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[Page 51]
1914
engaged 3 of our ships somewhere in the vicinity of Valparaiso, in Chile, sinking tow & damaging the remainder. Now we knew where the enemy was for certain, over 5000 miles away, so we retraced our steps to Suva & arrived there on a
Nov. 7.
Saturday morning, immediately filling up with coal on our arrival.
Nov. 8
The next day at midday we left for Fanning Island accompanied by the fast collier "Mallena". Fanning Island is a small island about 3° North of the Equator, & almost directly South of Honilulu. It is a cable station for the Canadian - Australian cable, & it had been visited at the end of August by the German cruiser "Nurnberg", which approached flying the French flag. Having lowered a boat, she had armed men hidden under the thwarts, & flying a French flag, pulled in to the landing place. Here the cable officials came to welcome whom they thought to be allies, & found to their consternation that they were suddenly under an armed escort on their way to the cable station. Arrived here, the Germans blew up the cable instruments, & took away £800 in cash. The cable was then cut & the end was towed out to sea. We were to receive further orders from the Admiralty on reaching Fanning Island. Our departure from Suva was, no doubt, connected with the fact that our ships had encountered the German cruisers off South America. The strange experience of moving back one whole day in the calender was gone through on passing