YOUNG BERMUDIAN ON SERVICE
EXTRACTS FROM A DIARY
The following extracts from the diary of Mr. Edmund Tucker, son of the Rev, Arthur T. Tucker, of St. George's, have been forwarded to us. They should prove of very great interest to all Bermudians. This promising young man was one of a number of Bermudians who voluntered for service. He is atached to the Canadian contingent.
S.S. "MEGANTIC"
29 hours out from Cape Gaspe,
and 20 miles off Cape Ray, Nfld.,
Oct. 4, 1914.
If I don't start this letter we'll be across and I'll have no time then. I have worlds of news to tell you. From our position in the Quebec harbour we steamed about 10:30 Wednesday night, Sept. 30, bound none knew where. The only other ships which had not already left were the "Arcadian" and "Caribbean".
At 8:30 next morning found us off Father Point, and the mate told me we were passing within 30 yards of the scene of the Empress of Ireland wreck. Another place I never dreamt I would ever see. We are now making 16 and 17 knots, and are fast overtaking the troopers which left earlier in the day. About dusk we passed the Salonia. She signalled her name to us. All portholes are closed. No lights whatsever except the headlight. About 7 p.m. while the other ships, six or seven of them, were hugging the shore, we kept twice as far out, and about 9 p.m. slowed down which we know well as Cape Gaspe. In a few minutes or half an hour while all of us were wondering what next was going to happen, a cruiser appeared in the distance coming from the bend iof the Cape. She signalled to our captain to anchor for the night and some more orders which we could read as plainly as could he. It's no use sending messages we can see for we can read almost any reasonable speed.( I am writing in the second class dining room which has been turned into a smoker. At the piano are gathered a crowd singing the Holy City.) The place is pretty full of smoke. In another corner a bunch are singing rag time songs, another cards, some writing letters, and at my side an ambulance fellow showing his comrade first aid, etc. It's some crowd!
During the night we must have crept round the Cape, for when I woke up we were one of a line of troopers and to our left were two other lines, to our right were four cruisers, two of them are Eclipse and Dido, all are two funnelled 3rd class small and mounting nothing over a 6-inch gun.
We are in as perfect a concealed harbour as one would wish. I wonder if either of the little towns on the shore is the town of Gaspe, mother's. Anyway, I would not be surprised if you and Grandma and Grandpa have not at some time been sailing over or seen the exact place where we are all moored. It's in a horse shoe shape and at the mouth is a cruiser patrolling, and another relieves it every 24 hours. In our rear is the Ruthenia, in her rear the Bermudian.
The Bermudian looks like a toy boat alongside nearly all of us. She's all grey now which makes her look smaller but I couldn't believe she could look so small. She is 11,000 tons and we are 15,00. All these boats had been here days before us, and some we overhauled came in in the night. Each are met by the cruiser and given the berthing No. as the harbour was all numbered by bouys, and an officer put on each ship to take her to her position. As far as one can see into the bay are ships. Among them is the Canada with Lincolns and their wives on board. They must be tired of waiting for us.
All day we exchanged signals with the ships around us. I called up the Royal Edward and asked her to call up the Bermudian, as I could not see her very well, and tell her a Bermudian on the Megantic wanted to speak to her, but I did not get any call from her. The clocks were set forward an hour at noon to-day; it must be a surprise this morning to all the fishermen and inhabitants in here to find nearly forty liners and men-o'-war (they are playing now "Unto The Hills around") my favourite hymn) All day they have been coming round the boats in motor boats all togged up to beat the band, old men and women in their best. As soon as they leave they go below to escape the cold wind then come up when near the next. The girls on board get an enormous ovation from the fellows on deck, who flock to the side and nearly jump overboard trying to call to them. Orders are up that no communication, letters or otherwise will be allowed from now on, so you won't hear anything till you get this. I am on watch on the after bridge eight to twelve tonight, and eight to twelve tomorrow morning.
Sat. 3rd-No message can be sent to any ship to-day and on except it is signed by the captain of the ship. Each section of the three Regts. aboard have been allotted their parade decks to assemble at when the alarm for fire, collision or general alarm is sounded, and also life boats are allotted them, a signaller is given to each boat. One practice alarm was sounded last night, and each man was there in a remarkably short time with his life belt around him. During the day two troopers have come on, the two we left at Quebec. So we are all here now, thirty all told, and four cruisers, and the little gunboat "Canada". Last night we picked up a message the H.M.C.S. "Eclipse" was sending to the "Caribbean", giving her the deuce said "you were calling us up using your wireless, which is strictly against orders". We could hardly see the Eclipse lamp but we read that anyway, and the message was brought way, and the message we caught was that we were sailing at 3 p.m. next day. Of course all this was kept secret and at 3 p.m. the three cruisers steamed up in the lead of each line, and weighing anchor, on the dot of 3 the last move began of our going across to England.
