Poem ~ A Captain's Mutiny - Saturday, 6 January 1917 - Wednesday 10 January 1917

Impression sketch of Captain Stayman attcking Gunner Gifford by Jamie

With two days to 1916's close,

A Saturday’s magistrate’s court

Took place in Plymouth - Captain

Of a merchant ship was charged,

For grievous bodily harm and

Attempted murder of a crewman.

The merchant ship, Ciaverley,

In November and December

1916, had been on a trading

Tour from Asian city, Rangoon -

For defence the boat equipped

By a naval gun and gunners.

An initial event took place

On Thursday November 30th,

During maneuvering between

Other vessels - Captain Stayman

On the bridge of the Ciaverley

Gave an order to the helmsman.

Yet Chief Officer, John Edward

Jackson, stepped forward and

Countermanded the given order;

To turn about in order to avoid

Colliding with another vessel.

Result; Captain Stayman fumed.

By refusal to listen to reason,

Chief officer Jackson was then

Viciously attacked by the fists

Of the drunk Captain - this act

Being witnessed by the crew;

Stayman's frequent behaviour.

On Friday December 8 1916,

Captain Stayman was again

Very drunk, while they sailed

Across the Mediterranean sea -

Then at a distance, within range

Of their guns was seen a ship.

Captain Stayman was informed

That this vessel was a hospital

Ship - despite this fact he gave

Instructions to the gunner to fire

On the vessel, which sailed in

Range of their defensive guns.

Amid the Royal Naval Reserve

Gunner John Lloyd Gifford

Refused; he stated that the boat

Was not an enemy but hospital

Ship. Stayman said 'I don't give

A damn. Open fire on that boat.'

Reply; 'I will not open fire on

That hospital ship.' Gunner

Gifford turned to the other

Crew who he defied to try

And touch any gunnery -

The incident then passed.

Having not been forgotten

By Captain Stayman, time

Passed until the Boxing Day.

Stayman confronted gunner

Gifford, whom he then asked

If he would report his order.

Would he tell authorities,

That he had ordered Gifford

To fire on the hospital ship?

The 33-year-old Seaman

Said nothing; he turned away

Suggesting that he would.

Stayman had brooded all

Day - both stood on deck.

When Gifford turned about

Walk aft, Stayman launched

At him - fuelled by drink

The captain siezed him.

They struggled and Gifford

Was pushed against the rail.

Stayman was ready to send

Him overboard, as ship lurched

Starboard - Gifford broke free

And ran, hiding on the boat.

Captain Stayman did not

Give in so easily - convinced

The gunner would inform

Authorities of his intent to

Destroy a hospital ship,

He searched high and low,

Until he found the man.

Stayman rushed at Gifford,

Grabbing him with damned

Threats of murder - other

Crew members restrained the

Captain - the strongest had

To lock him up in his cabin.

With hands handcuffed

Behind his back, Stayman

Declared the crew's mutiny -

The Captain was locked away

To be fed via a porthole, while

Ciaverley continued passage.

With the Plymouth magistrates

Hearing the story of witnesses

To number nine crew, who said

Stayman had been frequently

And dangerously drunk - they

All decided to put him in irons.

Gifford confirmed Stayman was

Drunk, when ordering to fire at the

Hospital ship - Captain Stayman

Declared 'not guilty' - with all bail
Withheld, he was charged under 
Defence of realm's naval authority.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1917. Sea Captain Charged. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 01 January 1917. P.5. Col.5. Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12214057/Daily-Telegraph-January-1-1917.html> [Accessed: 06 January 2017].

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 06 January 2017). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12214057/Daily-Telegraph-January-1-1917.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ A Swiss Spies for Germans - Monday, 16 October - Thursday, 19 October 1916

Impression sketch; recruitment of Swiss spy Felix Malherbe.

From neutral Switzerland came source

Of subjects, willing to sell services

For purposes of Germany's war intent.

Exact numbers to be then classified

By the French army - for their missions

Such recruited spies travelled miles.

