by the patrol and minesweeping services during the year 1917 without

ted for regular minesweeping work, and the crews of the trawlers formed a part of what was known as the "Trawler Reserve." Other trawlers, exceeding eighty in number, became, however, almost immediately available at the outbr

e necessary. The matter was handled energetically by the Admiralty at the time, and by the end of 1914 over 700 vessels (yachts, trawlers and drifter

ty of them manned by fishermen or men of the R.N.R. or R.N.V.R. and officered by trawler or drifter skip

areas for purposes of patrol and minesweeping, and each area was unde

delimitation of the areas during the war, and the chart may therefore be considered generally re

ters around the United Kingdom, and the waters of the

tually appropriated to various areas is given on the next page i

IARY PATROLS I

--------------------

nce Drift

-------------------

ence Tra

-------------------

Paddler

------------------

rew Mineswee

------------------

oats. |

------------------

fters. |

-----------------

fters. |

-----------------

ers. | |

----------------

hes. | | |

-------------+

| | | | |

---------+ | |

| | | | |

------+ | | |

| | | | |

+---+---+---+---+---

| | | | | |

| | | |

| 6| 22| 2|1

15| 72|112| 6

12| 10| 3| |

| 8| 12| 1|

24| 9| 14|14|

| 16| 25| |

| 6| 25| 1| 4

| 6| 27| |

| | 6| | 19

6| 28| | 2

33| 42| | |

| 31|101| |

| | 30| |

| 26| 22| 10|

5| 18| | |

2| 25| 2|

| | | |

| 37| | |

| | 19| 15|

| | 21| 19|

| 14| 41| |

6| 6| | |

| 8| 59| 2|

| 12| 13| |

| 16| | 5|

| 12| 68| 1|

6| 31| | |

| | | 11| 4|

| 8| | |

| 6| 4| |

| 16| 11| | 6

| | 6| 14| |

+---+---+---+---+---

Y PATROLS IN THE

+---+---+---+---+---

| 19| | |

| 42|116|

| 21| 25| |

| 18| | | |

| 17| 6| |

12| | | |

| 4| | |

11| | | |

+---+---+---+---+---

84. Of this number 473 were in the Mediterranean, 824 were in the English Channel between The Nore and Falmouth, 557 were in Irish waters or on the we

almost entirely of an anti-sub

e were engaged in minesweeping duties, or in patrolling swept channels. At Fleet bases a small number were required to attend on the ships of the Fleet, and to assist in the work of the base. The whalers, being faster vessels than the trawlers, were mostly engaged on escort duty or on patrol. The motor launches were employed for anti-submarine work, fi

d East Coast trade passed, and those in the Channel frequented by the vessels employed in the French coal trade. The majority of these ships were of comparatively slow speed, and trawlers possessed sufficient speed to accompany them, but a few

, but a consideration of the characteristics of a submarine and of the great volume of traffic passing up a

nothing short of an immense number of small craft could deal satisfactorily with the situation, and afford any degree of protection to trade. Minelaying by submarines was a particularly difficult problem with which to deal; the enemy frequently changed his methods, and such changes when discovered involved alterations in our own procedure. Thus for some time after the commencement of minelaying by submarines, the whole of the mines of one submarine would be laid in a comparatively small area. It was fairly easy to deal with this method as a dangerous area was proclaimed round the spot where a mine was discovered, and experience soon showed the necessary extent of area to proclaim. Later the submarines laid mines in groups of about six. This necessitated the proclamation of more than one area, and was naturally a more difficult problem. At a further

nd it greatly simplified the work of the patrol craft and minesweepers; the only precautions possible lay in the use of alternative marked channels, and in the laying of defensive deep minefields outside the channel in which enemy submarines might compass their own destruction. As rapidly as our supply of mines admitted, this latter d

had to deal having now been stated, it remains to speak of

ft. No words of mine can adequately convey the intense admiration which I felt, and which I know was shared by the whole Navy, for the manner in which their arduous and perilous work was carried out. These fine seamen, though quite strange to the hazardous work which they were called u

