...Oswald paid a visit to Vickers Stores, Marsa...

...Emperor of India sailed for Constantinople, [insert: she had arrived in Malta the previous Friday, 4th April from England] also Rowan. Osiris left for Marseilles and Sentinel for England. Forward arrived from Black Sea...

PARAVANE CLAIM

Sir W. JOHNSON-HICKS asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether his attention has been called to the remarks of the Attorney-General in the paravane case before the Royal Commission on Claims in regard to the sum paid to Commodore (sic) Burney; and whether he will make a full statement as to the work done by that gentleman and the negotiations with Messrs. Vickers and the sum paid to him?

Sir J. CRAIG Yes, Sir. The Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors in their recommendation attributed the main credit for the invention and development of the paravane to Lieutenant-Commander Burney and outlined the work that had been done by this officer. No money has been or will be paid to Lieutenant-Commander Burney out of Naval Funds in respect of the use of the invention in His Majesty's Navy. In accordance with the practice adopted in many other cases he was allowed to exploit some of the rights, other than in this respect. When such permission was given he was free to make his own arrangements with Messrs. Vickers as regards any apparatus supplied to merchant ships.

...In February 1915, Lieutenant Burney advised the Admiralty that the Paravane inventions should be protected by patents. Accordingly, the Admiralty Patent Agent obtained secret patents in Lieutenant Burney's name. These were lodged in June 1915. In accordance with the King's Regulations, Burney assigned the patents to the Admiralty, under a deed of assignment, so that the Paravane patents became the property of the Admiralty, and the granting of an award to the inventor rested in the discretion of their Lordships. Lieutenant Burney then laid before the Admiralty, in writing, his view of the position. Foreseeing the necessity of forming an immense commercial organisation for the manufacture and fitting of the Paravane, which would be furnished to H.M. ships, the ships of the Allied Navies and the merchant shipping of Great Britain and of the Allies, Burney submitted that two courses were open to H.M. Government: (1) That H.M. Government should take out patents in Allied countries, and should use the royalties thereby accruing as appropriations in aid of the Navy Estimates; (2) If that course was rejected, that Lieutenant Burney should be allowed to take out patents in Allied countries or to sell to them outright the drawings of the invention. Neither then nor at any subsequent time did Burney ask for an award to be granted to him by the Admiralty in respect of the fitting with the Paravane of H.M. ships; and subsequently Burney informed the Admiralty that he would accept nothing on that account.

It will be observed that the first proposal was that the Government should work the patents and take what profit resulted therefrom; and that the second and alternative proposal was that Lieutenant Burney should conduct the whole enterprise in terms to be decided by the Admiralty. Their Lordships elected to choose the alternative. In a letter dated May 17th, 1916, the Admiralty authorised Lieutenant Burney to take out patents in any part of the world, at his own expense and for his own benefit, or to sell the drawings outright; with regard to Paravanes and gear manufactured at the expense of the Admiralty and supplied by them to foreign Governments, the Admiralty were to charge a royalty, a proportion of which would be paid to Lieutenant Burney; and with regard to the use of the apparatus by the British Navy, the Admiralty were to consider the granting of an award to Lieutenant Burney. In that letter, therefore, the Admiralty instructed Burney, a lieutenant whose pay was about £250 a year, and who was already charged with as much work as he could well perform, to organise a system of international manufacture upon a scale requiring an initial capital expenditure of at least a million sterling.

Burney accepted the enterprise and at once began to execute their Lordships' instructions. He concluded the agreements with France and Russia, during June and July 1916. All this time he was also engaged in his work at the Paravane department at Portsmouth. In August 1916, Burney proposed to Sir George White, of Bristol, that Sir George White should take over the whole financial and commercial side of the enterprise. Sir George White had helped Burney to conduct his experiments with aeroplanes, during which Burney had acquired the knowledge and experience enabling him to devise the Paravane, and upon which Sir George White had expended some £10,000. Sir George White accepted Burney's proposal, and concluded an agreement with Burney under which Sir George White was to recover his initial expenditure of some £10,000 from the first payments received from foreign countries, and was to pay Burney a proportion of the subsequent profits received.

