Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 41]
1914
week. It was practically certain now that the missing submarine AE1 had foundered with all hands, but exactly in what manner nobody knew. She carried a crew of 35. Not a trace of her could be found. Some said that she had been sunk by a German motor boat which had a gun mounted, & some colour was lent to this theory by the fact that a motor boat was found burning on the beach 60 miles down the coast, & which had a small gun with ammunition, with one empty cartridge case. She had apparently been beached, then burnt & abandoned. This story was, in all probability, purely fictitious. The general opinion, however, was that the submarine had foundered while diving. All the boats in the harbour were now flying the British white ensign, and the Governors yacht was being used as a dispatch boat by one of our officers who had been installed as harbourmaster at Simpsonhafen. It was amusing to see the British tars managing a ship which had German written on everything. The man who controlled the engines could not read the telegraph, nor could the man on the bridge. However, in spite of these trivial difficulties they managed to push along all right. A little news had filtered through from Europe, & it was a great satisfaction to hear that the British troops were doing well on the Continent. The natives took the British occupation very philosophically. Many of them were employed on the motor boats which we had taken over.