Description: Reminiscences by Admiral Sir Reginald Tupper G.B.E., K.C.B., C.V.O. Commander Legion of Honour, etc. Chevalier of the Order of Naval Merit Spain This is the First Edition, circa 1929 (in damaged covers) Front cover and spine Further images of this book are shown below Publisher and place of publication Dimensions in inches (to the nearest quarter-inch) London: Jarrolds 6 inches wide x 9¼ inches tall Edition Length Although there is no date of publication, the standard Bibliographic References all agree on 1929 281 pages Condition of covers Internal condition Original black cloth blocked in gilt on the spine. The covers are worn and damaged. The front cover, which is heavily rubbed, exhibits fading and patchy discolouration resulting in noticeable variation in colour; there is also some surface scratching. The cloth around the bottom corner has been nibbled away, exposing the card. The pattern is similar on the rear cover, which is scuffed and rubbed, discoloured, and has surface scratching. There is also a small piece if cloth missing from near the bottom corner. The spine gutters are heavily rubbed and both front and rear gutters have split at the ends, with the front gutter being partially re-glued. The spine ends and corners are bumped and significantly frayed with loss of cloth, the card exposed n the corners, and splits in the cloth at the head and tail. The spine is also quite dull. There are a number of indentations along the edges of the boards and further frayed patches, particularly on the rear cover from the bottom corner upwards. The end-papers are browned and discoloured, particularly the Half-Title page and final few pages of text. The paper has tanned noticeably with age throughout though the text is quite clean. The front inner hinge is cracked at the Title-Page but has been strengthened by a previous owner with white tape (visible in the image above). Please also note that the signature on the portrait frontispiece is a printed facsimile. The edge of the text block is dust-stained and grubby and there is a small black mark on the underside. Dust-jacket present? Other comments No Apart from the tanning to the paper, the internal condition is fairly reasonable, so it is a pity the covers have been damaged; however, the First Edition is becoming scarce and this example is collated and complete. Illustrations, maps, etc Contents Please see below for details Please see below for details Post & shipping information Payment options The packed weight is approximately 950 grams. Full shipping/postage information is provided in a panel at the end of this listing. Payment options : UK buyers: cheque (in GBP), debit card, credit card (Visa, MasterCard but not Amex), PayPal International buyers: credit card (Visa, MasterCard but not Amex), PayPal Full payment information is provided in a panel at the end of this listing. Reminiscences Contents I. Early Days II. Greenwich and After III. Lieutenant (1882-1894) IV. Commander (1894-1901) V. Captain (1901-1906) VI. H.M.S. "Prince of Wales" (1906-1907) VII. H.M.S. "Excellent" and Flag Rank (June 1907-March 1916) VIII. The Tenth Cruiser Squadron (March 1916-January 1918) IX. The Tenth Cruiser Squadron (continued) X. The Northern Patrol L'Envoi Appendices Appendix I List of Ships and C.O.'s Tenth Cruiser Squadron Appendix Ii Specimen Return, Ships Intercepted Appendix Iii Specimen Return, Vessels Escorted To Examination Ports Appendix Iv Ships of Tenth Cruiser Squadron Lost and Lives Lost List of Illustrations Frontispiece : Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald Tupper, K.C.B., C.V.O. International Fleet at Ragusa Gunnery-Lieutenant H.M.S. Boadicea Rear-Admiral Sir Edmund Freemantle and Officers, H.M.S. Boadicea Wide Awake Fair, Ascension Island Rollers seen at Ascension Island (1888) H.M.S. Boadicea The Landing Party from H.M.S. Boadicea that marched inland and took and burnt the city of Witu The Squadron which assembled at Zanzibar in 1890 to settle a dispute with Portugal H.M.S. Latona (the first of a class of twenty-six cruisers proceeding out of Portsmouth Harbour) H.M.S. Mercury. China Station Sailing Ship Drumeltan ashore on Tanig Shima beach Sailing Ship Drumellan Rear-Admiral Hugo Pearson and Staff H.M.S. Pylades (Commander Reginald Tupper) off the pier, Ocean Island, W. Pacific Typical native hut A road through the Island of Nonuti in Ellice Group Specimens of inhabitants of Stewarts Island to east of Solomons Frigate-bird chick in the nest Working party from H.M.S. Pylades Hoisting the Union Jack at Ocean Island Some natives of Solomon Islands Captain and Staff Officers of H.M.S. Excellent, Naval School of Gunnery, 1909 Trophies won by the Rifle Team from H.M.S. Excellent at