Dawn, September 1, 1917, H.M. destroyer _Rosalind_ was engaged with
enemy ships off Jutland. I was serving on one of the guns, and we were
approaching the enemy at full speed. The ship was vibrating from end
to end, and the gun fire, the bursting of shells, and the smell of the
cordite had got our nerves at high tension.
When we were very near the enemy one of the German ships blew up
completely in a smothering cloud of smoke.
At this time something went wrong with our ammunition supply, and we
had used up all that we usually carried on the gun platform. One of the
gun's crew, a Cockney, put his cap in the breech, and said "Quick! Send
'em this to put the lid on that blinkin' chimney." We all had to laugh,
and carried on.--_W. E. M. (late H.M.S. "Rosalind"), 19 Kimberley Road,
Leytonstone, E.11._