NAVAL TRANSPORT SERVICE.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 January 1919, Page 7

NAVAL TRANSPORT SERVICE.

as i u£ a learessaawitfa, li>igio<j«>Jieoteuaafc \>£ iu. IL Kmivisbsfc wuo w xtewi ia U©» EiynawsSfc % Msuiqjrs mail tola uwua mtawsting iae.li&sste est lub two yeaasi' sersaw* aa. Iworti the Kcw .foafami. lio6j>.\k&i step &&h«oa. JtCiiorvMj.i ijekiaga tt» WellingtQß, ".nd jtdaed tha jVlaii-ifUMmJiaraMOJßil «Hnasissjiai. Alter eeissjoif; altogether oner two yeiia, ha has received his diseiiajge, aad km re-cattcml commercial life, now lepveeenting a lajgft firm of -ehiga* diajidlmiv and euginoaw Incidenta%, ha 'stated, that it ia eevia years sincaihe was. ia Hew Elyniouiii last, and 'ha aype&Ktato -of the Uwu u« ho came into it. on indhausd. a great iciproveirKart. Dttmsg the course-'of his service, Lir.uitaaani Ki*>wles stated that he was ob hoaxd the hospital ship la, France, a vea- • soi at JS,OIMi ton?, when she was torpedoed in the Engjsh Chajinel, iietween sßaafie Southampton- The vessel at tthat i .c had csi hoai-d 1300 British [ XKOtuKled and 20& srounded German priSMiars of v.'iir. The ship foundered in 10 ynunutea. When the jrn&tfUEra saw detelaoyfir hoata runnd iue ship they inclined they were German ve»- : .8e).5, whicii would ellees their rescue and I delivei-y, and tbey cheered frantically, but j when they disuovcrsd that they were British destroyed they begged and pleaded far mercj Taey were so anxious, to be rescued that the craw of the vessel had to resort to using oars a/id rowlocks against them to prevent them irons. lushing the boatsOn another occasion, on board tha M&heno, JUeutenant ICnowies said he conversed with a German general, who had lost his right arm and had been taken prisoner. This officer was most anxious to know where he was to be taken, and when told to England, to be pnt in a cage, replied that was impossible, as the German fleet had command of the seas. When, in the English Channel, he £&w » great number at British naval vessels of all descriptions, and this had the effect of resigning him to Ma fate, and he thereafter became quite sullen and uncommunicative. In contrast to another German prisoner, who had before the war been engaged in a big merchant firm house in England, said, when being taJcen across the Channel: "I tried three times to be taken prisoner; now i I'm satisfied., $o h— with the Kaiser!'' ! Lieutenant Knowles said that for a j good part of the time on which he was ! aboard the Maheno sbe waa engaged in j the run 'between Havre and Southamp-1 ton, and she carried large numbers of wounded across the Channel. On one | occasion, at the Bma cf the Somme push in IMC, she carried aa many as 1170 j men on one trip. On one visit to Havre | he saw a paiE of field guns of all calibres, ready fo go up to the front, j They covered an area of about a quarter of a mile square. Havre was a very busy jKjrt, and war stores and uupplieaof all sorts wero landed these in large quantities. j At Southampton, a port where large j embarkation traffic was done, it was a great sight to see the despatch of 15,000 fresh, fit men, as an equal number of wounded and sick men wcr- 1 brought in. "To hear «>t such a time," said Lieutenant Knowifla. "the cheering from the British "hearts of oak,' was something to do the hearte of a Kaw Zaalander good * Lieutenant Knowles said he had been privileged to see nearly all the big British hospital ships- He (saw the Aquatania, which had been converted from a hospital ship to a tr&csport no less than three times, at a cost oi hundreds of thousands of pounds. He was an ey«-witness of the striking of a mine and the sinking of the hospital &hip Salta, in the English Channel, in connection with which four medical men and eovea nurses were drownedThe New Zealad hospital ships had been one of the Ibest advertisements the Dominion could have had. Their equipment was, of course; go; d, and they praised by all who travelled in them, the (British officers and Tommies being very generaus in /their praise of the veseals. In this connection, lieutenant j Enowles said that in France the Y.M.C.A. representatlves, whir have really done wonderful service, come aboard the hospital ghijfci before fhoj sail and distribute cigaret£en to the men, and also postcards on which they could write a message to any friend. One Tommy wrote to his piu in the trenches thus: "Dear Harry,—Got, it in the neck. Coming over in New Zealand hospital sßip. They treat you fine here. Just had about four courses for dinner, including

prunes and rice, and plenty of fresh bread and 'butter. If you do get it, try and coma over ia a New Zealand hoapital ?liip, because they treat you all right. Yours till 'ell freezes. Hill." The work of the wine-sweepers, of

which ha saw something, had impressed Lieutenant Knorvlca very much. These

liitk vessels—most of tliem under 200 toes—were doing great work, but saw verj little of this limelight. The men deserved t_iß ntmost consideration Their l/oura were long and the work often \vr/ arduous. Sometimes, owing to th® ■weather and conditions in wMah they had to vwrfc, it was mipo?;(We for theia to get hot food—even so much as a eup of tea—ifor days togeihar- In spito of the k-rge nuiriber of vessels engaged in this work, it v?as anticipated it • would he many months, before all tin I niinefieldis uere elc&red up. i. Speaking generally of the work on i board the Maheno, Lieutenant Knowles said tliut tiia' frequent changes of clin ate ia which the crews found thosselves fce«KJ» very trying to thtt» health Ho instanced how that, on on* Occasion, ,ia tho Heel Sea, when the ship's Mectrie-fan engfD« became disabled, ha worked on j.ltg.."repairs to it in n temperature degrees, w^jt. ba became esh&usted, Lieut®ant, Knowkx oUvJsff\ ; iat while in England lie worked fofc.some months in the Woolwich Arsenal, and saw Borate tlion; o£ Britain's !?ar effort right' 'Cue heart of the Emrpire. He referre&i as most New Zcalandere do, to thateplen•lkJ treatmetft meeted out in thl : Old I'Snd to tho soldiers of the 'Dominion. The? take pride of placo in $lO English estitnitiis!! at the overseas' soldiers, tho Australians enmiug a good second. This 3&»stridf tccrtrdr. Mew Zealanders wss cwi<ient «1) esvac tho British &le3.