On 30th August, Burney received a letter from the Admiralty in which their Lordships, altering the arrangements they had authorised Burney to make with foreign countries, precluded the charging of royalties. As Sir George White was now in possession of Burney's rights in the matter, Burney referred the Admiralty to Sir George White. The immediate effect of the Admiralty letter was of course to prevent Sir George White from proceeding with the business. After an interval, on October 30th, 1916, Burney received a letter from the Admiralty which, in fact, cancelled their letter of May 17th, 1916, in which Burney was instructed to conduct the whole enterprise at his own expense and (excepting in respect of the British Navy) for his own profit. The Admiralty forbade the charging of royalties to foreign countries as regards the fitting of naval vessels, and the terms and conditions of the fitting of merchant ships were to be submitted to the Admiralty for approval.

Sir George White represented to the Admiralty that if he was forbidden either to charge royalties or to receive a fixed sum in payment, he would be deprived of the means of raising the capital upon which he relied both to make up his initial expenditure already incurred, and to start the business of manufacture. These representations were made in vain. On November 22nd, 1916, Sir George White died suddenly, and his son, Sir G. Stanley White, continued the negotiations with the Admiralty. Sir G. S. White offered to begin the work of manufacture upon condition that he received a sum in compensation for the rights withdrawn by the Admiralty. Their Lordships delaying their reply, Sir G. S. White, unable for lack of capital to build and to equip a factory, decided to transfer his rights to a firm possessing the requisite resources. He therefore assigned his rights to Messrs. Vickers, Ltd. Sir G. S. White had concluded his agreement with Messrs. Vickers, when he received a letter from the Admiralty, omitting any suggestion as to finance, but urging him to arrange to equip merchant vessels with the utmost despatch. It was now the end of December 1916. So far, the commercial side of the enterprise had been entrusted to Burney upon conditions which, with the help of a private firm, made the enterprise possible; the conditions were then so altered as to make the enterprise impossible; and Messrs. Vickers had replaced Sir G. S. White.

Messrs. Vickers, soon afterwards, at the end of January 1917, received from the Admiralty a definite order for the supply of 4,000 Otters. It thus became possible, for the first time since May 1916, after the lapse of eight months, to begin the manufacture and supply of protector Paravanes on a large scale. Here it should be stated that, by reason of the alteration by the Admiralty of the original terms laid down by the Admiralty, both Lieutenant Burney and Sir G. S. White were deprived of the monetary profits which would have accrued to them under the terms originally formulated by the Admiralty. In a letter, dated February 23rd, 1917, the Admiralty requested Lieutenant Burney to furnish their Lordships with information as to the amounts privately expended on experimental work, such information being required in connection with the question of an award to be granted for the use of the Paravane in H.M. Naval Service. Lieutenant Burney, under date February 27th, 1917, replied that he desired to state that he had never asked for, and did not wish to receive, any monetary award whatever for the use of any of his inventions by the British Naval Service.

The statements which appeared in the Press, that Lieutenant Burney had received an award of £30,000, were false. Lieutenant Burney received nothing from the Admiralty. And in a clause of the agreement concluded by Lieutenant Burney with Messrs. Vickers, it was stipulated that Burney should receive no portion whatever of any profits, direct or indirect, which Messrs. Vickers might make out of the manufacture or supply of any of the Paravane apparatus ordered by the British Admiralty for the use of H.M. ships. The expenditure upon Paravanes supplied or approved to be supplied to H.M. ships and the ships of the United States Navy in Home waters, was over four millions sterling. If the usual royalty of ten per cent, was charged on that sum, and if on that royalty the inventor received twenty-five per cent, he would receive £100,000...

H.M. Hospital Ship 'Goorkha'
Salonika, 19th November 1918.

The Managers,
Union Castle Mail S.S. Co., Ltd.,
3-4 Fenchurch St., London,

Gentlemen, — I would like to pay a tribute to the efficiency of the Otter Gear as fitted to the Goorkha. The last minefield I passed through in daylight, the Otters cut adrift three enemy moored mines (in 15 minutes) which came to the surface just abaft the bridge. In dangerous areas, especially such as some of the pro-enemy waters we have to traverse just now, the Otters are more than ever necessary, and look-outs are placed in Nos. 5 and 6 boats to watch the water surface above the Otters. The patients (who are able) are kept on deck with lifebelts on, and the crew also, as far as possible. The tremendous tearing sound and vibration caused by the mine mooring wire rushing along the Otter towing wire, does not leave many of the crew in their quarters forward, and is felt quite strongly on the forecastle head.

