Iles war diary, 1914-1919 / G. H. Iles - Page 20
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[Page 20]
to sea at 11 A.M. whilst the S.S. Saint Antonio came alongside of us and replenished our fresh water tanks.
at 3 PM the "Montcalm" returned to her anchorage - she had every appearance of being a fine fighting ship, she was bristling with guns, and she was one of the "bonde" class of armoured cruisers and altho she had every appearance of a fine formidable weapon of war, she was outmatched by and incomparable to the Australia.
Tugs were standing by transport on the reef she was firmly held, but being a soft bed, it was hoped to refloat "Monowai" at high tide, but ultimately this did not prove successful, and so preparations were hastily made to float her off during the night at all costs, as further delay in our plans, may have caused less favourable results to the expedition, and everyone of us taking part in in such were fidgeting to get on with the god work, so during the evening, mails were despatched, and our band played lively airs on deck to our amusement