The Megantic had the honour of being in the lead of No. 1 line, to our stern 600 feet away comes the Ruthenia, the same distance behind her the Bermudian. I am glad to see her there, it seems like a bit of home, and she has done fine to be No. 3 of her line.
It was too late last night when I started to write this, but instead took a walk on deck till first post, then slept to a quarter to eight. There was some excitement yesterday. We saw the Royal Edward, the3rd boat in the second line, sheer out steam in the opposite direction. Later word was signalled us they had a soldier fall overboard. The lifeboat of the troopship behind her I heard picked him up. I have not heard if he lived or no, but will before we get across. It happened about noon. His name was Nichols. I don't know what regiment he belonged to. It was quite stormy yesterday, nothing worthwhile noticing though. The Ruthenia--the boat to stern of us keeps coming up very near our stern. Our captain had to report it to the Admiral on the Eclipse, and he sent back a warning message to be transmitted right down the Fleet. We are not allowed to call up any boat, only messages marked signalled by the Admiral are to be sent. Everyday the flagship received the latest news from the front by her wireless (all wireless equipment on every ship of the fleet except the escorts are dismantled) and she sends it every day about 9 a.m. and it is some message to receive too, anything from 200 to 300 words, and more some days. As yet I have only been on the stern bridge, so have only to send it to the Ruthenia, where as the boys from the forward bridge have to read it from the flagship. Sunday morning the message we had to send, there was a strong wind in our faces, which made Morse sending hard, so we had to use the Semaphore with two flags. They were very bad readers on the Ruthenia and lots of words I had to send three or four times, before they got it. There were two other chaps with me and it was pretty cold on the hands, so we split up the message taking a third apiece. I have not been on watch today, so escaped it. We have not any other message to send save the war one very often all day , but a constant watch has to be kept on the Ruthenia. About 5 p.m. yesterday a steamer came up on our port bow, and when hailed by the cruiser by flags and wireless she made no reply. The cruiser went after her. The last we saw was a stern chase out of site. We hear this morning since the cruiser came back it was a Donaldson liner from Glasgow taking us for a German fleet, and not having wireless she put it about and beat it. All kinds of surmises were discussed about her all last night. The battleships still accompanying us still keep just in sight on the southern horizon. The cruisers Eclipse, Diana, and Talbot and the one guarding the rear I don't know. We have six more signallers aded to our thirty odd now. Six from the Army Medical Corps, where they have been the last week I would like to know, but they will have to take their trick with us now on watch.
There was a sad incident on the Ruthenia this afternoon, when she signalled the flagship through us, a man had died on her. The answer back to her was to the effect to break out of the line a short distance, and get back as soon as possible, presently we watched her break out and with flag at half mast and engines stopped, in a second from under the Union Jack shot the poor chap to a watery grave. It must have made a sad crew of men on her that night.
Anyone worrying over our small escort of only four small 2nd class cruisers, we started with can rest assured we are well watched now as beside H.M.S. Glory still out on the horizon to south of us, are the H.M.S. Queen Mary (super dreadnought) on the horizon in front of us, and the H.M.S. Princess Royal on the north side of us. We can see her large guns and I can tell you woe to anything against her within this reach.
The Queen Mary and Princess Royal I might say are armed fore and aft with two 13.5 inch guns (judge the size when those huge guns on the St. David's fort are 9.2 inch.)
These two boats carry four 9.2 inch on either side, besides smaller guns.
Yesterday we sighted ahead of us a steamer, and soon we made out she was towing another. She turned out to be a huge oil tank, towing an oil barge, as large as she, and with six masts. The fore one acts as a funnel, and smoke was coming out of it away up in the air, and reminded me of the burning of the Lapwing, several years ago. Well these two boats belong to the line which leaves London twice a week for the states I hear. They make 16 to 17 knots an hour. It was very plain they intended steaming straight through our line, and sure enough they did, all of a suden the cruiser of No. 2 line turned about and chased her, but did not catch her till she had gone the length of the line, she must have spoken to her about coming through our line, and then the cruiser hustled back.