A subject of Switzerland Felix Malherbe,

An electrician, later confessed how his

Involvement as a spy began - six months

Of war had passed, when in February

1915, Felix Malherbe was sat on a bench.

A man came to him asking his situation.

Felix Malherbe had no work or money.

The stranger talked to him asking about

His past, his knowledge and his ability

To speak French - studying his passport

Malherbe evidenced he could freely travel

About France - did he want to earn money?

In agreeing to idea of taking work Malherbe

Was asked to report to a brewery in Geneva.

On arrival there he met a German man from

Loerrach - being a German city close to the

Swiss border - Malherbe learned from him

About the German Intelligence Service.

Given 100 francs Malherbe then agreed

To go on an initial trip across France - war

Was still young and battles over frontiers

Had happened - in the proximity of Cernay

With the battle of Mulhouse, Malherbe

Was issued with specific orders to follow.

This was to be a trial to see how well he did
Various tasks - Malherbe was requested

First to travel via Bellegarda to Lyon, Dijon

And Duchy of Bar, to finally reach Troyes.

A return journey to take in Belfort and Delle,

Having gained information to make a report.

Specifically Felix Malherbe was ordered

To find out about cost of raw materials,

Commodities and resources - to observe

The French state of mind at Villefranche;

Where the engineering company Vermorel

Was engaged in manufacturing of shells.

The Germans wanted to know how many

Worked there - age groups and if men 
Or women. At Dijon Malherbe had to find

How well the army shops were supplied -

Onwards to Neufchâteau, where he would

Discover that a woman of the intelligence

Group had been arrested, as suspected.

At Brienne-le-Château Malherbe learnt

About artillery ammunition of the French.

With the trip going to plan, he returned to

Loerrach via Troyes - here questioned

At length - Malherbe was given 800 francs.

Next he was asked to travel to Cherbourg.

21 March 1915 Felix Malherbe set upon

A mission - meeting a woman of German

Secret Service who had passed him

A newspaper - a series of codes had been

Written In the margin that he conveyed

To Basel. Next he travelled to Cherbourg.

There he looked into state of naval guns,

Then onto Saint-Malo - Malherbe passed on

Information - along to coast from Manche

Into Brittany to arrive Brest; here to discover

About Bretagne Battleship progression and

Goods and coal being shipped to England.

Other boats Malherbe looked for information

On were transatlantic SS Paris, along with

SS France; turned into a merchant cruiser.

Also in Brittany Malherbe arrived in Nantes,

To spy on imports of British steel and state

Of plants; idle by lack of labor or materials?

After passing on information to a German

Spy in Nantes, Malherbe soon travelled

To Paris - to meet four German officers

Disguised as British Red Cross - at end

Of March Malherbe was back in Loerrach,

Providing the secret service with a report.

Handed a total of 1,100 francs Malherbe

Was asked to travel again - at Villefranche

His mission to look into Vermorel plants.

There discovering amounts of shells

Being made, also to find about industrial

Goods produced and moved out by train.

Journeying to Poitiers central France, the

Experienced spy Malherbe looked into

French army enrollment and movements

Across to Evereux in Normandy - after

To Rouen, where 20,000 British 40,000

French troops were being moved to front.

Whilst in Normandy, Malherbe found out

About shipping boats origins and cargos,

To observe unloading of army supplies

By the British - then he looks into numbers

Of wounded or sick troops, to consider

French women’s morality for reference.

German newspapers intentions to say

French immorality was rife and debauchery

Existed in the country - after trying to find

About barracks to house recruits, Malherbe

Moved onto Valbonne southeast France,

To spy on colonial and Montluel troops.

Close to Rhone Alps city Lyon, he sought

Information of troops stationed at Banne

Camp - in same region Malherbe paused

At a station of Saint-Germain-des-Fosses,

To watch troop transports and presence

Of artillery - noting details of an airfield.

After Orleans he found where British were

Stationed - Malherbe back in Paris delved

Into the city’s economy - from 29 March

Spy Malherbe had covered many miles -

Throughout April he had asked questions

To then look at Paris' people and defences.

