The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1917-12-29
BRITISH SKIPPER
HERO IN FIGHT
Though Morta|Iy Wounded, He
Refuses to Haul Down
the Flag,
GOES TO BOTTOM WITH ship
"l'm Done; Throw Books Overheard"
. He Says, and Orders the Crew to
Save Observation-Disclosures by
Prime Minister. -

LondOn.-The following, from the
Daily Telegraph, is story of unusual
heroism and the winning Of Victoria
Cross: =
In the speech in which he proposed
chat the thanks of parliament be &C.
corded to the nations heroes, the prime
minister spoke in glowing terms Of the
men Of the fishing fleets, and moved
the house to cheers as he told of a
trawler skipper who, with both legs
shot off and most Of his crew killed or
injured, refused to haul down the flag,
gave the order, Throw the confidential
books overheard, and throw me after
them,' and went down with his trawler.
The story thrilled the whole country
and now, in special supplement to the
London Gazette, comes the sequel. It
is announced that posthumous grant
Of the Victoria Cross has been made to
Skipper Thomas Crisp, r. N. r., 10,065,
D. A. CHILLED in action), and that the
Distinguished Service medal has been
awarded to Second Hand Thomas Will
liam Crisp, R. N. R., o. ~, 1882, D. A.
"These two men are father and son,
and the record of their brave deeds will
take foremost place even among the
many wonderful stories Of gallantry
which this war has produced.
Submarine Is Sighted.
ION an August afternoon, at about a
quarter to three, the trawl was shot
from the smack Nelson. The skipper
was below packing fish; one hand was
on deck cleaning fish for the next
mornings breakfast. Coming on deck,
Mr.. Crisp saw an object on the hori-
zon, examined it closely and sent for
his glasses. Almost directly he sang
out. Clear for action. Submarine He
had scarcely spoken when a shot fell
about hundred yards away on the
port bow. The motorman got to his
motor; the deckhand dropped his fish
and went to the ammunition room
while the other hands, at the shippers
orders, Let go your gear let go the
warp, and put dan on the end Of it.
Meanwhile the gunlayer held his
fire, until the skipper said, 1T is no use
waiting any longer, we will have to let
them have it, From the distance the
submarine sent shell after shell at the
smack, and at the fourth shot the shell
went through the port bow just below
the waterline.
"There was no confusion on board,
not even when the seventh shell struck
the skipper, passed through his side,
through the deck and out through the
side Of the ship. The second hand at
once took charge Of the tiller and the
firing continued. All the time water
was pouring into the ship and she was
sinking. One man, the gunlayer, went
to the skipper to see if he could render
first aid, but it was obvious that he was
mortally wounded.
tits all right, boy, do your BEST
said the skipper, and then, to the Sec
ond hand, Send message off, This
was the message: Nelson being at
tackled by submarine. Skipper killed.
Send assistance at once With the
ship sinking and only five rounds Of
ammunition left, the second hand went
to the skipper, who was lying there on
the deck, and-heard him say, Abandon
ship. Throw the books oxerboard.'
Down With His Vessel.
HE was asked then if they should
lift him into the boat, but his answer
was: Tom, I'm done; throw me over.
board he was in too bad a condition
to be moved, and they left him there
on his deck and took to the small boat,
and about quarter of an hour after
ward the Nelson went down by the
head.
1T was drawing into dusk as they
left and the crew of the boat pulled all
that night. Toward morning the wind
freshened and blew them out Of their
course. They pulled all day, fastening
a pair Of trousers and large piece Of
oilskin to two oars to attract attention.
Once vessel was sighted, and once a
group Of minesweepers, but they pass
ed out Of sight. At night the weather
became finer. Through the night they
pulled, until daybreak, and at half