8 
LAiNU & WATER 
June 21, 1917 
after d-incli anrt port battery. I dozed at first for about ten 
minutes, but as the island neared woke up completely. .- We 
liad no idea wliat sort of reception we sliould have, and 
sjM'euIated about it. It was iiuite cold looking over- the 
tuji. The land came nearer and nearer. Suddenly when 
we were well inside the ri{<ht bank, we heard a shot fired 
on the staiboard quarter, but could not see the Hash. Then 
came another, but only at the third did we see where it came 
lron>. It was a field gun on the right, but we had already 
j)a»sed it, and both it and the pom-pom were turned on the 
Mersey astern of us. 
" -At least nothing fell near us. It was still not light enough 
for us to judge the range, but as the alarm had been gi\en we 
opened fire with the starboard battery, at the field-gun. As 
we came up to the point on the port side I trained all the port 
battery <m the foremost bearing, and opened firing as soon as 
tiie guns would bear. We were now going pretty well full 
speed. Some snipers were hidden in the trees and rushes, 
and let us have it as we went past. The report of their rifles 
sounded ([uite different from ours, but we were abreast before 
they started, and were soon past. It was just getting light. 
We were inside the ri\er before the sun rose, and went quite 
last up. It was just about dead low water as we entered, 
neap tides. The river was about 700 yards broad. The banks 
were well defined b\' the green trees, mangro\'es probajjly, 
wliidi grew right down to the edges. The land beyond was 
quite flat on the left, but about four miles to the right rose to 
quite a good height — Pemba Hills. Here and there were native 
huts well back from the river ; we could see them from the 
top though they were invisible from the deck. On either side 
as we passed up were creeks of all sorts and sizes at low tides, 
more of them on the port side than on the starboard. -As we 
passed, or rather before, we turned the port or starboard bat- 
teries on them and swept either side. The gunlayers had orders 
lo fire at anything that moved or looked suspicious. We con- 
trolled them more or less, and gave them the bearing of the 
creeks. was in charge of those on deck, and the crews 
themselves fired or ceased fire if they saw anything or had sunk 
anything. We checked them from time to time as the next 
creek opened up. We were looking ahead most of the time, 
but I believe we sank three dhows and a boat. Whether they 
were harmless or not, I don't know, but it had to be done as a 
])rccaution. We made a fine noise, the sharp report of the 
batteries and the crackle of the machine guns must have been 
heard for miles. The Hyacinth, the tugs, the Trent, the Wey- 
tnotitli, and other odd craft were demonstrating at the other 
mouths of the Kufiji, and we" could hear the deep boom of 
their big guns now and then. 
■' I had thought that the entry would be the worst part, 
but it was not much. A few bullets got us and marked the 
l)lates or went through the hammocks, but not one was hit, 
and as our noise completely drowned the report of their 
rifles I doubt if many knew we were being sniped. The 
forecastle hands knew all about it later on. As they hauled 
in the anchor or let it go they nipped behind any shelter 
there was, and could hear the bullets zip-zap into the sand- 
bags. The Mersey astern was blazing away into the banks 
just as we were. There was probably nothing in most of the 
creeks — but we did not know it then. 
" It was 6.30 o'clock by the time we reached ' our 
island,' where the river branches into three, at the end of 
which we were to anchor. We were steering straight up the 
middle of the stream, and then swung slowly round to port, 
dropped the stern anchor, let out seventy fathoms of wire, 
tlroi)ped the main anchor, went astern, and then tightened 
in both cables, so that we were anchored fast bow and stern. 
As soon as we steadied down a bearing was taken on the 
chart and the gun laid— about eight minutes' work. It was 
then found that, thanks to the curious run of the current, 
the fore big gun would not bear, and we had to take up the 
bow anchor and let it go again to get us squarer towards the 
Kocnigsbcrg. 
" We could sec the aeroplane right high up, and received 
the signal " open fire." Wc were not quite ready, however. 
IVum the moment when wc turned to port to take up our 
liriug position to the time we were finally ready and had 
laid both guns, occupied about twenty minutes. The Ko- 
enigiberg started firing at us five minutes before we were ready 
to start, i'heir first shot (from one gun only) fell on the island, 
the next was on the edge of it, and very soon she was straddling 
us. Where they were spotting from 1 don't know, but they 
linist have Ix-en in a good position, and their spotting was 
excellent. They never lost our range. The firing started, 
and for the next two hours both sides were hard at it. I 
tlon'l lielicve any ship has been in a hotter place without 
being hit. Their shooting was extraordinary good. Their 
sahoi^ of fire at first dropped too short, 50 over, 20 to the 
light then straddled us- then just short^then all around 
us, and so on. Wc might have been hit fifty times— they 
could not have fired better ; but we were not hit at all, 
though a piece ol shell was picked up on the forecastle. 
