Memoirs of J.H. Gill

To Vox Adelaide Published in Adelaide Advertiser 1958 April 2d 1958

Lieut.-Commander J.H. Gill, R.A.N. (Retd.), of Cronulla, N.S.W., was born at Port Adelaide on 29th October, 1879, son of J.H. Gill, master mariner and fisherman. He was educated at Stansbury Public School on Yorke's Peninsula (S.A.), and at the age of 14 joined his father's fishing cutter (sail only) as one of the crew of three. In July, 1898, while still serving in the fishing fleet, he joined the South Australian Naval Reserve as an ordinary seaman. "We were called up for training for one month annually, two weeks of which were spent at sea in the South Australian reserve ship "Protector" (armament, one 8 - inch gun and five 6 - inch guns)," I think this little ship (920 tons) was one of the wettest ships of my time. At sea her decks were awash in moderate weather."

In 1900, when the Boxer rebellion broke out in China, the South Australian Government lent the "Protector" to the Admiralty. She sailed for China with 96 officers and men in August of that year, under the command of Captain W.R. Creswell (later Vice-Admiral Sir William Creswell, First Naval Member of the Australian Naval Board). Now an able seaman, I was a member of the crew. The "Protector" was employed almost entirely in the Gulf of Pechili, carrying despatches and doing survey work. On 24th November, 1900, she left Hong Kong for home; Creswell disembarked at Brisbane, to resume duty as naval commandant in Queensland, and Captain Clare brought her back to Adelaide, where the crew was paid off on 15th January, 1901.

I returned to the fishing fleet, relieving my father as master of the cutter "Dalrymple". I still did monthly drill with the naval reserve. Captain Clare was then harbour master of Port Adelaide and master of the lighthouse store-ship "Governor Musgrave"; at the end of each drill period he would select from the naval reservists the seamen for her next cruise to all the South Australian lighthouses.

The naval forces in the several states, and all persons whose employment was connected therewith, were transferred to the Commonwealth on 1st March, 1901, but until 28th February, 1904, were administered under the State Acts and regulations. On 1st March, 1904, theCommonwealth Defence Act of 1903 came into force. The ships taken over from the States, including the "Protector," were in poor condition and had not even nucleus crews - the natural result of ten years' unsystemised economies.

At Port Adelaide, in July, 1904, H.M.S. "Katoomba," a second-class British cruiser on the Australian station, was signing on Australian seamen and stokers under the terms of the Australian Naval Agreement Act 1903. I having now decided to join the navy full-time, went aboard the "Katoomba" on July 19th, accompanied by Captain Clare, and signed on as an ordinary seaman of the Royal Navy, my number being A.N.F.257. Within a month I was an able seaman, and in October, 1905, transferred to H.M.S. "Challenger."

[handwritten note adjacent to Para 2] (2 survivors only 1860 myself and Jock Gillis of Adelaide)

2.

In 1907 the first draft of these seamen and stokers went to England by passenger steamer; on arrival, each man decided what branch of the service he would like to follow in the R.N. As leading seaman, I was drafted to H.M.S "Excellent," the gunnery school at Whale Island, Portsmouth; I did my torpedo training in H.M.S. "Vernon," also at Portsmouth. At this period, recommendations for advancement could come only from a seagoing ship. Consequently, as each man completed a course of instruction, he would receive a draft-note for sea. At the end of 1907, I went to H.M.S. "King Edward VII," the flagship of the Channel Fleet (commanded by Admiral Lord Charles Beresford).

"We had many cruises around England, and to Norway and Sweden. Captain Sturdee - subsequently our Admiral, of Benbow," at Jutland - was then staff officer to Admiral Beresford . The lieutenant in charge of the boats was Lieutenant Royds (known to the ship's company as the "Polar Bear"), who had been a member of Captain R.F Scott's expedition to the Antartic in 1901. Royds put me, a leading seaman, coxwain of the steamboat, by taking out a petty officer. He would seldom report a seaman, but if he got close enough would give him a kick in the stern sheets with his sea-boot."

