Reading Observer 11-1920

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NOVEM~ER
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THE :W A,:R.

A WONDER
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Z bru'gge..

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6, 1920,

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THE

IMMOR.TAL STORY OF ZREBRUlWB

A-VD OSTE!{D. "
P ,-!bl ~hing Co"

By H . C . FetTa.by .

J ohn Hogg, London).

(Gieves

1/6 net.

Among t-h e g loriOUs annals of the BTitish Na.vy
Zeebrugge ~lJld Os~nd' ~'i!1 ever hold 'a' foremost ' .
place.
It ~'ns tTle epio of t he war: a. blaze ot
\'810ll'" for Whtl'Ch tllo people of England had bee:n(
waiting . It ' ~a.s not tJla£ tho Navy w~ no~ .. p lay- ·
ing its di ffic~lt pa.rt successfully. but the daily and
almost uneverh fuL watch of t.he b..4:"h scas was, to
t he English m~lld firc9 wit}l Lhe 'ProWC6S of mighty
engogt'ments against overpowcring odds, not. the
tru e naval job .
They waited for and wanted
somethiug" with tho Nelsoll and tho Grenvjlle toUell,
and in th e st.oFing of Zeebrugge a.nd Ostend they
got il:r--a. feat that will go down tile age«S gathering
luske with cvery an'nh-crsary.
. TIlls cxc-eIient illustrated broohuro, whIch has
pr~pared l with a.bility and pains, was writ.ten
with th e . sanction of the Lords Commissioners ot .
the A<lmil"&lty, in ord er to provido OJ) account In
the ,fe~cst possible
woros of exact.ly what hap.·
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penoo at Zeobrugge a~d Osten.d 011 St. George's
D ay. 1918.
T haoe wli~ visit the scenes of these
beroic actions Iwill gain from this book a clearer
grasp cf lobe evonia of t.he night than can be ·
~ftth cred by tho inexpert f rom. tllI2l many storiL~
t hat ha,,'c bec-t:i told, a.nd the many reports ·Cli-.culated J • in i£dclition to the offioial despat.ches of
the · incidents 'Of ·tho two engageme.nts,
been

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VINDICTIVE AFTER THE ZEEBRUOOE RAID.

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MOTOR-LAUNCH

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Crews and Smoke-Scrben Layer.

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A DANGEROUS UNDERTA.K.I!NG.

" Volunteers are w:anUod fOl" an undert-~ing of
real danger,"
Tha.t was the message that was
circulded con1identially in t'be Bri.t-..ish Na.vy in·
the winter of 1~17'18.
No (me knew wha.t.. t he
undc-dakio,lil" wlI8, but· up in the ~Id mists ' of
Scapa. · Fiow U1e men of the Grana Fleet welcomed
it as a. relief fl'?nl tho monotony of high.sea. cruis.
jn,lf witp nO· ~lemy in sight; mon .from . Porumo~th
a.nd Plyniou-t b, too, camo fOI'wa.rd in hundreds;
the YOUIlIf ROYa.1 Australian Navy · WIIS rea..dy ' to
tuo 'part in· it to a man. The Oft-ly d ifficulty the!
authorities :had was to pick th~ two thousalld
01llcers EUld m on f-rom tho 200,000 they " could ha"·c
had .

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Rescuer of

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The c~didlLtes solected were drafted to a 8ecre~
·trainin,::- centre; a.nd

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the story began · to fiJ U

through tha.t a. landin.C' . on a. largo 1$03.10 was 4n..~
templated .
The Marincs st&J:ted their iutetlsive
training in February and tho Bluejaokets in Mal'ch.
All sort6 'of s~ial co_ntl'ivan ces wet·e I'equi~ed for
an entol'priso wit hout pa r·a.llel jn tho world's his.
toOry. Smoke. scroons for night wOl'k were e.voJved
and mysteriQUS things wero bcing done to the fiv e
old ~uisers which wero to ~e t'be sacriJ1ce and to
be sunk in the 1l.8.vigable channels of Zeebrugge
and Ostelld B.s block ships. It was ·to heJp them
to s lip PMt the vigiLa.noo of the German wa.tchera
that the spectacular (Bud aven' mol... perilous) WOrk.
of t.he Vindim ive w~ pla.u'uoo, AU 11M to be done
in complete ~crccy . . For tbl"ee montbs t.ho work
of prepara.tion' went on. Finally, Biter two post.

ponc~entil, O~, ~t

of ihe

~'eatJier,:

in th.e late

ai.ternooll ,of April 22nd, all was rea.cly and the
mighty -attack' was' 1a.unched.

