Chapter 3

XVI THE CONVOY SYSTEM 177

XVII OUTWARD BOUND 184

XVIII RENDEZVOUS 190

XIX CONFERENCE 198

XX THE SAILING FOG, AND THE TURN OF THE TIDE 205 'IN EXECUTION OF PREVIOUS ORDERS' 212

XXI THE NORTH RIVER 217

XXII HOMEWARDS THE ARGONAUTS 224 ON OCEAN PASSAGE 230 'ONE LIGHT ON ALL FACES' 236

XXIII 'DELIVERING THE GOODS' 244

XXIV CONCLUSION: 'M N' 252

APPENDIX 255

INDEX 257

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

MERCHANTMEN AT GUN PRACTICE _Frontispiece_

THE CLYDE FROM THE TOWER OF THE CLYDE TRUST BUILDINGS xi

GRAVESEND: A MERCHANTMAN OUTWARD BOUND 3

THE BRIDGE OF A MERCHANTMAN 7

THE OLD AND THE NEW: THE _MARGARET_ OF DUBLIN AND R.M.S. _TUSCANIA_ 15

IN A MERCHANTMAN--BOMB-THROWER PRACTICE 21

A BRITISH SUBMARINE DETAILED FOR INSTRUCTION OF MERCHANT OFFICERS 31

THE D.A.M.S. GUNWHARF AT GLASGOW 33

INSTRUCTIONAL ANTI-SUBMARINE COURSE FOR MERCHANT OFFICERS AT GLASGOW 39

THE LOSS OF A LINER 44

THE MERSEY FROM THE LIVER BUILDINGS, LIVERPOOL 49

THE MASTER OF THE GULL LIGHTSHIP WRITING THE LOG 53

AT GRAVESEND: PILOTS AWAITING AN INWARD-BOUND CONVOY 59

TRANSPORTS LEAVING SOUTHAMPTON ON THE NIGHT PASSAGE TO FRANCE 67

LIVERPOOL: MERCHANTMEN SIGNING ON FOR OVERSEA VOYAGES 69

THE RULER OF PILOTS AT DEAL 77

A HEAVILY ARMED COASTING BARGE 83

THE LAMPMAN OF THE GULL LIGHTSHIP 93

MINESWEEPERS GOING OUT 97

SOUTHAMPTON WATER 103

'OUT-BOATS' IN A MERCHANTMAN 105

FIREMEN STANDING BY TO RELIEVE THE WATCH 111

QUEEN'S DOCK, GLASGOW 116

THE BRIDGE-BOY REPAIRING FLAGS 121

A TRANSPORT EMBARKING TROOPS FOR FRANCE 125

TRANSPORTS IN SOUTHAMPTON DOCKS 129

THE _LEVIATHAN_ DOCKING AT LIVERPOOL 135

SALVAGE VESSELS OFF YARMOUTH, ISLE OF WIGHT 141

IN A SALVAGE VESSEL: OVERHAULING THE INSULATION OF THE POWER LEADS 145

A TORPEDOED MERCHANTMAN ON THE SHOALS: SALVAGE OFFICERS MAKING A SURVEY 151

A TORPEDOED SHIP IN DRY DOCK 157

DAZZLE 163

AN APPRENTICE IN THE MERCHANTS' SERVICE 171

A STANDARD SHIP AT SEA 177

BUILDING A STANDARD SHIP 179

THE THAMES ESTUARY IN WAR-TIME 184

DROPPING THE PILOT 187

EXAMINATION SERVICE PATROL BOARDING AN INCOMING STEAMER 190

DAWN: CONVOY PREPARING TO PUT TO SEA 193

EVENING: PLYMOUTH HOE 198

A CONVOY CONFERENCE 201

THE OLD HARBOUR, PLYMOUTH 205

CONVOY SAILING FROM PLYMOUTH SOUND 207

INWARD BOUND 217

A TRANSPORT LOADING 219

A CONVOY IN THE ATLANTIC 224

THE BOWS OF THE _KASHMIR_ DAMAGED BY COLLISION 227

THE MAYFLOWER QUAY, THE BARBICAN, PLYMOUTH 233

EVENING: THE MERSEY FROM THE LANDING-STAGE 241

THE STEERSMAN 243

THE WORK OF A TORPEDO 244

TRANSPORTS DISCHARGING IN LIVERPOOL DOCKS 245

TROOP TRANSPORTS DISEMBARKING AT THE LANDING-STAGE, LIVERPOOL 249

'M N' 252

INTRODUCTION

WRITTEN largely between the shipping crisis of 1917 and the surrender of German undersea arms at Harwich on November 20, 1918, this book is an effort to record a seaman's impressions of the trial through which the Merchants' Service has come in the war.

It is necessarily halting and incomplete. The extent of the subject is perhaps beyond the safe traverse of a mariner's dead reckoning. Policies of governmental control and of the economics of our management do not come within the scope of the book except as text to the diary of seafaring. Out at sea it is not easy to keep the right proportions in forming an opinion of measures devised on a grand scale, and of the operation of which we see only a small part. Our slender thread of communication with longshore happenings is often broken, and understanding is warped by conjecture.

