Evening star., 1918-04-26
Officers Meet Death Bravely.

Officers Meet Death Bravely.
"The Iris had trouble. Her own first
to make fast to the mole ahead
of the Vfndictive failed, as her grapnelS
were not large enough to span the para
pet. Two officers. Bradford and Haw-
kins. climbed ashore and sat aside the
parapet, trying to make the grapnels
fast, till each was killed and fell down
between the ship and wall. Commander
Gibbs had both legs shot away and died
next morning.
Lieut.. Spencer, though wounded, took
The Iris was obliged at last to change
her position and, tall in astern Of the
Vfndictfvs. She suffered very heavily
from the hre. A single big shell
plunged through the upper deck and
burst below at the point where hfty-six
marines awaited the order to go to the
gangways. Forty-nine were killed, the
remaining seven being wounded. An
other she'll burst in wardroom which
was serving as a sick bay and killed
four officers and twenty-six men. Her
total casualties were officers and 60
men killed, 102 men and officers
wounded.
Attack on the Mole.
"The storming and demolishing par
ties upon the mole met with no resist
ance from the Germans other than In
tense duu 1Ho SeOS-
raphy of the great mole with its rail-
way line and many buildings. hangers
and store sheds was already well
known and the demolition parties
moved to their appointed work in per-
And while they worked and de-
stroyed. the covering party below the
parapet could see in the harbor by the
light Of the German star shells the
shapes of the blockships stealing in
kh1fr
for the mouth of the channel. The
Thetis came first. running into tor
nado Of shells from the great batteries
ashore. The crew. save remnant
which had remained to steam her in and
sink her, had already been taken off
by ubiquitous motor launches But the
remnants spared hands enough to keep
here foreguns going. 1t was hers to
show the road to the Intrepid and Iphi-
genia, which followed.
Fouled Propeller.
"She cleared a score Of armed barees
which dotted the channel from the tip
of the mole, but had the ill fortune to
foul her propeller upon the net device
which flanks it's shore side. The pro-
pellsr gathered in the net and rendered
her practically unmanageable. The
shore batteries found her and pounded
her unremittingly until she bumped
into the bank. edged off and found her
self in the channel again, still some
hundreds Of yards from the mouth of
the canal
While in practically a sinking condi
ton as she lay there she signaled inval-
liable directions to the others, and her
commander. Sneyed. accordingly blew
charges and sank her. The motor launch
under the command of Lieut. Littleton
reached alongside and took off her crew.
Her loss was five killed and five wounded.
'The Intrepid. smoking like a volcano,
with all her guns blazing, was followed
by her motor launch which failed to get
alongside in the outside harbor, and she
Rad men enough for anything Straight
into the harbor she steered.
Lieut.. Stewart Bonham Carter placed
the nose of his ship neatly on the mud of
the western bank. He ordered the crew
away and blew up the ship by switches
In the chartroom. -Four dull bumps was
all that could be heard.
"Lieut. Billyard Leake, commanding the
Iphigenia. beached her according to ar
rangement on the eastern side.. blew her
up and. saw her drop nicely across the
canal. and left her there with her engines
still going to hold her in position until
she should have settled well on the
bottom"