New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1919-03-06
NEW. BRITAIN DAILY HERAIsHl

men, c. 3. E, r. "A r., was one OF
| the pioneers of British airship con-
struction, having been a pilot of the
| Inflated Mayfy. Commander W. G..
| C,hilds. L. :. n, has been equally in
! the forefront Of lighter than-air fly
! ing machine work in America. Col
! oneI Clark-Hall, ID. >. O.' H. "A. f.,
! who has been active in the develop
! nlent Of the flying branch OF the Brit
| isb navy. was the senior officer of
| The s,,l,conomission which had the
! inspection of seaplane stations in
! hand. Flag Commander Tottenham, i.
, NJ. of Admiral BroWn1ngs staff,
| headed the sub-commission inspec-
! ting forts and warships, Commander
| H. r Leary, Z. S. NJ, one of tho
| foremost American experts on naval
gunnery, cooperating with him
| Lieutenant Commander John G.. Bow
or. r. N who has done notable work
in E-boats and K-boats during the
war, was the subna rine othcer.
The shipping board, which had in
hand the restoration of the British
merchant ships interned in German
ports, was headed by Commodore
George p. Bevan, Q. M G., r. n.
naval adviser 10 the ministry of ship
ping. who has recently been engaged
IN getting British merchant ships
home from Russian Baltic sJ>rts
Commander leighton. d. s, o. r. n.
r., who has also greatly distinguished
himself in freeing British shipping
in the Baltic, had personal charge of
the inspection of ships in German
ports. Mr.. Percy Turner Secretary
to the minister of shipping, and mem
Der of a well-known slipbuilding
firm, was the third member of the
shipping board
From the Forth to Hcligoland
The Hercules flying the flags Of
one vice admiral and two rear id
m1rals at her fore, and accompanied
by four 'V'' class destroyers-the
Ferdun, Viceroy, Nidette and Venetia
got under way at o o'clock in the
morning OF Dec. 6, steaming down
the Firth of Forth in a fog so thick
thait it was barely possible to discern
the anchored lines of warships below
the bridge. Visibility cleared some
what outside, and by the morning of
the 4th a, good view was obtained of
a somewhat mixed line of German
ships on their way to Scapa to make
up a deficiency in the delivery agreed
upon. The motley assortment con-
sisted Of the battleship KONG, the
light cruiser Dresden, a. DESTROYER
and two transports. easily recognize
able as Of the Norddeutscher T1ovd
type. Five or six floating mines
passed that morning bore ominous
evidence OF the approach to the lines
OF anchored explosives that have given
GermanyS coast such complete n,o-
lection from sea attack during the
war.
DELAYED by the fog, the cruiser Re-
sensburg, which was to have been at
prearranged rendezvous al o'clock
was -FOUR hours late in bringing Ger
man pilot to navigate the Hercules
through the minefield channels, but
there was no untoward consequence Of
puShlnS on by chart aim ost to within
sight of the cliffs of Heligoland No
time was gained however, for by
nightfall the fog had become so dense
that the Hercules had to anchor not
far from the Outer Jade Lightship
The pilot party, which was made IN
of a commander Of the German navy.
q, warrant officer and q. merchant pilot.
appeared a good deal divided against
itself, but between them they man
aged to bring her to anchorage a mile
or SO off Wilhelm shaven dockyard lust
after midday. Several merchantmen
passed on their way and dipped their
flags as they passed. A return dip
from the Hercules and destrovers
mpleted what was probab bly, the first
| exchange of that courtesy since
August, 1914.
Captain Won Muller Of the Emdcn.
A plcket-boat, flying the imperial
{ naval ensign of Germany, came along
! side a :half-hour after the Hercules
had anchored, and the short, heavy
set officer who was first up the gang
way turned out to be Rear-AdmiraI
Ioette, who headed the German COM
mission which met that of the Allies
at both Wilhelmshaven and KEEL Adj
miral Goette appears to have been the
| senior German naval officer remain
ing at his duties, Won Scheer and Won
! Hipper having disappeared into the
same obscurty which hides Luden-
dorff and the other ex-leaders who
have sought safety in flight or "re-
! tireme emit A notable member Of the
| German commission was Captain Won
| Muller, of the first Emden, whom the
! Germans doubtless appointed on the
! strength of the tributes paid in the
| British press to his "sportsmanship"
at the time his ship was beaten by
! the Sydney. Unfortunately the iden-
| tity of Captain Won Muller was not
definitely known to the allied COM
| mission until after the final confer
ence was over at kiel.
There were a number of terms of
| the armistice which Admiral Goette
or his advisers, when they first were
| seated at the long table in Admiral
| Browning's cabin, declared they were
| absolutely incapable Of fulfilling, but
one by one these were reduced as the
| IN f1eSihle aF ani