October 25, 1917 
LAND & WATER 
15 
The Serenading Party 
By Etienne 
Si 
IGXAL for you, Sir," said the Chief Yeoman, as with 
one liand he lield a signal pad at exactly the correct 
^distance from the captain's eye^, and expectantly 
' fingered a pencil in the other. In the background 
hirked a very small signal boy, who had flown breathlessly 
d(jwn from the bridge with the signal ; but not to take it 
straight to the captain. Signal boys do not show signals to 
captains ; this duty is reser\'ed for yeomen and chief yeomen. 
There is an exact scale of precedence in such matters at sea. 
Even important men such as yeomen do not show signals to 
admirals. In the latter case, a signal boy might conceivably 
actually carry the signal aft from the bridge, because signal 
bojs with the eye of a yeoman upon them move at a speed 
only second to that of light. But should a signal boy on such 
an errand encounter a leading signalman, yeoman, or chief 
yeoman, he would at once deliver up the signal. The 
jjenalties entailed and the wrath incurred by his " short- 
circuiting" any of those above him in the hierarchy of signals, 
are almost beyond the power of description. Imagine then, 
the signal in the hands of the yeoman, does he take it to the 
admiral ? Almost certainly not. He presents it to the Flag 
lieutenant, who will then decide whether the admiral shall 
see it at once or whether it will wait. 
I feel very tempted to launch out into a little discussion 
about flag lieutenants, as I know a good deal about those 
interesting and remarkable j^eople, for I have been intimately 
associated with one of them. I remember he had fifteen 
suits of plain clothes, a pretty taste in things sartorial, and 
we were of a size ; but I must resist the temptation and get 
back to my subject. This was what the captain read : 
From Captain to Captain H.M.S. B to H.M.S. R 
We should like to serenade you this evening. — 1400. 
The captain's eyes twinkled, and a smile played about his 
lips. The Chief Yeoman licked the end of his pencil and held 
it pfjised over the pad. 
" Make, W.M.P.," .said the captain. 
Down came the pencil like a dagger and W.M-P. appeared 
across the signal pad. The Chief Yeoman saluted, and retired 
in dignified haste ; having rounded a corner, he gave the*pad 
to the awaiting signal boy, and tersely remarked "Nip. " But 
the youth was already half-way to the bridge, and a quarter 
of an hour later, the captain of H.M.S. B , at the other 
end of the harbour, had a signal shown him by his Chief Yeo- 
man to the effect that his brother captain's reply was " With 
much pleasure." 
The announcement that the B 's wanted to serenade 
us. caused a sensation in the Ward Room. Every one agreed 
on one pxjint. and when the Commander remarked : " Ciot 
plenty of beer on board, Pay ? " it was with consternation 
that we heard the Paymaster reply : " Opened up the last 
dozen to-day '. " It was recognised that a crisis had been 
reached. The Mess Committee) met at once, and decided to 
send the Wine Steward round the squadron in the skii! on a 
lour of enquiry. 
I had the middle watch and therefore did not feel inclined 
to be serenaded. Furthermore " serenading " is always 
associated in my mind with the opposite sex, and I felt that 
I should feel like the French officer to whom I was once 
attached as .\.D.C. when a part of their fleet paid a courtesy 
visit to one of our south coast resorts. My friend and I 
attended an entertainment announced as a " gala operatic 
performance in honour of the French Fleet." As I ushered 
nur gallant guest into a draughty theatre which was filled 
exclusively with sailors from both fleets, the Frenchmen 
surveyed the scene, then, turning to me with an expressive 
shrug, pathetically remarked : " But vere are de vimjneu, 
1 mean zc ladies ? " But again I digress ! 
* * « « * 
It was a perfect evening of the north in early autumn, not a 
lireatli of wind rufflerl the oily calm of the waters <^i a certain 
base which sheltered uni's of His Majesty's fleet. The long 
lines of ships stretched literally for miles across the water. 
Though the ships were darkened, their great forms were 
plainly visible in the light of a full moon which was rising 
Iilood red in the east, as the last high lights of sunset lingered 
above the western hills. 
Three himdred men from neighbouring ships had been in- 
vited to come on board H.M.S. R ,_and be serenaded at 
<) p.m. At lltat hour the (Kirt side of oin- boat deck w.is packed 
witli >eainin. There niii^l have been (xx) nien lining the side, 
rtiist»Te(l like bees half-way up the foremost rigging, on top of 
gtms on the bridges, in the searchlight platform^ anywhere 
in fact where the individual judged he would obtain a better 
view tlian liis messmates. At 9 p.m. the s>ouiid of distant 
bagpipes up the harbour, attracted everyone's attention. 