In the event of getting among mines, I see nothing for it but to steer a straight course, full speed if possible, as slowing down too much, or stopping, brings the Otters to the surface where they are useless, and turning under helm renders the stern liable to strike a mine, which the Otters have cut adrift. The very hard steel cutting teeth in the jaws of the Otter show little or no signs after cutting mine wires, although in one case, portions of the wire were found in the jaws, and in another a length of wire and the depth nipper were brought on board with the Otter. In another instance, the port Otter refused to work and came alongside ship, when it was found on hoisting it out of the water, that though it had cut the mine adrift, it had fouled the wire with some anchoring arrangement attached. The wire was cut with an axe, and the Otter freed.

In most cases, the mines cut adrift by the Goorkha's Otters have very shortly afterwards been sunk by gunfire. In the Mediterranean from 28th June to 17th November, the ship steamed 1594 hours, during which time the Otters were in use 361 hours.

Yours obediently,

(Signed) John D. Whitton.

...Had a visit from Mason, the water colour artist, who is out here to paint local scenes, naval, for the War Museum. He held rank of Lieut. R.N.V.R....

...Early in 1917, then, while the Paravane department at Portsmouth was supplying vessels of war with the mine-protector Paravane gear, Messrs. Vickers in London began to equip the merchant ships of the world with the Otter.

What must now be done was to manufacture the Otter and its elaborate gear, and to equip with it the British and Allied merchant services. As ships could not be withdrawn from the sea for the purpose, it was necessary to fit them when they were under repair or during their stay in port between voyages. In order that the towing wire should be attached to the forefoot of the vessel, at the point where the bow joins the keel, it was necessary to fit every ship with a shoe, or a saddle-plate or a clump, to which were attached the towing wires of the two Otters. The requisite fitting varied with the particular build of the ship. The type of Otter-fitting required also varied with the particular type of ship, and the variation was practically covered within seven or eight standard types. Ships under construction were, of course, adapted to the Otter as they were built.

In some ships it was necessary to extend the stem itself to take the saddle-plate or sliding shoe; to others, in which the stem was much cut away, a clump was fitted; to others, a large saddle-plate was fitted. Three-strand towing wire of special design was provided. For dropping and weighing the Otter, the fittings again varied according to the type of ship. If she had no suitable derrick or davit a gallows crane was fitted. An inhaul wire, an easing-out wire, a tripping wire and a tripping hook were provided.

It was clearly necessary to catch each vessel as she entered port and to fit her there and then. For that purpose, Otters and gear must be ready in the port, with a skilled staff to fit them. When the Otter was fitted to the ship it was necessary to teach the crew how to use it...

..The Paravane fitted to merchant vessels was called the Otter, for convenience in distinction...

...Some fifty firms were employed in manufacturing Otters and gear under Messrs. Vickers. At Messrs. Vickers' head office, the Otter staff numbered about 180; about 60 men were employed in fitting, about 50 men in testing, and about 40 men in inspection work. Ships were fitted at 32 ports in Great Britain : Blackwall, King's Lynn, Newhaven, Southampton, Plymouth, Falmouth, Cardiff, Barry, Newport, Avonmouth, Swansea, Milford Haven, Liverpool, Manchester, Barrow, Workington, Belfast, Dublin, Queenstown, Govan, Dundee, Aberdeen, Leith, Bo'ness, Newcastle, Blyth, Middlesboro', Sunderland, West Hartlepool, Hull, Goole and Grimsby. There were four stations in the Mediterranean : Marseilles, Malta, Alexandria and Port Said...

...The average number of ships fitted per week for the six months preceding the Armistice was 50. The average number of ships per week repaired was 120, and inspected, 280. The number of Otters manufactured was over 17,000.

The first merchant vessel was equipped with the Otter in April 1917. When the Armistice was concluded, about 3,000 ships had been fitted with the Otter...

