A SKIPPER'S V.C. 



official records proved how stern the contest had 

 been and how valiantly the skippers and crews of 

 the drifters had fought their ships. The curt an- 

 nouncement had been made that fourteen drifters 

 had been lost in the Adriatic ; then in the casualty 

 lists issued by the Admiralty names of missing men 

 from H.M. drifters were published. One of these 

 lists, issued in the early days of June, contained the 

 names of no fewer than 67 men, mostly deckhands 

 and enginemen, and it was to be assumed that tli 

 had given their lives in battle. 



In connection with this affair in the Adriatic the 

 Admiralty subsequently announced that on May 15 

 an Austrian force consisting of light cruisers, which 

 were subsequently reinforced by destroyers, raided 

 the Allied drifter line and succeeded in sinking 

 fourteen British drifters — Admirable, Avondale, 

 Coral Haven, Craignoon, Felicilas, Girl Gracie, 

 Girl Rose, Ilelenora, Quarry Knowe, Selby, Serene, 

 Tail:, Transit, Young Linnet — from which (ac- 

 cording to an Austrian communiqui) seventy-two 

 prisoners were taken. 



Skipper Watt had the incurable modesty of the 

 true hero, and like so many of the valiant fighters 

 to whom the Victoria Cross had been awarded, he 

 fled when a public reception was prepared for him. 



me time after lie had become famous, and when 

 he possessed not only the Cross but also decorations 

 from the French, Serbian and Italian Governments, 

 he had leave of absence and made for his wScottish 

 home — a longed-for change, after his hard experi- 



