Todd war diary, 3 August 1914-29 February 1916 / Arthur Todd - Page 112
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[Page 112]
to keep the seas too long she had called the game off and now lies impotent in a neutral Harbour.
One learnt that her crew had been practically starving for weeks and had developed beri-beri from the rice which had been almost their sole article of food and the ship just made neutral waters on her last knob of coal.
With the departure of the Kronprinz from the High Seas went the last German naval ensign flying outside Kiel [German naval port] and for the moment the Sydney's work was done.
One of course was sorry to have missed an action but in a way it would have been poor sport to stand off and blow out of the water a badly crippled merchantman which even in her best days could not have fought a cruiser with any chance of success.
However we may hate the Hun and condemn the arrival of von Tirpitz and the German Admiralty, which propagated frightfulness at sea one cannot but admire the thoroughness and devotion with which their ships on foreign service carried out their task.
Perhaps not much can be said of a service which wrought the destruction of the Lusitania and chortled with joy at the scuttling of hapless hospital ships but one must admit that the exiguous German fleets abroad did us damage in full and ample measure, and in bravery, professional skill and tenacity lived up to the best traditions of the Royal Navy, than which there is no greater praise. The news of the Kronprinz came at midnight on the 13th April and the writer was awakened by the Navigator rushing down from the bridge and shouting "Commander Commander, the Kronprinz has gone & we are off to St Lucia".
What a relief! The weary days of chasing rumours