My War at Sea 1914–1916

http://www.warletters.net My War at Sea: 1914–1916 Heathcoat S. Grant Edited by Mark Tanner Published by warletters.net http://www.warletters.net Copyright First published by WarLetters.net in 2014 17 Regent Street Lancaster LA1 1SG Heathcoat S. Grant © 1924 Published courtesy of the Naval Review. Philip J. Stopford © 1918 Published courtesy of the Naval Review. Philip Malet de Carteret letters copyright © Charles Malet de Carteret 2014. Philip Malet de Carteret introduction and notes copyright © Mark Tanner 2014. ISBN: 978-0-9566902-6-5 (Kindle) ISBN: 978-0-9566902-7-2 (Epub) The right of Heathcoat S. Grant, Philip J. Stopford, Philip Malet de Carteret and Mark Tanner to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. A CIP catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. This publication may be shared and distributed on a non-commercial basis provided that the work remains in its entirety and no changes are made. Any other use requires the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Naval Review c/o http://www.naval-review.com Charles Malet de Carteret c/o St Quen’s Manor, Jersey Mark Tanner c/o http://warletters.net http://www.warletters.net Contents Contents 4 Preface 5 1: From England to South America 7 2: German Ships Approaching 12 3: The Coronel Action 17 4: The Defence of the Falklands 19 5: The Battle of the Falklands 25 6: On Patrol 29 7: To the Dardanelles 33 8: Invasion Preparations 41 9: Gallipoli Landings 45 10: At Cape Helles 49 11: Back to Anzac 51 12: The Smyrna Patrol 56 13: The Suvla Landings 61 14: The Smyrna Patrol (Continued) 63 15: Sick Leave in Malta 67 16: Evacuation 69 17: Operations Against Smyrna 75 18: Report on Operations 82 19: Leaving for Home 85 APPENDICES 87 1: Canopus Officers 87 2: Heathcoat S. Grant – Obituary 89 3: The Cruise of HMS Canopus by Commander P.J. Stopford 92 4: Sources 103 5: Introduction to War Letters Vol. 2 104 6: Letters from War Letters Vol. 2 107 http://www.warletters.net Preface This material is published as a supplementary book to accompany the War Letters 1914–1918 series. It is also available as a free ebook in both Kindle and Epub formats from http://warletters.net. When researching material for the explanatory notes to accompany War Letters 1914– 1918, Vol. 2, based on the letters of Philip Malet de Carteret, a 16-year-old midshipman on HMS Canopus during the First World War, I came across a series of seven articles from 1923–1924 in the Naval Review written by Heathcoat S. Grant, the captain of the Canopus between 1914–1916. For the first two years of the war the Canopus had as eventful a time as any ship in the Royal Navy, being involved at Coronel, the Battle of the Falklands and the attempt to force the Dardanelles. As captain of the ship, Grant’s account, based on his service reports and diary, is a valuable source for those wanting to know more about such key naval events of the First World War. It has the added advantage of being highly readable. The report of his conversations with Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock sheds a valuable light on events at Coronel, while his description of the measures taken on land to defend the Falkland Islands details an important aspect of the battle often overlooked in accounts which focus primarily on the battle at sea. The Canopus also played a critical role at the Dardanelles, getting further up the Straits than any other Allied ship, and Grant’s sceptical perspective from inside the higher echelons of the Royal Navy adds further grist, if more were needed, to critics of the campaign. Later his account of the role of the navy in the Smyrna patrol and the subsequent operations against the Turkish coast following the evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula provide a fascinating view into this frequently forgotten aspect of the conflict. With the kind permission of the Naval Review, I have brought together all of Grant’s articles and reproduced them in a single volume to make them more easily accessible. I have also added the account given by Commander Philip J. Stopford of the Canopus which also appeared in the Naval Review. Stopford’s account is much shorter and considerably less interesting than Grant’s, but it does offer some additional insights. There are no notes to accompany the accounts given by Grant and Stopford, and therefore a some prior knowledge of the events mentioned is useful. For those wanting to know more, there are extensive notes to accompany the letters of Philip Malet de Carteret in War Letters 1914–1918, Vol. 2. Covering the same events described by Grant and Stopford, Philip’s letters describe events from the perspective of a 16-year-old midshipman. The