On 4 May Malherbe journeyed to Troyes,

North central France - his subject there

To look into how factories operated again

And the moves of transport - this talented

Electrician started to falter, running out

Of luck; to be stopped at the train station.

With routine passport checks done more

Thoroughly, Felix Malherbe was detained

And quizzed - due to lack of a diplomatic

Signature - a further search of the Swiss

Subject had found he possessed details;

Regiment numbers and other information.

Imprisoned at Troyes Malherbe underwent

A trial - providing all details of his activities.

In his defence he made an appeal to Troyes

Protestant Chaplin - but charges were held;

Felix Malherbe had conspired with enemy

In 12 months. 12 May 1916 came sentence.

Whilst no immediate execution was made,

He sought a presidential pardon; time ran out.

Monday 9 October 1916 spy Felix Malherbe

Aged 41, finally faced his firing squad 5 a.m.

At Hauts-Clos, Troyes - to be given a small

Paragraph in the English Daily Telegraph.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1916. Spy Shot In France. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 10 October 1916. P.6. Col.6. Available at: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12213413/Daily-Telegraph-October-10-1916.html> [Accessed: 16 October 2016].

Source: File: Une affaire d'espionnage à Troyes. Available at: <http://www.jschweitzer.fr/notre-histoire/espionnage/m> [Accessed 16 October 2016]

Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 16 October 2016). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12213413/Daily-Telegraph-October-10-1916.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ How to Make a Gas Mask - Thursday, 29 April 1915

Source: File: Two types of gas makes to make at home. jpg. The Daily Telegraph, [online] P.3. Col.3-4. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11561784/Daily-Telegraph-April-29-1915.html [Accessed: 29 April 2015].

An odd thing occurs in war,  

When an appeal is made,

For households to produce

Vital soldier's equipment.

The War Office had issued

Requests for protections,

To be made against new

German weapons of war.

Two types of respirators,

Might easily be produced -

An oblong pad may make

A mouth and nostril cover.

3 in by ¾ in. by 5 ½ in. 

Absorbent cotton Wool –

Bleached, covered by 3

Layers of cotton gauze.

Then a band will hold this

About the head, to keep

In place - made of ½ in.
Cotton elastic 16 in. long.

Alternatively, comes the

Makeshift idea, of double

Stockinette, 9 ½ in. long and

3 ½ in. wide narrow to 2 ½ in.

  

Attached at each end will be

Thick plaited worsted 5 in.,

Attached at each end, to loop

Over the ears to stop all gas.

Illustrations were provided

Of a soldier, wearing each

Alternatives for the home

Industrial gas mask makers.

All seems a little amateurish -

For almost a privately funded

War - furthermore an address

Is given to send in batches.

Requests for 100 of homemade

Respirators, to ordnance officer.

All having little, or no chance,

Of saving lives of their soldiers.

So what about eye protection?
Illustration A is a mock up made

By Ms. Boroughs And Wellcome.
Picture B gives stockinette look.

All being the unofficial image

With B possibly being marginally

Better fashion, until experiments

Decide on lack of effectiveness.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1915. An Appeal for Respirators. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 29 Apr. P.3. Col.3-4. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11561784/Daily-Telegraph-April-29-1915.html [Accessed: 29 April 2015].

Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 29 April 2015). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11561784/Daily-Telegraph-April-29-1915.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ Imminent Invasion - Sunday, 11 April 1915

Source: Invasion - Avon Tyres Advert. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 10 Apr. P.4. Col.5-7. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11520509/Daily-Telegraph-April-10-1915.html [Accessed: 11 April 2015].

With a countryside view in Wye Valley

Two men, two women look back,

Pointing down to Tintern Abbey -

Pausing in an open motorcar to show

The freedom of the open road.

Above hangs the word 'invasion.'

So what’s the bother about Germans

Invading the British county? - well

Why not invade it yourself, proclaims

Some cheery tyre tube called Bill.

With the continent well and truly

Closed to tourism, the guide makes

For 'stay-at-home holidays' -

Which is stated as not only patriotic

But is totally compulsory.

