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[Page 9]
(cruiser) was lying at anchor in Valma Harbour within fifteen miles of our patrol ground having gone there to run her torpedoes.
At about 11. p.m. gun flashes were seen to the westward and shortly after the silhouettes of enemy ships were discerned. It was flat calm, cloudless with a half grown moon some thirty degrees above the western horizon. Acting under the orders afore mentioned the "Comet" turned eight points to port away from the enemy to the southward and the "Torrens" followed while the rear diving remaining sub-divisions were ordered to close and form up astern. The alarm gongs had often rung while on patrol or doing escort work but never yet in the middle of the night. It might be explained here for the uninitiated that alarm gongs are electric bells of high resonance fitted throughout the living quarters of every fighting ship in the British Navy at the outbreak of hostilities. They are actuated by a button under the immediate control of the officer of the Watch. Nothing short of a dead man would sleep through the ringing of one of those alarm gongs. In the dark hours and in daylight with submarines an ever possible menace it was necessary that some means should be devised to bring every soul in the ship in the least possible time to his action stations. Nothing more effective could have been devised than these gongs whose clamourous uproar are never to be denied except by those incapable of movement. Once the gongs have gone off it is as though the summons of the last trumps has been sounded. Asleep or awake men fly to their stations in whatever rig they many happen to be in at the time, picking up their clothes if they are turned in in their hammocks or bunks and putting them on as soon as they have a chance. Naturally under such conditions many humourous incidents are bound to occur.
On one occasion the captain of the "Torrens" was waiting to go into the bathroom. He was clad in a pink kimono only. The first lieutenant was in the bath clad only in soap. At that moment the alarm gongs sounded and the kimono clad captian and the soap covered first lieutenant dead heated on the bridge and engaged a submarine for half an hour or so in their respective garbs. Necessity knows no law, and even on destroyers one must bath given the opportunity and decent weather Fritz or no Fritz. After this digression let us return to the patrol.
Seeing that the enemy had no intention of following us south and that the "Jackal" and "Hornet" were heavily engaged with him, "Comet" and "Torrens" were still on their own so to speak, the next sub-divisions not yet