At first notlung could be seen, but suddenly an extraordinary 
sight met our eyes. Rapidly sweeping down on the top of 
the flood tide was a craft which reminded one of Henley at 
its gayest. We rubbed oiu" eyes, but the indisputable fact 
remained that an illuminated houseboat was apparently pro- 
ceeding up harbour. From this craft came the skirl of the 
pipes, the beating of many drums great and small, and the 
frenzied cries of (presumably) Scottish bluejackets. 
Swiftly she came down the lines, causing great sensation on 
board the ortier ships, who were unaware of the proposed 
tamasha. Several ships burst into spontaneous cheering 
and then wondered why they had done it, and what all the 
fuss was about, fh several ward-rooms ingenious individuals 
deduced tliat some good war news had come through, and 
that the Flagship had devised a new method of announcing 
it to the fleet. A friend of mine in the H , actually 
complained to me next day that he was so overcome at the 
sight of an illuminated boat, that in a fit of mad optimism 
he had registered a wager of one Bradbury to ten that Turkey 
was suing for peace. 
When the serenaders arrived off our beam, the bagpipes 
stopped and a choir of male voices enquired if we were the 
R . A hundred voices answered in the affirmative, and 
our visitors altered course and came to rest at a distance of 
about forty to fifty yards from our beam* 
We could now see that the theatre consisted of two distinct 
parts. There was a sailing barge, which had been decked 
in with planks placed across the thwarts. In the centre of 
this was a small stage lit by half-a-dozen footlights. Round 
the stage and grouped at the back, were stools and chairs 
on which were seated about 40 men in every kind of fancy dress. 
Amongst those we noticed, as they say in society papers, 
were Charlie Chaplin, and certain of the Hohenzollern family. 
At one end of the barge was a piano and a couple of violinists. 
A mast at the bow and another at the stern carried a row of 
Japanese lanterns on a jackstay between them. A picquet 
ijoat lashed on the far side fulfilled the double role of a dressing 
room and the source of the motive power required to stem 
the tide. The rays of a shaded arc lamp were thrown on to the 
stage from our bridge, and a gentleman stepped into the Ume- 
. light and remarked, " I vos de manager, shentlemen." 
When the tumultuous applause which greeted this observation 
had subsided, he proceeded to inform us lest any member 
of the audience felt alarmed by the idea that prowling Zepps 
would be attracted to the scene by the brilliancy of the 
illumination, he had much pleasure in announcing that the 
plug in the bottom of the boat was a very loose fit, and that 
it would be immediately withdrawn as soon as the alarm was 
sounded. In one and a half minutes he assured us the stage 
would be completely submerged. He added that all the per- 
formers, save only the two Willies, were fitted by the manage- 
ment with Mr. Gieves' famous waistraat. 
At 9.15 the serenade began and lasted an hour, during 
which period an excellent performance was given. Each turn 
was allowed five minutes. At its conclusion, during the 
applause, Charlie Chaplin stepped on to the back of the stage 
and in the manner familiar to any patron of the cinema, neatly 
yanked the performer off the stage with the crook of his stick. 
There were several songs by a well-trained quartette, and 
the effect of the voices stealing across the water and faintly 
echoing against the armour on our side, was delightful. 
At 10.20, they sang " Farewell comrades," with a choir of 
about 60 voices. It was followed by " The King," which 
was sung by 600 men. We implored them through mega- 
phones to come on board and refresh themselves, but the man- 
ager excused himself, by breaking into poetry to the effect that 
The way is long 
The tide is strong, etc. 
Slowly they steamed round the ship, whilst the delighted 
audience gave them round after round of clieers. As they 
passed close under our stern for the second time, vvc heard 
the sharp tinkle of the picquet boat's bell signalling " Full 
speed ahead." Instantly the serenaders shot ahead, the 
drone of the bagpipes rose to a screech, and the drums crashed 
and rolled. In a few Ininutes nothing could bo seen save 
the white wake of the serenading party as they skirled their 
way up harbour, homeward bound to their ship. 
Dead silence reigned on board as the strains of the bagpipes 
needed faintly into the night. At length o\u- ( ommandei 
s^K)ke, and Ihen^ rose (he [>lainlive wail <jf the boatswain^' 
pipes, " piping down *tlie hands." There folk)wed the 
measmed tramp of many feet, till at 10.45 the uiiprr deck was 
deserted save for tliose on watch, and the slow pacing figures 
ot the Night Guard. 
