The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-12-27

Admiral Rodman's SooES. I The admiraPs yarn follows. just as he told 1t NO mention can be made of the Grand Fleet without our thoughts naturally turning to its .commanderin-chief. Admiral Sir David Beatty; a man of rare accom- plishments, g natural born, tried, trusted and gallant leader.
 ''Under him our combined forces operated, just as later all of the Allied armies were placed under the direction or command of Marshal lFoct,
 '.Ik fs-most gratifying to state that within Q very short time after join Ing, and after our first operations with the Grand Elect, we were as- agned to one of the two places of honor and importance in the battle line, We were known and desig- mated as the Sixth Battle Squadron As G. amatter of fact, when on one oc- casdon we came within a few miles of cutting of from its base and en- gagine the German fleet, the disposi- 4ion was such that the American battlashtp division would have been in
 
 the enemy not avoided action and taken refuge behind his defences, as usual, before we could catch him. i ''It was our policy to go after him every time he showed his nose out side of his ports: no matter when or where, whether in single ships, by divisions or his whole fleet, out we went, day or night, rain or shine (and IieYt1f I much less shine in the winter months), blow high or blow low, and chase him back in his hole.
 50 persistent was this performance on our part, so sure were we to get after him, that toward the end, he rarely ventured more than few miles from his base; immediately we would start after him, back he would go in his hole, and haul his hole in after him.
 Every inducement was offered him to come out. Inferior forces were sent down into the Heligoland Eight to induce him to attack; valuable conveys were dispatched, apparently without protection, and other de- vices to tempt him out, but he would not come.
  such expeditions, on every occasion, were well guarded, and we were ready to bounce on him with unseen forces had he attempted to take advantage of the seeming small forces of un- protected vessels
 Many Narrow Escapes
 'In our operations in the North Sea we were frequently attacked by submarines, and our battleships had numerous escapes, often only by prompt and skillful handling.
 'fOn one occasion a submarine, rammed the flagship New York, dent ed the bottom and demolished the star5oard propeller. But there is every reason t) believe that the blows from the propeller sank the subma- rine. En route to drydock, to make repairs and install a new propeller, three torpedoes in rapid succession were fired at her by hostile subma- rines, but again she avoided them by clever manoeuvring and escaped.
 "Once when guarding or support ing a convoy of 30 6r 40 vessels on the coast of Norway in midwinter, a bunch of hostile subs fired six tor pedoes at us. Again only our vigi- lance and instantaneous manoeuvring saved us, but by very close margin. There were still other attacks by submarines which necessttated quick action to avoid them.
 High Seas, Snow and Ice.
 "It would be superf1uous to go into the details of our operations in the North Sea, or to mention the rigor- ous climate. when the latitude is north of Sitia, in Alaska, or about equal to that of Petrograd, in Russia; or the terrific weather, the cold, sleet, snow ice and heavy seas; the arduous and dangerous navigation, the continuous cruising in close formation at high speed without lights, where the win ter nights lasted IS hours, or the dan- gers of mine fields---our own, some times, as well as those of the enemy ---or the repeated attacks of hostile submarines on our battleships, before mentioned, and the never ending readiness and vigilance of the whole fleet to put to sea on all but instant notice.
 Let 1t be sufficient to say that dur ing our absence of a year there wa! no other condition than that of con stant and continuous readiness fo action. There was no liberty br leav, worth mentioning; no one allowed away from the ships after dark, no for a period longer than four hours and then only in the immediate vi cinity of the ship, in signal or tele phone communications, subject to re call.
 Fleet in Battle Trim
 "All ships were completely close and darkened from sunset to sunris as a precaution against air and othe attacks; in winter this meant fror fifteen to eighteen hours per day This, In all but an arctic climate, wa one of our many hardships But ther was no complaint On the othe hand, every one seemed happy an contented and all eager to go to SC every time the occasion demanded the hopes that we would meet th Hun fleet and engage it.
 ''To give an idea of the immens size and number of vessels employe in the Grand Fleet. 1t might be interest here to state that enterin or leaving port our column of ship excluding destr0yers, was on an ave1 age about siXty-five miles long; c one, occasion. seventy-six miles. length was dependent upon weath' and other conditions, as well as upo the number of ships.
 Surrendered Ignomlniously
 "And so after four years of war ft the Grand Fleet, and after we Ina been a part of it for the last yea there came the debacle. the last seer of the great drama. Not as we hs