Norwich bulletin., 1918-12-16
SAW SURRENDER 0F TIE GERMAN FLEET

Stewart Wilson, who is in the crew of the U. s. S. battleship New York, flagship of Rear AdmirsE Redman, when the big United States seafghters made up a part of the squadron which received the surrender of the German high sea fleet, has written to his mother. Mrs. AndS@w Wilson, of 55 fOtis street, his description of that historic event.
 His letter follows
 We'll. you will be more than sur- prised before you Nave gone very far with this letter. Due to certain things that have happened in the last ten days, the admiral considerseit unneces- sary to continue eensoring cur mail. We have been operating for a year now with the grand fleet of England the mightiest naval power in the Werid. And before l go any further I ! want to say that theac feet is fully as large as it is claimed to be. And lots larger than I expected ever to see
 All winter long with the temperature below the freezing point and when it is that cold on the North sla it is cold, some cold. we conveyed, went out and tempted the Huns to come out and show that they were not yellow, but you know the result. After ona or two half hearted attempts, in which they were always beaten, they surrendered to the grand fleet and us today. | consider my year well spent and to- days doing a fitting end for it will give you the details of the surrender later. At any rate, they are anchored within mile of us now, and the world is safe from their treachery. There are five American battIeships &Ia 1 The five here are the Texas, Florida, ] Wyoming, Arkansas and the New York. When We came ever the Delas ware was, with us, but as you know l she returned with Delaney and several more on board
 Delaney lives in Greeneville and ] met him ashore in Edinurgh, Scot 1 land, last January.
 Part of the time we were at oul | northern base, at Scapa Flow, Scot | land. Right here I want to say of all 1 the God forsaken places in the world Scapa Flow is the worst. It is in the l Orkney Islands and not even free will grow there. The largest town if Kirlswall and has a population oi l about six hundred, and half of them | the Fourth of July there, and y5u car imagine that we had some time Couldn't do anything at all. New Years day I had my first lib- l erty in Edinburgh and I surely en- | joyed myself. There was an American carnival tere and we surely unused il 1 up
 Now our southern base is fairly good. Our anchorage is only fivt hundred yards from the historic Fortf bridge.
 On one side of the Forth river i, Rosyth, Dunfermaline, the home of, ol rather the birthplace fof Andrew Car, negie, and on the other bank. quite 2 hours run Is Glasgow.
 i Liberty was given every other day
 when we were at anchor and not a short notice.
 1 The entire fleet consisting of at leas l four hundred ships has been for thi last four and a half years, excep when in dock, at four hours notice
 That means that the grand fleet ha
 been ready to go into battle at an!
 time, for that length of time, No mai
 was. supposed to leave the ship fo more than four hours when not in tn
 dock yard.b So you see, except whel
 l was on leave, I had very little tim off.
 There were always deStroyefs stand
 ing in or out and sometimes as man,
 as one hundred destroyers stood il
 and out, for patrol and convoy duty.
 We always had destreyers with us
 and believe me that life is h-l. "
 roll and keel over and we are twenty
 seven thousand ton. So you can imag inc what five thousand ton destfeye does. And they are always on the SC
 As soon as the arTnistiee was signei
 we got into communication with Ad
 miral Von Meurer of the high SCI
 fleet That is Admiral Beatty has he is our c. in c. They were ordere,
 to send a light cruiser with plenipo
 tentiaries on board to our rendezvous
 This was dehe. the cruiser Koenigsber
 arrived at rendezvous and was escort
 ed into base. They were then take
 aboard flagship and the plans or tn
 surrender wece drawn up.
 They were to surrender ten battle
 ships, seven light cruisers, fifty de
 stroyers and six battle cruisers
 So that is the reason that at 3.3
 this morning we. with the mighties
 congregation of ships that anyone eve saw combined, French, American an