Bisley, 1910 Their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary, Princess Mary and Prince George visiting Whale Island His Majesty's Visit to Whale Island after the funeral of King Edward VII His Majesty King George V at Whale Island, July 22nd, 1910 His Majesty King George V at Whale Island, July 22nd, 1910 March, 1915—December 1917 : Atlantic Blockade H.M.S. Alsatian Boarding Boat, H.M.S. Alsatian Rescuing crew of steamer that had been torpedoed and sunk by a "U" boat in the Atlantic, 1917 Tenth Cruiser Squadron, Oct. 14th—Nov. 22nd, 1917. Map shewing controls Tenth Cruiser Squadron : Statistical diagram of blockade operations, 1915 Tenth Cruiser Squadron : Statistical diagram of blockade operations, 1916 Tenth Cruiser Squadron : Statistical diagram of blockade operations, 1917 Reminiscences Excerpt: . . . if I had taken the Turkish appointment I should have had to retire under the clause by which the Navy has no further use for a flag officer who does not hoist his flag within three years of his promotion. So I went to Switzerland with my family after spending Christmas in Ireland, and in spending a couple of months there amongst beautiful scenery, sports, and other attractions I was tempted to forget all about the Navy and ambitions. When any of my readers feel a bit downhearted, my advice is to go to Switzerland, and you will forget all about things that matter or are unpleasant. We got back to Fareham about May, and the next excitement was the great Spithead Review after the test mobilisation which took place in July 1914. The possibility of war was well above the horizon, and by the end of the month it seemed inevitable, but Prince Louis of Battenberg, the First Sea Lord, had very wisely kept the Fleet mobilised, and most of the ships were at Portland. On August 1st war appointments were issued, but my name was not mentioned. On the day after war had been declared I went to the Admiralty to try for a billet, and at about half-past ten saw Admiral Sturdee, who was then Chief of the Naval Staff. On leaving his room after about a quarter of an hour, I was proceeding down the passage towards the new building when I was stopped by a procession. This proved to be accompanying the King, who had come to see the war chart showing the disposition of his fleets on the day after the declaration of war. To my astonishment, His Majesty immediately saw me and stopped to shake hands, saying, " I am sorry you haven't got a billet, Tupper, but I hope you will soon be employed," and then passed on. To my mind it is wonderful that, in all the excitement engendered by his country being plunged into war, and while on his way to see the disposition of the fleets, with hundreds of things to attend to, His Majesty found time to say a cheery word to an old shipmate, and I felt, and still feel, very grateful for such an honour and kindly consideration. Time went on, and November still found me without a billet, but I had been busy looking after Boy Scouts in the neighbourhood of Fareham, and these had done good service. For one thing, some of the senior ones had been keeping watch night and day on the water supply and parts of the railway line to prevent pollution or sabotage. For another, I had from time to time interviewed the Scouts and advised them to be on the alert to give any information that might lead to the rounding-up of spies. Two Gosport Scouts employed in neighbouring shops noticed a motor-car with some foreign-looking individuals drive up to the Gosport Post Office. One boy interviewed the driver while the other wrote down the number of the car. They noticed one of the occupants get out with a bundle of envelopes to post, procure stamps, and put them in the letter-box, while one of the others asked the first boy how he could get to Guildford. As the motorists were very distinctly foreign-looking and rather suspicious customers, the lad had the presence of mind to give them the route to Petersfield, where they were advised to ask again. The moment the car had driven off the two Scouts went to the police-station and gave information, which resulted in the car being stopped at Petersfield and measures taken to examine the correspondence which had been posted at Gosport. This proved that they were spies, and they were immediately arrested and taken to London, but I never heard what happened to them. One evening I was at Rowner Vicarage schoolroom, assisting the vicar's wife to entertain some soldiers from Fort Rowner, for whose benefit the schoolroom had been turned into a sort of club. In walked a good-looking young man in Artillery uniform, and as he entered the room he made a slight bow from his waist as is the custom with many foreign gentlemen on entering