...Before the Otter was fitted to merchant ships eighteen vessels a month were being lost by mine. After the Otter was fitted the losses dropped to three or four, and in some months none, and no merchant ship fitted with the Otter was lost by mine. Thirty four British merchant ships were known to have been saved, and thirteen not certainly known, forty-seven in all, to which must be added a large number not reported by the master. Foreign merchant ships are not included...

...OTTERS

The following is a list of the occasions on which mines have been cut by merchant ships fitted with Otter gear, and the fact has been reported officially. Definite evidence of the mine having been cut existed except in the cases where marked with an asterisk.

DATE. SHIP. TONNAGE. POSITION. REMARKS.

...8 Nov 1918. GOORKHA (6,335) Off Kavale. Cut mine in daylight. Mine seen on surface alongside.
14 Nov 1918. GOORKHA (6,335) Dardanelles, Cut mine and passed through minefield.
14 Nov 1918. GOORKHA (6,335) Dardanelles. Do.
14 Nov 1918. GOORKHA (6,335) Dardanelles. Do...

...Shortly after war was declared in 1914 Mason was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the RNVR. His initial assignment involved patrolling the North Sea and English Channel followed by a posting to the Mediterranean and Suez Canal zone. Many of the sketches he made whilst on active service were subsequently made up into finished works that were purchased by the Imperial War Museum. After being demobbed in 1919 Mason resumed his career in Scarborough...

Mephisto

The model of this tank is not quite finished but it represents a tank of this class called Mephisto (Number 506) which was captured by Australian troops of the 26th Battalion AIF (composed mainly of Queenslanders) in 1918 near Villers-Bretonneux. It had been involved in the assault on Villers-Bretonneux and had in fact been lying stranded in a deep crater near Monument Wood but it was only in July 1918 that the front line pushed up enough for its position to fall into Allied hands.

After a period in Britain it was decided to send the tank, as a trophy, to Brisbane in June 1919 (aboard the S S Armagh). It took two of the City Council's steamrollers to tow the tank to the Queensland Museum original site. Mephisto is the only version of the tank still in existence (The one in the German Panzer Museum is in fact a modern replica).

...Got into conversation with General Trepoff and his wife and another young person whilst at tea. The younger woman and Mrs General spoke English fairly well. They wanted to get away to the Riviera or Switzerland for the climate as the old people had pneumonia...

...The Turks were holding most or all of the sandhill islands to the north [of Qurna] and on some of them were mounting guns. On the 19th March their artillery opened fire from Gun Hill, and the gunboat Marmariss was seen to be underway near Peardrop Bend. HMS Odin at once moved up the river to engage her, but the Marmariss did not come down below the Ruta obstruction. The Turkish action was so suspicious that the Odin advanced with caution, until a large observation mine exploding just ahead of her showed clearly that the Marmariss was only trying to draw the Odin over a minefield...

...preceded by the mine-sweeping armed launches Shaitan and Sumana, the Espiegle and Clio now moved up and anchored off Norfolk Hill to join in the bombardment of One Tower hill, and the Odin, Lawrence and Miner also moved up in support. These warships continued to be the main target for the Turkish guns and both the Espiegle and Odin were hit by shells, without, however, sustaining much damage or loss...

HAMLIN, Thomas, Assistant Steward, MMR, 940981, Partridge II, 26 October 1918, illness

PHILLIPS, William, Carpenter, MMR, 921982, Partridge II, 28 October 1918, illness

MERCANTILE MARINE RESERVE.

Mr. CROOKS: asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether, in view of the fact that men who volunteered for the Mercantile Marine Reserve worked under naval discipline and were engaged in such work as mine-laying, he will consider the possibility of these men being awarded the gratuity as in the case of Service men?

Dr. MACNAMARMA: In view of the special nature of their emoluments, it is not proposed to issue to men of the Mercantile Marine Reserve the naval war gratuity awarded to men who received naval rates of pay.

Mr. J. JONES: Is he aware that numbers of these men have been torpedoed four and five times, and have made as much sacrifice as any other section of the community?

Dr. MACNAMARA: We are all very grateful to them, and fully aware of the sacrifices made by these men, but I would like to send my Hon. Friend a reasoned statement of the decision which I have announced.

Mr. J. JONES: They were under naval discipline.