In pride of his ancient trade, the seaman may perceive an importance and vital instrumentality in the ships and their voyages that may not be so evident to the landsman. By this is the mariner constantly impressed: that, without the merchant's enterprise on the sea--the adventure of his finance, his ships, his gear, his men--the armed and enlisted resources of the State could not have prevailed in averting disaster and defeat.

The unique experiences of individual seamen--the trials of seafaring under less favourable circumstances than was the writer's good fortune--the plaints and grievances of our internal affairs--are but lightly sketched. Many brother seamen may feel that the harassing and often despairing case of the average tramp steamer has not adequately been dealt with; that--in "Outward Bound," as an instance--the writer presents a tranquil and idyllic picture which cannot be accepted as typical. The bitter hardship of proceeding on a voyage under war conditions, with the same small crew that was found inadequate in peace-time, is hardly suggested; the extent of the work to be overtaken is perhaps camouflaged in that description of setting out. Reality would more frequently show a vessel being hurried out of dock on the top of the tide, putting to sea into heavy weather, with the hatchways open over hasty stowage, and all the litter of a week's harbour disroutine standing to be cleared by a raw and semi-mutinous crew.

Criticism on these grounds is just: but it was ever the seaman's custom to dismiss heavy weather--when it was past and gone--and recall only the fine days of smooth sailing. If the hard times of our strain and labouring are not wholly over, at least we have fallen in with a more favouring wind from the land. Conditions in the Merchants' Service are vastly improved since Germany challenged our right to pass freely on our lawful occasions. Relations between the owner and the seamen are less strained. Remuneration for sea-service is now more adequate. The sullen atmosphere of harsh treatment on the one hand, and grudging service on the other, has been cleared away by the hurricane threat to our common interests.

Throughout the book there are some few extracts--all indicated by quotation marks--from the works of modern authors. The writer wishes to acknowledge their use and to mention the following: "Trinity House," by Walter H. Mayo; "The Sea," by F. Whymper; "The Merchant Seamen in War," by L. Cope Cornford; "Fleets behind the Fleet," by W. Macneile Dixon; "North Sea Fishers and Fighters" and "Fishermen in Wartime," both by Walter Wood; the pages of the _Nautical Magazine_.

The grateful thanks of writer and artist are tendered to Rear-Admiral Sir Douglas Brownrigg, Chief Naval Censor, and to Lord Beaverbrook and Mr. Arnold Bennett, of the Ministry of Information, for facilities and kindly assistance in preparation of the work. The writer's indebtedness to his Owners for encouragement and for generous leave of absence (without which the book could not have been written) is especially acknowledged.

Mr. Muirhead Bone's drawings reproduced in this book were executed during the war for the Ministry of Information with the co-operation of the Admiralty. They are now in the possession of the Imperial War Museum. With the exception of the illustrations on pages 44, 224, and 252, these drawings were made on the spot.

DAVID W. BONE