Although the association of the Grand Fleet with Scapa Flow would of itself have given that hitherto almost unknown spot a peculiar and honourable significance in our naval history, it was undoubtedly the choice of Scapa as the place of internment of the German ships and their subsequent dramatic sinking, which made Scapa a familiar name, not only in this country but all over the world. The photographs which follow show the various phases of the German "occupation" of Scapa from the time that the vessels arrived for internment to the final scenes in March, 1920, when those vessels which had been salved after the scuttling in June, 1919, were finally towed south for distribution amongst the Allied Powers.

The first phase took place on 23rd November, 1918, and the succeeding days, when the surrendered ships were escorted from Rosyth to Scapa and anchored in the Flow, prior to taking up their permanent billets in Gutter Sound (previously the collier anchorage of the Fleet; see map on p. 110).

The ships arrived in the following order:

The German ships carried full navigating parties, and came north under their own steam. The dense clouds of smoke which will be observed in the photographs on pp. 102 and 103 testify to the poor quality of the coal with which they were supplied. The crews were later reduced to care and maintenance parties only.

The complete list of capital ships (apart from destroyers) interned at Scapa is shown below. The battleships "KÖnig" and "Baden," and cruiser "Dresden," were later arrivals.

During the period of their internment, communication between the German ships and our own Fleet was restricted to a minimum, and no one from our own ships was allowed on board the interned vessels unless on duty of an urgent nature. The Germans were required to victual and store their own ships from Germany, coal and water only being supplied locally. As German warships were not constructed for living aboard for long periods (the sailors being mostly accommodated in barracks when in harbour), the crews at Scapa must have had a rather unenviable time of it, though there was a certain element of poetic justice in interning them in the region where for so long our own Fleet had kept its lonely vigil. As one of their officers remarked in writing home and describing the bleakness and desolation of Scapa: "If the English have stood this for four years, they deserve to have won the war."

The German ships were patrolled by a number of drifters—a somewhat ignominious guard for the much-vaunted German Fleet.

The Germans' love of music was in evidence even at Scapa, and it was somewhat strange and at times rather pathetic to hear the unfamiliar strains of "Die Wacht am Rhein" and "Die Lorelei" rising from the German ships, some of which still retained their bands.

The anniversary of Jutland (31st May) was not forgotten, and most of the ships displayed bunting, on the pretext of drying their flags, as they were not allowed to fly their ensigns after Beatty's signal on the evening of the surrender at Rosyth. One of the ships prominently displayed a notice in English: "To-day we celebrate the German victory of the Battle of Jutland."

It was somewhat difficult, owing to the isolation of the German ships, to form an idea of the discipline which prevailed on board. It was evident that on most of the ships there were representatives of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Councils, as the members could be readily distinguished by their white armlets. Indeed, there is probably some truth in the report that when the German ships surrendered, the crews confidently expected that our ships, the crews of which they believed to be on the verge of mutiny and Bolshevism, would make common cause with them, and they must have been considerably surprised when Admiral Beatty refused to negotiate with the Council representatives. There were undoubtedly disturbances on some of the German ships whilst they were at Scapa, and it appears to have been due to a rather serious case of insubordination that Admiral Von Reuter, who was in command of the German ships, changed his flagship from the "Friedrich der Grosse" to the "Emden."

On the other hand, the simultaneous sinking of the German ships on 21st June, 1919, proved conclusively that a certain discipline still prevailed, for the scuttling was undoubtedly organised and carried out with (from the German point of view) very commendable precision and thoroughness.

The scuttling of the German ships on 21st June, 1919, has already been briefly referred to in the earlier part of the book, but as the writer was privileged to be an eyewitness of the events of that afternoon, the reader will perhaps pardon the intrusion of the personal element in a more detailed description of the sinkings.

It was at five minutes past noon that the signalmen reported that the German ships had hoisted ensigns and burgees. The excitement which this announcement produced was intensified a short time later when it became apparent that the ships were sinking, and that the crews were taking to the boats. Lunch was completely forgotten, and arrangements were hurriedly made to get all available small craft to the ships to ascertain if anything could be done to save any of them. I obtained permission from the Admiral to accompany him on an inspection of some of the nearer destroyers, from which it was ascertained that there was no possibility of saving any of the ships other than by beaching them, as the sea-cocks had not been only opened but the valves had been destroyed. Our picket-boat happened to come alongside at this stage, so I jumped aboard and proceeded north up Gutter Sound, where the larger vessels were anchored. Our instructions were to board any German vessels which were still afloat, haul down their ensigns, and to take such steps as were necessary to save life and to direct any boats or Carley floats of Germans to the Flagship. Our picket-boat followed the course shown in the sketch map on p. 110, and we reached the "Seydlitz" at about one o'clock, boarded her and hauled down her colours, and at the same time opened the windlass with a view to parting it and allowing the vessel to drift ashore, but unfortunately it brought up at the slip and held. The "Seydlitz" was then beginning to list heavily, so we left her and next boarded the "Hindenburg," which was also beginning to list heavily to port.

We then proceeded past several of the battleships, which were seen to be rapidly settling down. Whilst abreast of "KÖnig Albert," our picket-boat was hailed from the deck of a trawler by the German Admiral, Von Reuter, who asked us to save the crew of the "Bayern," who were in the water. Two drifters which were near by were accordingly ordered close to the "Bayern" for this purpose, and we proceeded in the same direction, when the photographs on pp. 112 and 113 were taken. Immediately afterwards the ship turned over to port, bottom up, and sank, whilst the crews of the boats cheered loudly and waved their caps.

We next headed for the "Derfflinger," on the way sending back several boats full of Germans to the "Victorious." The "Derfflinger" foundered a few minutes after taking the photograph on p. 24. On the way back we passed the "Hindenburg," which had then settled on to an even keel with her masts and funnels showing, whilst the "Seydlitz" was then resting in shallow water on her starboard side, with her decks nearly vertical, and her port propeller just showing above the water.

Meantime a considerable number of the destroyers had been beached by tugs and other small craft, in addition to three cruisers, whilst the "Baden," the only battleship saved, was still afloat, though very low in the water.

On arrival on the "Victorious" we found the ship crowded with Germans, who, after examination, were sent to the Flagship, H.M.S. "Revenge"—which had by this time returned to the Flow from the Pentland, where the 1st Battle Squadron had been exercising—from which ship they were sent south.

A large amount of salvage work ensued on the vessels which had been beached, most of them being pumped out and docked in the Floating Dock, although it was not found possible to get some of the destroyers off, and these still remain as a memento of that eventful day.

All the salved ex-German ships have now been towed south, and have been apportioned amongst the Allied Powers. It is interesting to note that the "Baden" and "Nurnberg," of which several photographs are shown in the following pages, have been allotted to Great Britain, whilst the "Emden" goes to France, and the "Frankfurt" to U.S.A. It appears that most of the salved vessels are to be broken up, thus finally disposing of the remnants of the once great German Fleet.

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