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ONE OF THE FIVE ~IMILAR

How it SllL"OOOded has 'b een t.qld before, but 'this
littlo book will tell it anew IilllU more conCisely
than aur ~n.t l hitherto givcn.
'rhe he)"OisItl
displnyed by the officcrs ·and mell is unsurpassed
in a ll the rOcord s of tho past, wilile U1e nam es ·o[
tbe · Vindi~tlv~
the s hil)S o! wa.r · lliat acoom .
panied her on thlib 'periloos -a.ttaek·will b~ bht.!~ned
in gold in. th eJ ' Navy's -'story.

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DESTROYER

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It ..\s Dot
practice of the Brjtish Navy to
advert.iae. ' It /
is not.
dono in t.he Silent
Service.
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But it would be s.ingula.rly inap~1'6pria.te ji' the
reoC(lrd .of this mighty ,achievement. were po.t D.CC'Om .
panicd by some d~t.a.il8 of the galJwltry of those
. .... who took pa.~t in it. , The s tory of Zecbruggc
oa.nnot oe told ' &nonymously; • the nation has · the
right 'toO know the""lu&:mcs pf those who. went ·into
the battle for St. Gool'gc and Enghllld 01.1· thlJJt .
d&y,
Th~l'e. ar~ mc~'s ·Jl~~CS t,hat lea!>· to the
Iips- CarpcnLcr. ·Halaha)), Godsal, Elliot, Cordner,
Bury , Dean,. Drummond, Brock, Capt, oO.rpcDtc-r
WM the eaplt..a.iii' of 'the .. VindictiV6" and one." of
the sta.ff officers who dr~~ up, ,a ll .the- plaus. for
the assault. lie was, by the. . voto of a.li Ule offiCers
who served 'und er him ,· awarded tihe V :C, Ca.p.t.
HsJahan, Lt.·CoI. Elliot and Maior Cordner , who
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were killod at the nead of their land ing'partles ,
·were the thrce "officers who trained t heir mcn Ul
the 8ort( 'of sarnung Mcmy positions, "'J.'hese !officers .
v,'cro kiIJod wiWin . a. minute of'. toho .1 Vindictive"
-()O~ing along tbe ' ~~ie, blllt 'thmT spirit remained'
and led tJw men across the bl:OWS and intO the
inf~ mo of macbine·gun bullets. Wing-Com~ander
~rock, wHo . WILS ,.the head of_ the I Dover Experl'
mental Stn.~OIl" whcre the indispensable smokc!Screen appa.ra.t~ Wa6 inveo~. }VRS 'also ~ilJed au
. the M~I~, And so one could ~ oon~inue to recouut.
the ·herolc exploits ,of thOAe ga.Uant officers and
n:::en \i.. ho. m,~e . good! on tha.t memorltoble ·da.y. Nor
should a wor('l of praise be forgotten for tbe
II black sq,u.ad " - the
men in thu elli"W e rooms
and stokeholds-for theil' wonderful nel"\'e and j ust
as ,lfiorlous, if 'less S!l~ll.(lUlal-". Dart.

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It shou ld be stated ,that a portion of the profits
aec ~·uill~ h·om th e procceds of this edition will bl? '
allocated to the ,t Arethusa " , Training' ShIp.
~ght , ~ld "A rethUs& " boy~ were ~ 0"0 boar\l ,the
Vindictive a.t Zeebrugge, and Olle of th em ~bt.aiDoo
the Victoria: ·Cross. _

A ' SMOKE-SCREEN.

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A Smoke-S.creen Layer and Torpe~er of EnA~ :" ·. S,hips . .

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BLOCKSHIPS

(Tbetis, Intrepid, Ipbigenill, Bri{lIsnt; snd SirIus).

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COASTAL
MOTOR-BOAT
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HEROlSJd OONCrsELY .R~ED,

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THE B.LOCKStiIPS IN ZESBRUOOE
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As seen ~rom • height of' 2U,OOO feet.