The long and glorious history of the British Navy contains many a
story of a fight against great odds. We think with pride of the little
_Revenge_ which fought fifty-three Spanish ships, and only gave in when
its gallant captain Sir Richard Grenville was wounded to the death. And
this story of the time of Queen Elizabeth is only one out of many in
the records of our Navy.
Now it was a splendid and glorious thing for Sir Richard Grenville to
fight so bravely. But it would have been a foolish and cruel thing if
Queen Elizabeth had _ordered_ him to fight single-handed against ten,
or even five, Spanish ships.
In much the same way, it would be a splendid thing if two of our ships
were to fight half a dozen Germans which had caught them unawares. But
it would be very foolish of the rulers of our Navy to allow such a
thing to happen if it could be helped. They must make as sure as they
can that any group of our ships will not be outnumbered, or meet with
an equal number of vessels of a newer type and carrying heavier guns.
Both these things happened off the coast of Chile in South America on
November 1, 1914. On that day four German cruisers met three British
cruisers and a battle took place. The German ships were of a newer type
and carried much heavier guns than the British, so that the latter were
“outclassed”; and though the British fought with great bravery against
the heavy odds, two ships were lost.
A strong British squadron was at once got together and placed under
the command of Admiral Doveton Sturdee. It was sent off in secret, and
people at home knew nothing about it until news of victory came.
Turn to the map of South America and find out the group of islands
known as the Falklands which lie off the south-east coast. These
islands are part of the British Empire and at Port Stanley, the chief
town, there is an important wireless station.
A message was sent from London to the governor of the Falklands to the
effect that a German squadron was cruising near, and might, at any
moment, make a raid upon the islands. The German ships, under Admiral
von Spee, did indeed come to the Falklands intending to destroy the
wireless station and take possession of the islands. But they found
Admiral Sturdee awaiting them, and on December 8th the Battle of the
Falklands was fought.
[Illustration: THE ENEMY CRUISER WAS ABOUT TO SINK.]
Sturdee in the _Invincible_ gave the signal,--“God save the King.” The
firing began shortly after noon at a range of about nine miles. When
night had fallen four of the five German ships lay at the bottom of the
ocean, and two thousand of the enemy had died in doing their duty. The
other enemy warship, the _Dresden_, made her escape. The loss on the
British side was only eight men.
In connection with this battle the story of the cruiser _Kent_ is worth
preserving, while one of the stokers won the praise and reward of his
leaders for a deed of coolness and bravery. The _Kent_ was ordered to
chase and engage one of the German cruisers and set out on the trail.
But before long she found herself running short of fuel.
This fact was reported to the captain and though it was a very serious
matter he was not put out. “Very well then,” he said, “have a go at
the boats.” The word was passed along, and some of the men unslung the
boats and broke them up with hatchets and crowbars. Then the pieces
were thickly smeared with oil and carried below to the stokers whose
stock of coal was now almost at an end. Soon the ship’s boats were
blazing in the furnaces and the _Kent_ raced along.
But this was not enough. Still more fuel was needed, and officers and
men cast their eyes around in search of something more that would
burn. Some one pointed to the wooden ladders; and in a few moments they
had been taken down and sent below to the stokers.
Other men wrenched off the doors of cabins and ward-rooms. Young
officers ran laughing to their cabins, and brought out chairs, tables,
chests of drawers, and other pieces of furniture. These were quickly
passed below. The stokers worked with a will and by and by a hearty
cheer told them that the German was being overhauled.
Then the guns began to speak and after a brisk exchange the enemy
cruiser was seen to be on fire and about to sink. She hauled down her
colours, whereupon the _Kent_ ceased firing and closed in to save life
if possible. But the German ship heeled over and went down like a
stone, only twelve men being rescued by the British.
While these exciting things were happening Sergeant Mayes showed
coolness and bravery which saved the lives of many of his comrades and
probably saved his ship. A shell burst and set fire to some powder
charges in the bomb-proof shelter. A flash of flame went down the hoist
into the passage leading to the place where the shells were kept.
Sergeant Mayes picked up a charge of powder and threw it into the sea.
He then got hold of a fire-hose and flooded the shelter, in this way
putting out the fire in some empty shell bags which were burning.
These things were done in a few seconds, but they were indeed fateful
moments; for the firing of the magazine was the cause of the loss of
more than one gallant vessel during the Great War.