a room. I got into conversation with him, and found that he spoke English perfectly and like a gentleman, but I thought that I detected a slight foreign accent. Knowing that the vicar's wife spoke German fluently, I asked her if she would mind asking this young man some question quickly in German and letting me know what happened. I went home, and in about half an hour's time received a telephone message to say that he had immediately replied in fluent German, so I at once informed the major of his battery, with the result that he was arrested and tried in a civil court. He said he was a Dane and lived on the borders of Schleswig-Holstein. I believe that he got a month's imprisonment and was eventually sent back to Denmark, but it turned out that he had previously enlisted in the Rifle Brigade at Winchester, and had been turned out of that apparently without punishment. He had then been courageous enough to walk from Winchester to Gosport and enlist once more in the British Army. In my opinion this man was an exceedingly brave young German officer, and I was very glad he was not shot, but I think that he deserved to be. I had an old shipmate named C—— who happened to be head of a branch of our Secret Service. As I was unemployed he very kindly offered to take me on as his chief assistant, and I spent two or three days in his office having a look at the work that it was proposed I should do. But I very soon came to the conclusion that my mentality was not suited for dealing with the personnel and the problems that had to be tackled, so I went back to looking after Boy Scouts and Belgian refugees, and trying to be generally useful. Periodically I went up to the Admiralty to see how the chances were shaping for a job. I happened to be there on the very morning that the sad news was received of Cradock's disaster at Coronel. But in spite of all my visits, no billet materialised, although I offered to serve in any capacity at sea, in the air, or on land. Then Lord Fisher came to the Admiralty as First Sea Lord, and considering the way we had " parted brass rags " over the Beresford inquiry, I was very pleased and rather surprised when I was told that one of the first things he did was to send a note to the First Lord to say that he considered that I ought to be employed. Shortly afterwards I was sent for and told that I was required to proceed to Stornoway to organise Patrol Area One. I arrived at Mallaig on January 9th, 1915, and found the yacht Vanessa, commanded by Rear-Admiral Le Marchant, who had retired but had come back to the Service as Captain R.N.R., waiting to take me to Stornoway. I arrived there on the 10th, and took over from the Senior Officer present, Rear-Admiral Purefoy. I had previously been told that I should have under my command six steam yachts, thirty-six armed trawlers, twenty-four drifters, and some motor-boats. My flag was to fly on shore at Stornoway, and my duties were primarily to keep the Minches and the various lochs on the West of Scotland from Soliska to the Clyde clear of submarines and mines, This was an essential duty in order to permit H.M. ships to proceed between Scapa Flow and our various dock and repairing stations in safety. In order to carry out my duties I was made Competent Authority for the Hebrides. Unfortunately, although the work was rather complicated in its character, I had no staff to commence with beyond a very inexperienced youth named Guinness, who was made Assistant Paymaster, R.N.R., and acted as my secretary for a few months. I also found that only a few of the vessels that had been allocated to me had arrived on their station, but with those at my disposal I made the following dispositions. One patrol consisting of one yacht and five or six trawlers, according to the tonnage available, worked off Glass Island, another off Mallaig, and a third off Barra Head. A yacht patrolled off Kyle and another in Loch Ewe. The drifters were used for laying indicator nets and looking for mines—they had not then been fitted with proper minesweeping gear. The motor-boats were expected to go anywhere and do anything, and were particularly useful for searching lochs in case hostile submarines should be resting there. Leaving my flag flying on shore, I used frequently to spend three or four days of the week cruising round the patrols and searching the lochs in one or other of the armed yachts. I must say that I preferred the Vane^a, but I also carried out these inspection cruises in the Herdlia, Rhouma, Maid of Honour, Calanthe, Lorna and Iolaire, while occasionally I went to sea in a trawler, no more comfortable vessel being available at the time. In January 1915 the steamship Manco arrived to act as store and depot for the