Each year the Channel Fleet carried out a gun-layer's test - a shoot of 6 - inch guns. The gun - crew of the ship obtaining the most hits got a small sum of prize money from the gunnery funds. "Our ship, "King Edward VII", had to average six hits per gun to beat the "Hibernia." The gun is loaded and at the half-cock, and when the target comes in sight projectiles and cartridges are readily available. Our turn came for the shoot - a target approximately 6ft. square, range not more than 3,000 yards. We commenced the run past the target ; perhaps two six- inch guns would get off on a target run. We were below the average of six hits per gun; one minute only is allowed from the commencement to the cease fire. A private of marines, also a gun-layer, who had been in the captain's report for some misbehavior to an officer, had been tried and punishment awarded. He lost a good conduct badge, but the warrant for his punishment had not yet been read out to the ship's company of marines. His gun-crew closed up around the 6 - inch gun ready for the shoot. "Commence" sounded - the gun-layer fired - the crew put through fourteen rounds in one minute - and the layer hit the target twelve times! Our gunnery officer ran down from the bridge, gave the marine a golden sovereign, took him on to the bridge, and the captain gave him back his badge. "Hibernia's" total of hits per gun was beaten."

Another of my memories of "King Edward VII" was when the Channel Fleet was in Portland Bay (Weymouth). The admiralty had ordered, "Some kind of inspection," and each ship was busy cleaning paint-work and polishing brass. The cruiser "Argyle" was out in Weymouth Bay carrying out sub calibre practice when Captain Percy Scott, of H.M.S "Good Hope", made the following signal:

3.

"Captain to Captain. You had better come in and make yourself look pretty, as paint-work appears more important than gunnery." "Fireworks started " when Charlie Beresford's signal officer showed him the signal log.

At the end of 1908 I received my next recommendation for advancement - from seaman gunner to qualify as gun-layer 11 - and returned to "Excellent" at Portsmouth. I duly qualified also as a gunnery instructor (later termed "Gunner's mate"). At that time not many leading seaman were gunnery instructors.

In November, 1909, I left England for Australia, taking passage in H.M.S. "Terrible" as far as Colombo", and thence in H.M.S "Powerful," the flag - ship of the Australian station. On joining H.M.S "Psyche", at Port Melbourne in March, 1910, I received a setback, for the little cruiser already had her complement of two gunner's mates. As I was only a leading seaman, I was appointed "captainof the fo-c-sle"; but on pointing out to the commander that King's Regulations did not allow of a gunner's mate being employed on other than instructor's duties, I was eventually set to H.M.S "Challenger". While I was in "Psyche", a call had been made for volunteers to go to England, and five months after joining "Challenger" my name appeared on the notice board along with those of others selected. The volunteers sailed from Sydney in December, 1910, in H.M.S. "Gibraltar", which had brought from England a relief crew for the "Challenger" and was taking back the latter's paid-off crew.

Between Sydney and Fremantle a message was recieved by the commander of the "Gibraltar" notifying hiim that I had been promoted petty officer 1st class; so, on returning to H.M.S "Excellent" I was appointed staff instructor in the heavy gun battery. At Portsmouth I qualified as gun - layer 1st class - which made me "petty officer 1st class, gun layer 1st class," the highest rank a seaman wearing a blue collar can hold as a lower - deck rating.

I remained at the Portsmouth gunnery school until January, 1913, when I joined our newly-finished battle- cruiser "Australia", having stood by her with her gunnery officer Lieut.-Commader F.C. Darley (killed in China in September, 1926), from the time when she completed her gun trials. On 1st January, 1913 the A.N.F. became the R.A.N. as we know it to-day. I transferred to the R.A.N on board H.M.S. "Victory" at Portsmouth, shortly after I had taken through the gunnery school at "Excellent" the first class of Australian and New Zealand seaman qualifying for "Seaman gunner".

4.

While in "Australia", which arrived in Sydney Harbour in October, 1913, I was gunner's mate and gun-layer of "Q" turret. After passing my seamanship examination for warrant rank three months later, I was on my way back to England in the liner "Geolong" this time to qualify for Gunner G.

Shortly after joining the class at Portsmouth gunnery school, I was taken out to train Turkish naval officers who had come to England to commission two new battleships that were almost ready for sea. The young Turks had raised by public subscription thefunds for the building of these ships, with the intention of taking back the islands of Lemnos, Imbros, and Mitylene, seized by the Greeks in 1912. However, with rumors of a European war increasing, the instruction of the Turkish officers suddenly came to an end, and they returned to Turkey shortly before August 4th. The British Government exercised its right of premption and bought the Turkish battleships, naming them "Agincourt" and "Erin"; both joined the battle fleet at Scapa Flow, and took part in the Battle of Jutland.

