiser, the- Strassburg or Yorck, was seriously damaged, as were at least seven destroyers. One destroyer was also sunk. At least 700 of the Oerman crews perished and there were 300 prisoners

READY FOR FTRST FIGHT. The first phase in the action began at 7 a.m. when the position was as follows: Close to Heligoland, and well within German territorial waters were Commodore Reyes's eight submarines with his two small destroyers in attendance. Approaching rapidly from the north-west were Commodore Tyrwhitt's two destroyer flotillas, while behind them at some distance, and a little to the east, was Commodore Gocdenough's first light cruiser squadron,. Behind it lay Sir David Beatty's battle-cruisers. A good deal to the south, and about due west of Heligoland, lay Admiral Christian's seventh cruiser squadron. The submarines admirably performed the work of a decoy, and from behind Heligoland came a number of German destroyers. These were presently followed by two cruisers and the British submarines and their attendant destroyers fled westward, while the British ' destroyer flotillas, under Commodore Tyrwhitt, in the Arotlmsa, came swiftly down frciin the north-west. At the sight of the latter the German destroyers turned to make for home; but the British flotillas altered their course in order to head them off. "The principle of the movement,'' says the official report, ''was to cut the German light craft from home and engage them at leisure in the open sea.''

A FTERCE EN'GAfiEiri'NT A fierce fight commenced between the twn f.ierman cruisers niul the Arethusa and Fearless. The Arctlmsa was at first exposed to the broadsides of both the enemy vessels, and was considerably damaged. Later, however, one of her shots shattered the forebridge of the Ariadne, and the shattered vessel drew off toward Heligoland, the other ficrmaii cruiser following. Tn the meanwhile the British destroyers had sunk ihe leading boat of the Ot-rnian flotilla. The gallant Arethusa was in need of attention, for a water-tank had been hit and nil her suns save one were temporarily out of action. She was soon repaired, and was able to take part in the second phase of the. battle, which at ten o'clock. The flermans believed that the only hosti'e vessels in the neighbourhood were the s'libinari.-.cs, do-

strovers, the Arethusa, and the Fearless, and they resolved to take the chance of annihilating them. Commodore Tynvhitt received word that the destroyers Lurcher and Firedrake were being chased by three German cruisers. Tiiese were the Mainz and the Koln, sad a heavier vessel, the Yorek or Strassburg. The Arethusa and Fearless boldly engaged the Germans. The first incident was an artillery duel between the Arethusa and the largest German vessel, the'latter retiring. Then came the Mainz, which soon became little better than a wreck. There remained the Koln, which began a long-range duel with the Arethusa. COMPLETE DIC FEAT OF GERMAN SHIPS. Shortly after noon the British light cruisers Falmouth and Nottingham .ar' rived on the scene, and proceeded to deal with the damaged Mainz. Admiral Beatty, who had been directing the operations now came to a momentous decision. There was every likelihood that some of the enemy's great armoured and battle-cruisers were close at hand, and he judged that "to be of any value the support must he overwhelming." It was a risky business to take his vessels through a mine-strewn, sub-marine-haunted sea, but the navy is used to taking risks and the battlecruisers steamed east-south-east at full speed. Their advent decided the battle, and the battle-cruisers, among which was the New Zealand, had completed the defeat of the enemy before two o'clock. The Lion came first and her fire-power and admirable gunnery beat down all opposition. The Koln fled before her, hut the Lion's guns at extreme range hit her and set her on fire. The Ariadne came next, and was soon burning furiously. Ten minutes later the Koln sank like "a plummet, with every soul on board. The Arethusa had been badly damaged, but in a week was ready for sea again.

THE CU.XHAVEN RAID. The Arethusa took part in the attack by sea and air upon Cuxhaven on Christmas Day, 1014. The attack was delivered at daylight, starting from, a point in the vicinity of Heligoland. The seaplanes were escorted by a light cruiser and destroyer force, together with submarines. The British airmen discharged a number of bombs on points of military significance, and all save one returned to the waiting British vessels, which were attacked by enemy submarines. Two Zeppelins were early put to flight by the guns of. the Arethusa and Undaunted. The Arethusa also participated in the fight in the North Sea on January 24, lfllo, when the Blucher was sunk." She has rendered valuable service throughout the war.

ABETHUSA'S CREW. EAGER FOR BATTLE. MEN CHAFING AT INACTION. Aboard H.M.S. Arctliusa, Somewhere at. Pea, January S. An exceptional opportunity to 'board and visit in detail this famous British' cruiser, which led the British fleet to victory in the great Heligoland battle, has been granted to me by courtesy of the Admiralty. It was a rare privilege nnd was most interesting, since I was permitted to inspect in detail this, wonderful ship and to examine the traces of the damage wrought by German shells. The Arotlmsa has just returned to the North Sea seeking the Germans, and is in fine fighting trim. Both officers and erew were most enthusiastic in describing the great battle in which they all took part and point proudly to the tablet hearing the names of the victorious battles of the nrevious Arethusa:—Ushant. 1775; Trinidad, 1707; Cm-aeon. ISI17; Crimea, 1854, to which Ims been added Heligoland, August 12, 101-1. . The crew is most impatient to fight again and the officers say they have scoured the seas in a vain effort to satisfy the crew's crav-

CREW EAGER TO FIGHT. Describing the coolness of every one in the battle, an officer said that a sailor was bringing him his breakfast when shells began to fall about the. cruiser. "We've got them at last." the sailor said. 'Til take this back and keep it hot for you while we beat them." The commander turned out the guncrews us a special favor to the correspondent, and guns of all sizes, from the heaviest, to the anti-aircraft guns were shown in action. The ship showid only slight traces of the damage suffered ill the fighting and the officers are proud of the sears. One officer showed me as a trophy the hoot of n German lieutenant from the Bhcher who was brought aboard with one foot bootless. True to her name, the sauev Are(hnsa displays on her main deck a plate bearing the following lines, written by a sailor after the battle: "Now we've driven the foe ashore Never to fight, with Britons more. Let each fill his glass To his favorite lass! A health to our captain and officers true And all that belong to the jovial crew On board the Arctliusa.

VTSIT TO FLEET BASE. This was not the only privilege aranted to me to-day. T was permitted also to visit one of the biggest British ileet bases where fighting' craft of every description are assembled, powerful, speedy cruisers; marvel'ous oilburning destroyers, an entirely new type of flotilla leaders, mine sweepers, drifters, patrol boats constantly cruising in and out. One of these destroyers fought in the battle of Heligoland. T was permitted lo visit it thoroughly and to tulle with (lie officers, who related the most thrilling incidents of the batt'o. Hei'e T was permitted nlso to examine submarines of the latest, T. type, which have been doing such effective work in the Baltic. While it is impossible to give details of these craft it may safely be said that they embody every conceivable improvement—wonderful features which explain their success in attacked the flerman and in avoiding capture and destruction. Submarines of other types also were seen here, ' During my tour of the base on a powerful launch a flotilla returned from a scouting cruise. This flotilla included several other ships which won fame in the llngger Bank battle. These were seen in detail. All are in war trim. The base visited is one of the most active in Great Britain. The scenes visited leave an ineffacable impression and furnish a clear demonstration that in truth Britannia does "rule the waves." Ashore there Is the greatest activity i everywhere ns sailors carry out ease's to replenish the ammunition stock of the fighting ships, shells and torpedoes. The entire area Is guarded by marines and soldiers, who demanded my papers and permits, although I Avas accompanied by Camtnander Chilton, of tiie Ad»ir«ltj[, tbjgiighout % v^U*