South Queensferry Throughout the Great War the Scotsman Printed
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South Queensferry Throughout the Great War The Scotsman printed many and varied stories of events that included references to South Queensferry, the Forth Bridge, and the Firth of Forth. Some of these are repeated here. The Scotsman - Saturday 1 August 1914 South Queensferry. Girl drowned. A girl was observed to disappear on Thursday afternoon in one of the reservoirs originally used in connection with the water supply of South Queensferry. On information being lodged with the local police, dragging operations were carried out, and eventually the body of Mary Airlie, seventeen years of age, who resided at Dalmeny Rows, and who had been until recently in domestic service in the neighbourhood, was recovered. The Scotsman - Monday 3 August 1914 The Firth of Forth under supervision. Important regulations for Merchantmen. Important public traffic regulations concerning the Firth of Forth have been issued in the public safety by order of the Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, whose representative here to see that they are carried out is the official known as "The King's Harbourmaster", Rosyth. Full details will be seen in an advertisement on the front page of The Scotsman. They amount in the main to this, that all mercantile traffic, including small craft, is forbidden to leave or enter the Firth of Forth during the hours of "official night" or during thick or foggy weather. Official night extends from some minutes after the almanac hour of sunset and some minutes before the almanac hour of sunrise. Examining stations, at which armed examination steamers will be stationed, have been instituted both on the east and west side of Inchkeith, and during the day no merchant vessels will be allowed to proceed up the Firth without first proceeding to these examination stations for examination. The examination steamers will be distinguished by day by a blue ensign at the ensign staff, and at the foremast head the special pilot flag - white and red, surrounded by a blue border. When the "Forth is closed" - which signifies that no merchant vessels are allowed to proceed inwards of the examination anchorage, three red balls vertical will be hoisted in addition. By night three lights vertically, six feet apart will be displayed at the end of a yard. When "the Forth is closed" these lights will be red; when it is open they will be white. Ships outward bound must time their departure so that they will be clear of the Firth of Forth before the commencement of official night. No wireless messages by merchantmen are to be taken or dispatched while within the limits of the Firth of Forth. Pilotage will be compulsory, for all but "small craft" and concerning "small craft" there are also special regulations. There are regulations concerning ships and boats when in the vicinity of Rosyth Docks. The office of the King's Harbourmaster is on board HMS Columbine at South Queensferry. It is further intimated that ships disregarding these regulations will be liable to be fired upon. The Scotsman - Wednesday 5 August 1914 Suspected spies at the Forth Bridge. Chased by sentries. The suspicious movements of two foreign-looking men in the vicinity of the fort at South Queensferry on Monday afternoon led, it would appear, to an exciting adventure between the armed sentries on duty there and the two individuals in question but after a spirited chase the men succeeded in making good their escape from Dalmeny Station. Early in the afternoon the men were under observation. Suspicion was first aroused by their making a number of inquiries from various persons in regard to fortification matters at this important point and they were subsequently discovered taking notes or making a sketch of the fort at the south side of the Forth Bridge. When challenged they made off, followed by the soldiers. They managed to elude their pursuers, however, and succeeded in boarding an Edinburgh-bound train at Dalmeny Station just as it was steaming from the platform. An immediate effort was made to get into telephonic communication with the Edinburgh station authorities, but some delay occurred, and by the time the descriptions had been placed in the hands of the railway police the train had arrived in the Waverley Station, and the passengers had gone their various ways, making the task of tracing the suspected men well-nigh hopeless . The Scotsman - Friday 7 August 1914 Incident on the Forth. Considerable excitement prevailed in the vicinity of the towns of North and South Queensferry yesterday afternoon about two o'clock, when the crashing report of a heavy gun from one of the Forth batteries suddenly echoed over the river. There was a rush of townspeople out to the seafront and it was seen that a cargo steamer which had been approaching the Forth Bridge from the seaward side was slowing down. The steamer, which seemed to be in ballast, was a vessel of about a thousand tons. She flew what appeared to be the Danish flag, but did not seem to be flying her code flags. In response to the gun she hove-to and was boarded by officials. After some delay she was allowed to proceed to anchor near the hulk Columbine, where the King's Harbourmaster has his headquarters. Later in the afternoon the vessel proceeded further up-river. Her movements were followed closely by crowds of townspeople and visitors from the moment that the battery called upon her to heave-to, and the incident revealed strikingly the prevailing tension amongst the civil population. The Scotsman - Monday 10 August 1914 Base Hospital for South Queensferry. Gift to the nation by Queen Mary and Princess Christian. Her Majesty the Queen and Princess Christian, having been offered a fully equipped base hospital, have accepted this patriotic and generous gift, and given it to the Navy for the reception of sick and wounded naval officers and men. The hospital will be erected at South Queensferry. Mr Alfred Mosely, CMG, has been entrusted with the carrying out of the project, and it may be remembered that he served in a similar capacity with the Princess Christian Hospital during the Boer War. With one exception, the staff will be drawn entirely from the London Hospital, and will consist of the following - Principal Surgeon, Lieutenant-Colonel T H Openshaw, CMG, FRCS. Surgeons, A B Roxborough, FRCS, and C M Kennedy, FRCS. Anaesthetist and X-Ray Expert, A L Flemming, MB, LRCP, of Bristol. Assistant Surgeons, Messrs W Ash, MB, BS, H T R Moloney, MRCS, LRCP and H C Billings, MRCS, LRCP. Dressers, Messrs L G Brown, G D Carr, J N Deacon, W S Herman, H S Jefferies, F M Mosely, G T C Mosse, J C Russell, R O Townend, H Whyte, and A T Woolward. The St John Ambulance Association will supply a full staff of orderlies. The erection of the buildings has been undertaken by Messrs Humphreys (Limited), under the direction of Mr Frederick W Marks, FRIBA. The Scotsman - Monday 10 August 1914 Donation of fully equipped base hospital. Announcement is made to-day of a signal and timely act of patriotic generosity. A donor - who has chosen, in a spirit that reflects the greater honour on him, to remain anonymous - has offered to the nation a fully equipped base hospital, and Queen Mary and Princess Christian, through whom the gift comes, have decided that it is to be stationed at South Queensferry, for the care of sick and wounded officers and men of the Royal Navy. The gift is welcome both in itself and for the spirit which prompted it. It has not been a solitary offer of its kind, though so far it is the most complete; for during the last few days many owners of mansions - and Scottish owners have been prominent among them - have put their houses at the disposal of the public authorities for hospital purposes. To all of these, not less than to this donor acknowledgment is due. The location of the new base hospital emphasises the part that, will be played by the Firth of Forth in this war. It is one of our great bases of naval operations against the German fleet and coasts. It is the newest of our bases, and at the present juncture probably the most important. From it watch and ward are being kept on the North Sea and the exit from the Baltic. If the German fleet comes into the open, as they must do sooner or later unless Germany is to be slowly strangled, it is in the northern part of the North Sea that the decisive battle is most likely to be fought. In the British plan of action the Firth of Forth is an all-important factor, and the fact that Rosyth is not completed detracts little from its importance. The well-defended anchorage is there, from which a blockade of the German coast can be, and is being made, not the less deadly to the enemy because it is at a distance of some hundreds of miles. During the war the Firth of Forth will probably have to receive much of the sad harvest of suffering from the Navy. It is against that day that the new hospital base is being placed at South Queensferry. But it is not only among wealthy citizens, like the donor of this hospital and the other patriotic citizens who have given their houses for similar purposes, that the seal for public service exists. The desire to do something for the nation animates all classes and ranks of the community from the highest to the lowest, and in the long run it is the humbler contributions to the national task that count for most.