Item 01: Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett diary, 1915-1917 - Page 74

[Page 74]

came to the Commander and said "Beg pardon, Sir, the "Triumph" is listing". I rushed on deck, where all the officers bad assembled including the Admiral, and there sure enough, off Gaba Tepe lay the unfortunate battleship with a heavy list,.Destroyers were rushing to her assistance almost covering the horizon with the dense columns of black smoke thrown out by their funnels. Fortunately there was a trawler very near the "Triumph" which steamed in close to take off her crew. The battleship hung at an angle for eight minutes, and then turned bottom up, floating in this position for 20 minutes. The sea being calm and most of the crew being provided with patent waistcoats the loss of life was small. She was struck by two torpedos, which either passed underneath or went right through her net. It was a dramatic moment on the "Swiftsure" watching her go down.

The Admiral and all the officers stood at the salute or with their hats in their hands as she made her final plunge, diappearing beneath the waves in a cloud ol smoke and steam. Admiral Nicholson then turned on his heel, closed his telescope with a snap and turning to the officers present said "Gentlemen, the "Triumph has gone." We all realised how it might have been our turn that very morning, when the same submarine rose within 300 yards of us. What was going to happen now, everybody asked. Were we to lie off the coast, exposed to the enemy attack until we were torpedoed one after the other, or were we to take shelter and leave the Army to look after itself? At 3. 30 Admiral Nicholson suddenly announced that he was going to transfer his flag to the "Majestic" which had nets and was the oldest battleship at the Dardanelles, and that the "Swiftsure" would return that afternoon to Mudros. I went to him and asked him if he would take me along with him to his new flagship, as naturally I was obliged to