flotilla, but at this time the organisation was far from complete. Trawlers were arriving one by one as quickly as the Admiralty could get them fitted with their single gun and magazine. The drifters had no guns at that time and there was no defence force of any kind for my base. Later on I contrived to get six vessels known as whalers added to my command. One of them was under Captain Jean Charcot, the famous Polar explorer. In our defenceless position it would have been quite possible in the early days for an enemy submarine to have landed a small party in Back Bay and raided our office, so that I lost no time in organising a local volunteer force from the shopkeepers of the town to give us some protection from this menace. One of my other troubles was drunkenness among the seafaring population and general lack of discipline. I got the Provost of Stornoway to help me in enforcing order, but the entire police force of the Island of Lewis only consisted of an elderly sergeant and two constables, so that I had a good deal of trouble in keeping things quiet and in enforcing my order to close all public-houses between certain hours. A Customs House staff had to be organised for the purpose of searching vessels sent in by the blockading force for examination, a coding office for sending and receiving cipher telegrams, and a censor's office for etters both for the civil and Service population. To begin with, we put the coding officers on board the Manco, because she was fitted with wireless telegraphy apparatus, but later on she was wanted elsewhere, and I had to establish our depot ashore in the old battery which had formerly been used for training Royal Naval Reserve officers and men. I erected my wireless station in the same place# which was the only reasonable position. My own office was situated in an hotel, but the Provost very kindly allowed me to use some of the offices in the municipal building for my victualling staff and for various paymasters. Indeed, the Provost and the civil authorities helped me in every way possible, and we got on capitally. The Manco left Stornoway on September 26th, 1915, after which date all stores, etc., had to be kept ashore. In many ways this was inconvenient, but in others I was really glad to be rid of her, as she used to drag her anchors in the fierce gales. Thus she was always a source of anxiety, and one morning she very nearly had a serious accident, for she dragged her anchors and was blown right up to the wharf at high tide. I was there, and immediately ordered her captain to signal full speed ahead and hard a-starboard, when to everybody's surprise she dragged her two anchors back again and got clear. But it was an anxious time, for her rudder seemed to miss the quay by the thickness of a piece of paper. My flagship was nominally the armed yacht Iolaire, but I used to carry out my work in any ship that was handy. Life was strenuous, and I seldom had a moment to myself, my nights being invariably very short and constantly disturbed by reports and alarms of submarines, etc. The rescue of men from wrecked vessels in the frequent storms was another part of our duty, and from the beginning of February I was given complete control over the fishing as well. We were anxious over the possibility of a German submarine base near the Shiant Islands, and I sent the Hersilia to conduct a search at daybreak. There is an excellent small harbour in the middle of them, and their position is so isolated at the south end of the Minch that they would have been ideal for the enemy's purpose. The captain of the Hersilia determined that he would make sure of his quarry, and arranged to make a very quiet entry into the harbour. With sufficient way on his ship, and a quiet sea, he decided that it was possible to get in with his engines stopped, and this he decided to do. Everything was in his favour, and he was gliding round the harbour points without a sound, when with an echoing "clank-clank" the ship's pumps started going, making every bit as much noise as the engines would have done, if not more. The engineer, who had not been taken into the captain's confidence about the silent entry, decided that as the engines were stopped he would take the opportunity to fill the ship's tanks with water. Needless to say, there was no submarine found on this occasion, but some time later, in this very harbour, a trawler encountered a submarine. Her account of the battle duly reported at Stornoway was a twelve-hour running fight, but with some judicious questioning the story resolved itself into the following : The trawler entered the harbour and found nothing suspicious, so the crew took the opportunity of having dinner in that quiet spot. They had hardly