"The river was now a curious sigiit, as dead fish were 
coming to the surface everywhere. It was the Kvenigsbcrg's, 
sliells bursting in the water which did the damage, and there 
were masses of them everywhere — mostly small ones. 
" We were firing all the time, of course. I attended to 
the wireless, and passed the messages to the Guitnery Lieu- ' 
tenant, who made corrections and jKissed them to the guns. 
"We got H.T. fairly soon, and the Koenigsbcrg's salvoes 
were now only four guns. They were firing much more 
rapidly than we, aiKl I should think more accurately, I)ut 
if I had been in the Kocnigsberg I should, probably, ha\e 
thought the opposite ! .All this lime the smaller guns had 
occa.sional outbursts as they saw, or thought they saw, some- 
thing moving. Occasionally, too, the smoke and fumes 
from our funnel drifted across the top, and it was unpleasant 
for a minute or two. We could see now where the Kvenigi,- 
berg was, and the smoke from her funnels, or that our shells 
made. She was tiring salvoes of four with great rapidity 
and regularity, about three times a minute, and every one of 
them close. Some made a splash in the water so near that 
you could have reached the place with a boat hook. 
" At 7.40 (so I am told, as though I tried 1 lost all count 
of time) a shell hit the fore big gun of the -Mersey and a 
column of flame shot up. Four were killed and four were 
wounded. Part of the shield was blown away. Only one 
man remained standing, and after swaying about he fell dead. 
One had his head completely blown olf. .Vnother was lying 
with his arm torn out of his shoulder, and his body covered 
over with yellow flames from the lyddite charge which cauglit. 
The K.N.R. Lieutenant in charge was knocked senseles>, 
and covered with blood, but had only a scratch on the wrist 
to show for it. The gunlayer had an extraordinary escape 
and only lost three fingers. Two men escaped as tliey had 
just gone forward to weigh the anchor. .'\ burning charge 
fell into the shell room below, but was fortunately got out. 
.Another shell burst in the motor-boat alongside the Mersey 
and sank it. One burst in the water about a foot from the 
side, and we thought she was holed. The Mersey captain 
then wisely moved and went down river, taking up a position 
of 1,000 yards down, by the right bank (looking at the Koenigs- 
berg). She started in again with her after gun, the other 
being disabled. For an hour and twenty minutes we went 
on, and the Koenigsberg's salvoes came steadily and regularly 
back, as close as ever. It seemed as if it could not go on 
much longer. We registered four hits, and the salvoes 
were rcducea from four to three, and later to two, and tlien 
to one gun. 
" The aeroplane spotting had been fair, but now someone 
else started in and made the signals unintelligible. Then 
we got spotting corrections from two sources — both diifer- 
ing widely. Finally, the aeroplane made " W.O." (going 
home). We weighed and took up station again by the 
Mersey. She moved to get out of our way, and when another 
aeroplane came we started it again. The replies from the 
Koenigsberg were not so frequent, and nothing like so accu- 
rate. It was as if they could not spot the fall of shot. 
The aeroplane soon disappeared, and as we could see the 
masts of the Koenigsberg (I could only see one, , personally) 
and a column of smoke which varied in thickness from time 
to time, we tried to spot for ourselves. It was useless as, 
though we saw the burst (or though wc did) in line with the 
masts, we did not know whether they were over or sliort. 
F'inally, we moved up the river nearer, still keeping on the 
right side, and set to work again. ^ 
" There were two cruisers— lFcy>«o/(//i and Pyramiis, 1 
think — at the mouth. The Weymouth did a good deal of 
filing at Pemba Hill and a native village close to us, where there 
might be spotters. 
" Wireless corrections now were of no use. Most were 
' did not observe fall of shot,' or boo short. Wc went up 1,000 
but still received the same signal — whether fromlhe aeroplane 
or the Koenigsberg, I don't know. It was most confusing. 
We crept up the scale to maximum elevation. Innally, we 
moved up the river again, but ])ut our nose on the mud. We 
were soon off, and moved over to the other side and continued 
firing, spotting as well as we could (but getting nothing de- 
finite) till four o'clock, when we packed up aiui prepared to 
come out. We swept the banks again on both sides, but only 
at the entrance was there ojiposition. We made such a noise 
ourselves that wc drowned the report of any shots fired at us. 
Two field-guns made good jMactice at us from the right bank 
(looking af the Koenigsberg). One came very close indeed Id 
the top- so much so that we all turned to look at each otlier, 
thinking it must, have touched somewhere. It burst alxurl 
live yards, over us. Another burst fifteen yards from the 
Mersey, and a second hit her sounding boom. 
" It was getting dusk as we got outside at full sjiecd. Tin 
secure was sounded at about 4.45. We had been at general 
quarters for thirteen hours, and eleven of them had been Uiidei 