of many others, which I cannot forbear from mentioni

and Millie were attacked by gunfire by a German subm

tion stations. The third shot from the submarine pierced the trawler's bows, and, having established the ra

mas Crisp, D.S.C., R.N.R., taking off bo

ons to the mate, who was his son, to send a message by carrier pigeon to the senior officer

ring the gun to bear. As she was then on the point of sinking the mate decided to abandon her and take to the boat, and begged his f

ter consultation, to leave him where he lay. Accordingly, yielding to his reiterated order to abandon the

the Ethel and Millie, and having eventually sunk her, ma

ed by a man-of-war after being in

-inch guns. The drifters were, of course, quite unable to defend themselves. Nevertheless the indomitable skipper, I. Watt, of the drifter Gowan Lea, when summoned to surrender by an Austrian light cruiser which was firing at his craft, shouted defiance,

y individual instances of work gallantly performed; it is much to be hoped that before recollection fades, those who ca

reas, would be impossible, and it may seem invidious to mention names at all; but I cannot forbear to speak of some of those with whom I came most frequently into contact during 1917. Sir James Startin, K.C.B., who was the life and soul of the patrols and minesweepers working from Granton, was frequently at sea in decoy ships fitted out there, as well as in minesweepers, etc., and together with his son won the Albert Medal for saving life during the war; Admiral J.L. Marx, C.B., D.S.O., served also in a decoy ship; Admiral John Denison, D.S.O., was in charge first at Falmouth and later at Kingstown; Admiral T.P. Walker, D.S.O., had his yacht sunk under him; Admiral Sir Charles Dare, K.C.M.G., C.B., won great distinction in command of the patrols, etc., working from Milford Haven; and Rear-Admiral C.H. Simpson's P

udged by quoting a few figures for 1917, during which year the mine menace attained its ma

average number of mines s

the following numbers of

uar

uary

ch

il

y

ne

ly

ust

embe

obe

mber

mber

age per month i

or the later months. This decrease was due to the fact that the extension of anti-submarine measures was beginning to take effec

e greatest possible credit is due to the personnel of that service for the

ptain Lionel G. Preston, C.B.; he had succeeded to the post of Head of the Minesweeping Service early in 1917, after two and a half years of strenuous and most successf

rs were also fitted for minesweeping in addition to the trawlers hitherto employed; and although there was some prejudice against these vessels on account of their slower speed, t

1917 (a total of 100 extra vessels being ordered), the number completed during that year was only sixteen, together with a single paddle sweeper. Consequently we were dependent for the largely increased work on improvised craft, and the very g

since they were easier to locate and destroy than submarines working farther afield. By the commencement of 1918 the average number of mines swept up monthly showed a very remarkable decrease, the average for the firs

e complete without figures showing the dama

gures rose to ten per month. For the second six months of 1917 the figures fell to four per month, a reduction even on the losses towards the end of 1916, in

maged by mines, which during the first six months of 19

through the area it naturally came in for a great deal of minelaying attention. Out of some 2,400 mines swept up in the first half of 1917, over 800 came from Area 10 alone. The greatest number of casualties to merchant ships from mines during thi

odes of the Naval part of the Great War, and content myself to mention only one case, that of the trawler Grand Duke, working in the Milford area in May, 1917. In this instance a flotilla of minesweepers was employed in sweeping when two mines exploded in the sweep towed by the second pair of minesweeping trawlers in the flotilla. The wire parted and one of the two trawlers proceeded to heave in the "kite," the contrivance employed to keep the sweep at the required depth. When hove short up it was discovered that a mine was foul of the wi

oned trawler, and disregarding the imminent probability of an explosion caused by the contact of the ship and the mine, cut the sweep an

and minesweeping vessels between the commencement of the war and the end of 1917 due (1) to enemy act

ters, and 10 paddle minesweepers; and the losses due to navigational risks were 5 yachts, 55 trawlers, 7 motor launch