The weeks before and after the outbreak of war were hectic ones indeed. "Men in reserves, fleet reserves, R.N.R. and R.N.V.R. were called up, and consequently all depots were soon unable to handle so many men, particularly at the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, had cancelled the demobilisation of the Fleet; andmany of our staff instructors had not returned to the gunnery school. One morning I was detailed to take charge of 120 men, all of whom who belonged either to the fleet reserve, R.N.R. or R.N.V.R. They were elderly andavery hard mixture. One I particularly remember was the manager of a West African gold mine, formerly an able seaman in the R.N.R., who happened to be in England on a holiday. Another, master of a cross-Channel ferry steamer, also came up as an A.B. My instructions were to kit them up and train them around 4.7 - inch guns; each man was picked out and trained for one number only, and was told that when he got to his ship he was to inform the officer in charge of guns that he was only a gun-layer, a breech worker, or other number of a gun-crew, as the case may be, and that he could do no other job at the gun. The ship in question was the armed merchant cruiser "Carmania," which fitted out at Liverpool. On September 14th she fought and sunk the German raider "Cap Trafalgar" in the South Atlantic. The action lasted all day and the "Carmania" herself was badly knocked about.

"My next instructions placed me on draft as a gunner's mate G.L.1, to join the battleship "Glory." (I have not yet sighted the "Glory", and I don't believe the gunnery school at that date knew just where the "Glory"was). I was sent to Scapa Flow, and arrived there in one of the first drafts to go north. At Invergordgon and Thurso no one could or would say where the Fleet was.

5.

I crossed from Thurso to Scapa by a small ferry steamer. The fleet has disappeared. We were accommodated in a repair ship, already overcrowded. When the fleet returned I was sent to the flagship, "Iron Duke", but was still looking for the "Glory". I was then informed that "Glory" was on patrol outside New York, and that, as I was a G.L.1, I would remain with the battle fleet. After making a few trips into the North Sea in "Iron Duke', I was suddenly landed at midnight in Rosyth dockyard, with instructions to return to "Excellent" at Portsmouth. On arrival, I found I had been recalled from the "Glory" and was again on draft; also that my name had been forwarded to the Admiralty for promotion to director gunner (warrant rank). I was to get measured for my uniform in Portsmouth, then proceed to Plymouth and join the "Benbow". I was told to watch the press for the date of my promotion. I carried out my instructions, and joined "Benbow" as petty officer on 15th October, 1914. My promotion to director gunner reached the ship on the 17th; my uniform arrived about seven days later. I was the third director gunner promoted from the Portsmouth gunnery school, the other two being appointed previously to the "Iron Duke". Director firing was then new and was installed only in capital ships; so I grew up with director firing."

When H.M.A.S. "Australia" was launched at John Brown's yard at Clydebank in 1911, H.M.S, "Benbow" was being built at Beardmore's, also on the Clyde. Little did I then realise that "Benbow" was to be my home for over four years during the First World War.

While serving in her, the gunner (a senior warrant officer) became ill and was sent to hospital. The gunnery officer gave me the gunner's job. I had now to look after all the ship's ammunition as well as carry out my director's duties, and this was considerable in a first-class ship with five 13.5-inch turrets besides twelve 6-inch guns and H.A. guns, etc. Now, being a store-keeping officer with books and all kinds of records on my charge, I was allotted a cabin until a new gunner was appointed to the ship. Cabin accommodation was never available to many at sea - I have seen 2 1/2 ring officers sleeping in hammocks."

Another of my "Benbow" recollections has to do with Commander [handwritten an Australian] T.W. Biddlecombe, R.A.N., who joined the battleship as an "additional" after commanding the H.M.A.S. "Pioneer" in East African waters. Biddlecombe wanted the Admiralty to give him another command, and it was not very long before he left "Benbow". Some time later I was going the rounds of our turrets when I overheard a story by a corporal of marines who had just joined us. This corporal was a survivor from the Q-boat which had been sunk by a German submarine in April, 1917. I asked him what had happened to the commander, because at that time the German submarines were taking prisoner all officers. It was then that I learned that the Commander of his Q-boat was Biddlecombe, who was last seen in the wheelhouse and went down with the ship.