On January 15, 1917, we left the base where we had spent Christmas and proceeded northward again, but nothing worthy of note occurred until some six weeks later. Then one day we were going to sea for manoeuvres, and soon after we had cleared the harbour some of us Snotties at the time variously occupied in the gunroom were startled by blasts from the siren.

We promptly rushed up on deck to find the ship rapidly altering course to port; at the same moment the forward 4-inch guns fired a salvo, and we saw the shells fall about 3000 yards away, just short of the conning-tower of a U-boat awash on the surface. Apparently until we fired she had been unaware of our approach, for she immediately submerged, and made no attempt to fire a torpedo at us.

Notwithstanding the fact that submarine warfare has become almost a commonplace of naval existence, the knowledge of the near presence of an invisible foe never fails to produce a considerable thrill and a tightening of the nerves, half hope and half apprehension. This doubtless is intensified in the case of those who have already been through the unpleasing experience of having their floating home sunk beneath their feet. In addition to my own midnight adventure in the Dardanelles on May 13, 1915, three of the others in the gunroom had already undergone that ordeal when the Hogue was torpedoed. However, this particular U-boat must have been suffering from nerves, for, so far as we know, she made no attempt to attack us. Perhaps the near presence of our watchful destroyers suggested to her that it was a case for discretion rather than for valour. Barring this incident manoeuvres on that occasion passed off uneventfully.

I regret that this chapter cannot justify its title. On mature consideration I have come to the conclusion that to dilate further on the very interesting subject of submarines would be indiscreet.

A week or two later the Vice-Admiral evolved a scheme for alleviating the monotony of our lives, and requested the C.-in-C.'s permission to send each division of his squadron over to the northern shore of the anchorage for three day's complete rest from routine and in order to provide officers and men with a chance of getting ashore.

Permission having been duly granted we anchored one evening, having previously dispatched a working party consisting of A.B.'s, carpenters, etc., to prepare a field in which to hold some athletic sports.

The next day dawned fine and clear. Owing to the flow of the Gulf Stream, the temperature in these latitudes is much warmer than dwellers in the south would imagine, and in this month of April 1917 we were certainly much more fortunate than our fellows in less northerly districts.

At 9 A.M. I landed in company with a Lieutenant and two other Snotties, and we decided to walk the eleven miles to the nearest township in preference to watching the sports. We reached our destination shortly after midday, somewhat footsore and weary from the unaccustomed exercise, but with fine appetites for lunch, which we had in a very decent little hotel much frequented in piping times of peace by ardent anglers. Later on we inspected the curious old distillery which is the chief object of interest in the town. Then we did some shopping, and started on our return tramp at about 2.30. We got back at 5, had an excellent tea at a farmhouse, and returned on board our ship at 7.30, feeling much the better for the change and exercise.

Next morning, to our great disgust, we were detailed to exchange some ammunition, which occupation took up all the forenoon and robbed us of time which could have been spent more pleasantly on the beach. However, by 1.30 I was free and went ashore with another Snotty. Close by was a high hill which had long been a painfully familiar landmark to us by reason of range-finding exercises, carried out, with the pole on its summit as object, while the ship steamed round the land-locked anchorage in endless monotonous circles. Up this hill we climbed, passing on our way little groups of officers or men lying about on its lower slopes, and smoking and chatting in the pale sunshine, the while they luxuriated in the brief change from shipboard: only a very few of them emulated our youthful energy and reached the top, from which a splendid view of our base and its surrounding islands was obtained.

As the afternoon wore on, various fires sprang up, resulting from the action of careless smokers, and these spread so rapidly that shortly after we got on board again a call came for volunteers to extinguish them, since it was feared that if damage to the countryside resulted, future "joy stunts" in that district would be prohibited. There was no lack of recruits forthcoming, for this was just such a job as the "matloe's" soul loves, as it gives him ample scope for the indulgence of his twin passions of dressing-up and roaring lusty and ribald choruses to popular tunes! To the dreamy melody of "Keep the' Ome Fires burning—I don't fink," the fire party embarked in the picket-boat with launch and cutter in tow, all chock-a-block with men of diverse ratings. Their costumes were varied and heterodox, and they were all heavily armed with broomsticks, swabs, etc., with which to combat the flames. When we reached the pier the men fell in, and Commander "T." who was in charge divided them into three parties and detailed one party to deal with each of the main outbreaks.

The party officered by Wilson, Laurence, and myself ran the first mile at breakneck speed, but the pace flagged when we got among the bogs at the bottom of the hill, for here every few yards we floundered up to our waists in mud and water. To our disgusted disappointment, when we arrived at our special objective it was only to find that we had been forestalled by a party from another ship and the fire was already out.

It was a weird scene: from all over the hill-side different parties were signalling with flash-lamps, and bursts of song came from every quarter. On the summit a group of men from H.M.S. —— were lustily yodelling "Life in the Alps," and altogether it was a fair old beano for the ships' companies engaged.

When all the fires had been adequately "strafed," we returned on board, an uncommonly dirty but very merry crew.

That night the gunroom was entertaining some officers from one of our submarines which happened to be alongside, and on our entry we were met by a fog of tobacco smoke you could have cut with a knife, and a chorus of song which made up in volume what it lacked in melody. Clamouring for instant drinks, we joined the throng, and only a few minutes later who should blow in but Commander ——, no less dirty and dishevelled than the rest of us. Evidently he had found the staid decorum of the wardroom little to his taste, and with that sublime indifference to his "exalted rank" which characterized him when "off duty," he joined in our gunroom "rag" with as much zest as the youngest Snotty—to whom, notwithstanding his decorations and three stripes, he was in point of age not more than a dozen years senior.

The uproar was at its height when the ship's corporal came to report in reproachful tones that "lock up" was long overdue, and I shall not easily forget his face of amazed dismay when he saw the Acting Commander (the Commander was away on leave) hobnobbing with the gunroom in democratic disregard of overwhelming seniority.