HEROIC DEEDS 



yet a number of naval honours gazetted on Novem- 

 ber 30, 1917, contained the following : " Distin- 

 guished Service Cross, Lt. T. B. McNabb, 

 R.N.V.R. — In recognition of his gallantry in going 

 overboard and securing a line to a drifting mine 

 after attempts to sink it by gunfire had failed owing 

 to a choppy sea and considerable swell, which made 

 accurate shooting impossible." 



That story was accompanied by another contained 

 in a report from " Western waters of the English 

 Channel," an indication of locality which was a 

 reminder that though the grimmest and hardest of 

 the mine-sweeping work was necessarily in North 

 Sea waters, yet it was unendingly conducted wher- 

 ever it was necessary to keep the trade routes clear. 

 It was an instance which in every way was in keep- 

 ing with the achievement of the lieutenant who swam 

 out to the mine in half a gale, and, like that, it had 

 the added glory of being purely voluntary work. 



A flotilla of mine-sweepers was sweeping between 

 two given points when two mines exploded in the 

 sweep which was towed by the second pair of mine- 

 sweeping trawlers in the flotilla. The wire parted, 

 and one of the two trawlers hove in the " kite " — 

 the contrivance employed to keep the sweep at the 

 required depth. 



When the " kite " had been hove short up to the 

 rollers it was seen that a mine was foul of the wire, 

 and had been hauled up against the trawler's side ; 

 and not only that, but the outline of another mine 

 was visible just below the surface. This second 



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