FISHERMEN IN WAR TIME 



ploding at any moment. Such an occurrence would 

 have meant instant death to Powley and Pooley, but 

 regardless of this terrible risk they jumped on board 

 the little craft and succeeded in extricating Sub- 

 Lieutenant Nash from beneath the wreckage and 

 carrying him to the jetty. 



The rescue was carried out just in time, for even 

 as they were leaving the vessel the whole of the after 

 part burst into flames and a delay of another thirty 

 seconds would have meant that all three would have 

 perished. Powley, who had gallantly led the way 

 on to the burning motor launch, had to be sent to 

 hospital, suffering from the effects of fumes. 



This was an enterprise of exceptional peril and 

 was carried out in the spirit of daring and self- 

 sacrifice which had been so frequently displayed by 

 the heroes to whom the Victoria Cross had been 

 awarded. 



Amongst the outstanding deeds of trawlers and 

 drifters were the extraordinary performances of 

 destroying enemy seaplanes. These acts were offi- 

 cially recorded in the summer of 191 7. The first 

 related to the bringing down of two seaplanes by a 

 drifter. The details were necessarily brief, but they 

 were enough to show how fine the achievement was. 

 The Vice-Admiral at Dover reported that at about 

 five o'clock on the morning of a Monday in 

 June one of H.M. drifters, the I.F.S., Lieutenant 

 H. B. Bell Irving, R.N.V.R., in command, whilst 

 on patrol duty, encountered five enemy seaplanes 

 and engaged them. One machine was destroyed, 



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