NAVAL EXPLOITS.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 January 1920, Page 4

NAVAL EXPLOITS.

TALES OF IMPERISHABLE GLORY. ■BOTTLING UP THE GERMANS. COMMANDER BOURSE'S THRILLING STORY. "Not onee nor twice in our rough island story The path of duty was the road to glory." The large audience which listened with spell bound interest to the story unfolded last night at the Empire Theatre by Lieut-Commander R. Bourkc, V.C, D.SX). of the sealing up of the harbor at Zeebrugge and Ostend, realised more than ever before the great glory which came to the men who cheerfully volunteered for the duty of carrying out the desperate adventure of placing the German raiding destrovers and submarines out of action by bottling them up in their bases on the Belgian conThe story was told simply, but in a mos6 interesting manner, and the 140 splendid lantern slides with which the lecture was illustrated gave those present a very reahstie impression of the actual operations. r

Commander Bourke was brieflv introduced by the Mayor (Mr Jas. Clarke), who expressed the pride which he and the townspeople felt at having so distinguished a hero in their midst He ventured to hope that the Commander, Who is spending a holiday in the Dominion, might eventually be attracted to make his home here. He congratulated the sister dominion of Canada on the honor won for her by so distinguished an omcer as Commander Bourkek, who before the war was a citizen of Nelson, British Columbia.

Lieut.-Commander Bourke suitably acknowledged the Mayor's welcome, and said he counted it an honor to visit the chief towns of New Zealand on behalf of the Navy League, and tell the storv ot these great adventures. He was particularly pleased to do so, because there were many New Zealanders in the operations, and some of them gained distincions and were decorated by His Majesty

WHY THE RAID WAS UNDERTAKEN.

Commander Bourke gave an interests outline of the operations of the Dover Patrol, maintained by British destroyers mbmarmes, motor-launches, drifters, etc! the patrol, he said, was very successful indeed in protecting the British crossUiannel communications with France so puccessful that not a single life was lost hnt a ?iT P e tr!lns P°rts-(appl a useJ~ but the submarines could take a Ion" journey round the north of Scotland and attack our slapping off the Irish coast. H was, therefore, decided to block the mouth of the Zeebrugge-Bruges Canal and the entrance to Ostend Harbor to prevent them being as submarine and destroyer bases. By means of maps and statement of the enemy's armament Ueutenant bourke made clear the immenae strength of the Huns' defences hix hundred volunteers, he vaid, were .ailed for specially hazardous duty, but "thin 48 hours 3500 had volunteerod,Km IT .7?' 1 !t was wit]l the neatest idifficulty that a selection was made Applause). The night before the raid the men were toM. that it was verv (.oubtful if any of them would get back mid that a p;cl<et-boat would take off text morning, with no questions asked any man who felt that, for familv or other reasons, he should not take part in it. Ihe picket-boat duly appeared, but needless to say, not a man went off in lier. (Applause.) THE ZEEBRUGGE RAID .

Lieutenant-Commander Bourke described how the cruiser Vindictive (Captain Carpenter, V.C.), due at the Zeebrugge mole at 12 o'clock midnH.t on April 23rd, 1918, reached the mole at a minute past the hour-(applause) wfTf hea 7 dama ? e »»* Feat losses between her emerging from the smoke-screen and getting alongside the Sn.T."i st w > ich l he was he,d h y the ug Daffodil pushing her broadside on to t. Twelve out of the fourteen "brows" hy means of which the men from the K« and the Daffodil had to rewh the mole, were shot away; but the men with Lewis guns, bombs, and rifles, galantly swarmed up the remaining two brows ,u spite of the very disconcerting motion caused by the rollings of the E r f M J d , the J! ,et that ther°e was a irty-foot drop between the vessel and in? 8 ,°I *?* Man Who ,ost his lZl 8 i i, (A T PP la * ft ') HI. thrilling oh*!?! 7 Lle . utenant Sanford. of the obsolete submarine, 03, loaded up with explosives equivalent to a charge of 30 German mines, rammed the steel viaduct connecting the mole with the shore and 'lew m it a gap 120 feet wide and ri»ht down to the water, was followed with the keenest interest; and the audience heartily applauded hi, statement that it was the most completely successful of ft" the blocking on-n ( : nTts Bri fl . a Mcal,y , h , e , to,d ° f ,iow ™««"* itself was blocked l,r the Thetis, the Intrepid and the Tnhigenia. At 12 50 the work was accomplished and the rewh S Tt l; "'• atUO the Vindictive, mth all the survivors on board, set out w • r , J , return .'°« r ney. a very badlv shot-nrldled ship. (Applause.) Lieute nant Kirkwood (Motor Boat Patrol), of Auckland, won the Distinguished Service Cross bv «in pmt courage and devotion he displayed in rescuing two "gassed" engmeeers and others from a disabled motor-launch.

THE OSTEND OPERATIONS. , The first attack on Ostend was made simultaneously with the raid on ZeeMay loth. An attempted raid on Ostend on April 12 had given the enemy warning said Lieutenant Bourke, and on April 23rd the Huns were ready for them ana h&A moored a d ■ BriSfant 6 T«- - that the Wdek.hi£ and Sinus were misled and Jailed to block the entrance. The only consolation was that all the officers and men on the sunken blockships were rescued by the motor-launches. (ApPlause). The Mockd.Jp, on the second occasion were the Vindictive and the Sappho; but the Sappho, unfortunately -voke down on the way and could not take part ,n the operation. The intention had been to smoke-screen both piers and leave the entrance to the harfilled the harbor with smoke, and the Vindictive had to feel her way for fifteen minute* before she got between the piers hloJ 6 On'fv* 0 C ° m ? lete]v b]ock «'* flaPbor On this occasion Chief Motor Mechanic Polsford, of Wellington w aß awarded the D.S.M. Other Sew Zealanderswho took part were Chief Motor Mechanic Chivers, of Okaiawa, T Batv of Stratford, and Lieutenants Jones and Turnbull, of Wellington, of the Motor Boat Patrol. *

To his mind the great hero of the Ostend operations wag, C&ntaia QziaalL

D.5.0., who failed on the first occasion to place the Brilliant between the piers, but succeeded on the second occasion ia placing the Vindictive there at the coat of his life. The screening of a picture, of the officers provoked loud applause. Commander Bourkc was extremelymodest in the way in which he related the incident which won him the V.C. and the French Legion of Honor. It was on the second occasion of the raiding of Ostend, when he and his motor-boat crew rescued the last three survivors from the Vindictive after she had been laid in the fairway of"T)stend harbor. (Applause.) The three men were all badly wounded and clinging to an upturned boat. Commander Bourke went in with his motor-launch, engaging the guns on both piers in so doing, took off the men, and transferred them to the monitor, Prince Eugene. (Applause.) At the conclusion of the lecture ATchd. Evans expressed the warm appreciation of the audience for Commander Bourke's graphic story, and at his call three hearty cheers were given for the lecturer, who briefly acknowledged the compliment. Commander Bourke leaves this morning for Wanganui.