Iles war diary, 1914-1919 / G. H. Iles - Page 212
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[Page 212]
is not a man in the service who fears death but such a death as this is heartrending – Very speedily divers were brought to the scene and descended to the depth of horror with a view of marking the bow and stern position of the vessel with floating buoys, - and from hearsay the sight that met the eyes of the divers was beyond belief, - men were still lying in their hammocks as if sleeping, just as they were doing at the time of the explosion, - and it so effected one of the divers that he eventually became mad, and this incident naturally put the fear into the minds of many other divers - that of course is as we heard it, but at the same time it is a well known fact that whenever a diver may come in the precincts of a dead body it is drawn towards him, this of course appears a paradox, but there it is, as the diver moves one way or another so the body follows after – well we were very soon able to see the position of the ill fated "Vanguard" on the bottom by the mark buoys. It must be narrated that the crew of the picket