begun it when a shot roused all hands, to find the submarine had risen to the surface and was signalling to them to take to their boats as the trawler would be sunk— under the impression, of course, that it was an ordinary fishing vessel. The gun's crew quickly stripped the concealing blanket off their gun and proceeded to answer the Germans' fire. They fired three rounds at her and sustained three hits themselves, but the submarine did not like the look of this unexpected movement and made off as fast as she could. As the trawler was anchored, her quarry was far away before she could get underway and give chase. Looking back on those days, one sees them as a kaleidoscopic rush—the salving of trawlers and other small craft which were perpetually going ashore, the never-ending chase after the elusive submarine, and a score of other things. The yacht patrol may not have destroyed very many, but they made life difficult for them, and submarines rarely attempted any sort of a fight with one of the ships on the patrol. One of the keenest and most efficient of the R.N.V.R. officers in the armed yachts was Norman Craig, the Barrister and Member of Parliament for Thanet. I found him keeping watch on board the Lorna, but I took him on my staff, and he was of great assistance, legally and otherwise. We had the famous Dummy Squadron assembled in Loch Ewe under Commodore Haddock, and we were kept busy escorting them in their evolutions in the Minch. Their existence was kept very secret at that time, but it is now, of course, well known how a number of liners were carefully disguised to represent warships with the idea of deceiving the enemy. We were always hoping that a German submarine would tackle them and give us a chance to attack her, but it never happened, and finally we escorted them to Scapa Flow, three of them later going out to the Mediterranean. There, one of them was torpedoed by the enemy, two of the ratings finding their way ashore astride of a 12-inch gun! The defence of Loch Ewe was rather awkward owing to lack of materials. We put up big notices bidding all merchant ships to beware of the boom, pointing out the row of glass floats which showed the position of the mines. There was great ceremony at the gate and merchantmen were led in through the safe passage by a trawler. It was all very impressive and we hoped that full news of it went across to Germany, but as a matter of fact the boom only consisted of a hemp hawser, and there was not a single mine available for the defence of the place 1 But the Royal Marines built a very efficient battery at the harbour's mouth. I decided to establish a wireless telegraph station on the lonely island of St. Kilda to report any submarines that might be seen there, as they were unlikely to take any special precautions so far out to sea. At the same time I fixed the sites of three look-out stations to be manned by natives, connected by telephone . . . Please note: to avoid opening the book out, with the risk of damaging the spine, some of the pages were slightly raised on the inner edge when being scanned, which has resulted in some blurring to the text and a shadow on the inside edge of the final images. Colour reproduction is shown as accurately as possible but please be aware that some colours are difficult to scan and may result in a slight variation from the colour shown below to the actual colour. In line with eBay guidelines on picture sizes, some of the illustrations may be shown enlarged for greater detail and clarity. U.K. buyers: To estimate the “packed weight” each book is first weighed and then an additional amount of 150 grams is added to allow for the packaging material (all books are securely wrapped and posted in a cardboard book-mailer). The weight of the book and packaging is then rounded up to the nearest hundred grams to arrive at the postage figure. I make no charge for packaging materials and do not seek to profit from postage and packaging. Postage can be combined for multiple purchases. Packed weight of this item : approximately 950 grams Postage and payment options to U.K. addresses: Details of the various postage options can be obtained by selecting the “Postage and payments” option at the head of this listing (above). Payment can be made by: debit card, credit card (Visa or MasterCard, but not Amex), cheque (payable to "G Miller", please), or PayPal. Please contact me with name, address and payment details within seven days of the end of the listing; otherwise I reserve the right to cancel the sale and re-list the item. Finally, this should be an enjoyable experience for both the buyer and seller and I hope you will find me very easy to deal with. If you have a question or query about any aspect (postage, payment, delivery options and so on), please do not hesitate to contact me. International buyers: To estimate the “packed weight” each book is first weighed and then an additional amount of 150 grams is added to allow for the packaging material (all books are securely wrapped and posted in a cardboard book-mailer). The weight of the book and packaging is then rounded up to the nearest hundred grams to arrive at the shipping figure. I make no charge for packaging materials and do not seek to profit from shipping and handling. Shipping can usually be combined for multiple purchases (to a maximum of 5 kilograms in any one parcel with the exception of Canada, where the limit is 2 kilograms). Packed weight of this item : approximately 950 grams International Shipping options: Details of the postage options to various countries (via Air Mail) can be obtained by selecting the “Postage and payments” option at the head of this listing (above) and then selecting your country of residence from the drop-down list. For destinations not shown or other requirements, please contact me before buying. Due to the extreme length of time now taken for deliveries, surface mail is no longer a viable option and I am unable to offer it even in the case of heavy items. I am afraid that I cannot make any exceptions to this rule. Payment options for international buyers: Payment can be made by: credit card (Visa or MasterCard, but not Amex) or PayPal. I can also accept a cheque in GBP [British Pounds Sterling] but only if drawn on a major British bank. Regretfully, due to extremely high conversion charges, I CANNOT accept foreign currency : all payments must be made in GBP [British Pounds Sterling]. This can be accomplished easily using a credit card, which I am able to accept as I have a separate, well-established business, or PayPal. Please contact me with your name and address and payment details within seven days of the end of the listing; otherwise I reserve the right to cancel the sale and re-list the item. Finally, this should be an enjoyable experience for both the buyer and seller and I hope you will find me very easy to deal with. If you have a question or query about any aspect (shipping, payment, delivery options and so on), please do not hesitate to contact me. Prospective international buyers should ensure that they are able to provide credit card details or pay by PayPal within 7 days from the end of the listing (or inform me that they will be sending a cheque in GBP drawn on a major British bank). Thank you. (please note that the book shown is for illustrative purposes only and forms no part of this listing) Book dimensions are given in inches, to the nearest quarter-inch, in the format width x height. Please note that, to differentiate them from soft-covers and paperbacks, modern hardbacks are still invariably described as being ‘cloth’ when they are, in fact, predominantly bound in paper-covered boards pressed to resemble cloth. Fine Books for Fine Minds I value your custom (and my feedback rating) but I am also a bibliophile : I want books to arrive in the same condition in which they were dispatched. For this reason, all books are securely wrapped in tissue and a protective covering and are then posted in a cardboard container. If any book is significantly not as described, I will offer a full refund. Unless the size of the book precludes this, hardback books with a dust-jacket are usually provided with a clear film protective cover, while hardback books without a dust-jacket are usually provided with a rigid clear cover. The Royal Mail, in my experience, offers an excellent service, but things can occasionally go wrong. However, I believe it is my responsibility to guarantee delivery. If any book is lost or damaged in transit, I will offer a full refund. Thank you for looking. Please also view my other listings for a range of interesting books and feel free to contact me if you require any additional information Design and content © Geoffrey Miller
Price: 45 GBP
Location: Flamborough, Bridlington
End Time: 2024-04-27T11:21:36.000Z
Shipping Cost: 30.9 GBP
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Item Specifics
Return postage will be paid by: Buyer
Returns Accepted: Returns Accepted
After receiving the item, your buyer should cancel the purchase within: 30 days
Return policy details: If any book is significantly not as described, I will offer a full refund, including return postage. All books are securely wrapped and posted in a cardboard container.
Binding: Hardback
Place of Publication: London
Non-Fiction Subject: History & Military
Language: English
Special Attributes: 1st Edition, Illustrated
Author: Admiral Sir Reginald Tupper
Publisher: Jarrolds
