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[Page 29]
they set out for Sevastopol which port was reached three days later.
On January 3rd the flotilla having rendez-voused at Gibraltar, left that historic port en route for England. The public has already been informed of the terrible passage it had in getting there. That all the boats came through with but moderate structural damage reflects great credit on the hands and brains which built them.
Before concluding these articles on the Australian Flotilla's work in War Time, I feel that they should not be completed did I not say a word or two about the men who manned and worked in fair weather and foul these diminutive craft.
At the time of writing these concluding lines, Lord Jellicoe is with us and questions of naval importance are paramount. A lot has been said about the Australian's aversion to discipline and his callous attitude toward constituted authority, among the military and, for all I know to the contrary this might be true though Gallipoli etc., is hardly an argument in its favour. At the same time I would like to inform these critics that given the right officers - and your Australian Blue-Jacket doesn't care two hoots whether the Officer writes R.N. after his name or R.A.N. so long as he has proved himself a man to have faith and trust in - the Australian seaman, in intelligence, initiative, in resource and seaman-like qualities is equal to any in the world. As for discipline, speaking from five years war experience of service in the T.B.D. of this country - ships in which an officer and man speedily come to know each other - I have no hesitation in saying that the Aussie sailor knows, appreciates and responds to the discipline which has made the Navy what it is today, not a whit less than his forbears of Nelson or Drake.
I grant you that he may not always stand at attention while addressing an officer, he may omit to salute on many occasions and will possibly refer to his officers by pet names but in the really vital matters, in the things that count when men's lives hang in the promptness in which an order is obeyed it is then that one has learnt to appreciate the quick and cheerful response whatever the risk to themselves inherent in the men who comprise the lower deck of Australia's Navy today.