wide-ranging notes presume no prior knowledge of events and almost all include direct links to a vast range of freely available online resources for naval history including official histories, ships’ logs, naval memoirs, maps, naval training manuals, and much more. Almost all the links to online resources in the notes are freely available to anyone with internet access. The main exception are the articles from the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, which is a subscription service. For British readers who hold a http://www.warletters.net public libraries lending card there should be free online access using your lending card number as most local libraries subscribe to the service. Short extracts from War Letters 1914–1918, Vol. 2 can be read at the end of this volume. More information about the series can be found at http://warletters.net. Mark Tanner Lancaster, 2014 http://www.warletters.net 1: From England to South America It was with somewhat mixed feelings that one commenced the journey from the north of Scotland to Devonport to join the old battleship Canopus, my war appointment. I had only lately arrived in England from the United States of America, where my appointment as naval attaché had expired, and was awaiting in the ordinary course my appointment to one of the then Home Fleet. The course of diplomatic conditions which brought on the war, however, determined differently, and it was not exhilarating to find that on the almost certainty of war with Germany, one would command an almost obsolete battleship of the Battle Squadron. On arriving on board things were very busy. Besides the necessary coal, stores, etc. required, there were many war conditions to be carried out. Among other things, this included the removal of as much woodwork and inflammable material as could be spared, including furniture. This did not conduce to comfort later as most carpets, cushions and cabin partitions had to disappear. In the rigorous climatic conditions afterwards experienced, these were badly missed. From the point of view of fighting efficiency, the armament of the Canopus consisted of four 12-inch and ten 6-inch. Her speed obtained at full speed trial, after the late manoeuvres, was approximately 15 knots, but owing to age and wear 12 knots was found her best for any consecutive steaming. The crew were composed of some active service petty officers and ratings but mostly of Royal Naval Reserve, Fleet Reserve and pensioners. The officers were principally of the Royal Navy, as heads of departments, and of the Royal Naval Reserve, as junior lieutenants, with a small number of Royal Naval Mids. Here I wish to pay them the tribute that in the whole of the commission, in all difficulties and active service experiences, no officers and men could have carried out their duty with more self-denial and devotion than without exception did the officers and men of the Canopus. The 8th Battle Squadron, to which Canopus belonged, assembled at Portland on August 1st, war being declared with Germany on August 4th. In the month of August the transport of the British military force to France commenced. Briefly, the Canopus’s duty with others of the 8th Battle Squadron, under the command of Vice- Admiral The Hon. Sir Alexander Bethell, was to patrol the Channel and to protect the military transports from attack by enemy craft while the military force was effecting its landing in France under destroyer escort. These operations were not without excitement as, with others, we were in constant expectation of an attack from enemy submarines, destroyers, or even larger craft. So it was with mixed feelings that in the uncertain light of early morning or evening and foggy weather one encountered our French ally’s destroyers and submarines. One misty morning it was most confidently reported that three enemy cruisers were standing directly for us, and their appearance was sufficient to warrant all hands being at their action stations until the doubtful craft were satisfactorily made out to be three of our own destroyers. However, the transport of all troops was safely effected without casualty. The various ships of the 8th Battle Squadron were now disposed by the Admiralty for different duties, and our existence as a squadron came to a close. http://www.warletters.net On August 22nd, 1914, Canopus with Albion, under the command of Rear- Admiral H. L. Tottenham, C.B., left for Gibraltar, but unfortunately soon after our departure we began to develop engine room defects which were later to give considerable cause for anxiety. The passage to Gibraltar was without incident except for the stopping of the steamer Zeelandia which on boarding was found to contain several Germans of military age.

Load more