Bill the tube advises how Harogate,

Baden Baden or Bath can all be

Places of cures  - how Scottish glens,

Yorkshire moors and Surrey lanes

Can offer so much more.

Equal to any continental place

Is spring of any open English Road -

With the Lakes, Devon Forests

And mountains in an Emerald Isle -

Full of neglected charm.

Such is the fortune of the fortunate

Motorist - the chosen few whose

Money can be spent liberally -

So runs the advert for those

Who can afford good tyres.

Endurance, resilience and strong

Safety in the English sounding Avon

Tyres available in British towns, with

Solid types, ideal for trade vehicles;

The Avon India Rubber Company.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1915. Invasion -Avon Tyres Advert. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 10 Apr. P.4. Col.5-7. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11520509/Daily-Telegraph-April-10-1915.html [Accessed: 11 April 2015].

Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 11 April 2015). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11034515/Daily-Telegraph-Janauary-1-1915.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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Poem ~ Smoking:Order of War Office - Tuesday, 10 November 1914

Among the important supplies

For the War Office, providing troops,

Is the need of better tobacco -

Thus creating important discussions

Between Lord Kitchener

And Imperial Institute

To resolve this vital issue.

British Colonies over recent years,

Have produced premium

Tobacco over in the Americas -

Also to be included are -

Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

Most recently Canadian tobacco

Leaves have built a market within

Britain - But quality has been absent.

Lord Kitchener keenly negotiated

Specifications of the W.O. department,

For good quality tobacco,

From both Protectorates and Colonies.

So soldiers will be assured - they will

Be able to breathe more easily,

Knowing that quality cigarettes

Will now have their name on the packet.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1914. British Tobacco for Troops. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 10 Nov. p.13. Col.1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11208761/Daily-Telegraph-November-10-1914.htm  [Accessed: 10 November 2014].

Mann, J., 2014. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 10 November 2014). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11208761/Daily-Telegraph-November-10-1914.htm

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Poem ~ Earnings of a Lady Typist - Friday, 6 November 1914

No other class of women workers,

Than girl typists - had felt the harder

Pinching effects on them from war.

Closure of the Stock Exchange

And other financial business’

Caused cause a great demise

In employment of many women.

The end of English Agents offices,

In the trade for foreign goods,

Has also added to the big effect.

Finding themselves in a pitiful plight,

With promise of a dreary winter ahead,

Were ladies with any other skills.

The National Patriotic Association

Chairman, Sir George Pragnell,

Devised a particular scheme -

By his knowledge of organising,

Of the wholesale drapery trade.

Knowing of strains in manufacturing

Sir Pragnell had insight to see 300,000

Army webbed belts being quickly used.

The Queen's appeal to all the women

Of the Empire, had well met the target

For the patterned belt - with more needed.

Sir Pragnell's keen and able abilities

Convinced the War Office for the best

Belt pattern would be the French -

Made of double flannel, was a protective,

Warm field garment, for all their soldiers.

Progress came with the Committee,

On Unemployment and a War Office

Contract, for such garments.

The easily crafted belts, could provide,

Opportunities for any girl typists

With no effect on workers,

In any other current industries.

Word spread as wild fire in the city,

Of exclusive employment for girls,

Provided by the Patriotic Association.

At their offices at St Paul's Churchyard,

Came the call - hand or machine sewers

Aimed at lady typists out of work -

Or any other means of livelihood.

On production of good references,

Each applicant was given a card

To complete; name, statement,

Typing skills and shorthand speed,

And knowledge of sewing possessed.

Each girl given enough cloth to make,

Four belts at home overnight – returned

To earn them 3d each, if finished well.

These belts were formed of flannel straps

Being 1 and 1/2 yards in total length -

Wider at the front, tapering at the ends.

Two lengths of the flannel - to be neatly

Sewn together, with stout webbing, either

End - making with an over sewn slit upon

One side, for the other end to pass through,

Giving an adaptable belt, for any sized man.

In satisfactory receipt of said made belts,

The sewer received another bundle of ten-

In completing these, receiving a half crown.

The process repeats for 5 days a week -

So 12s and 6d can be earned, it’s believed.

Any able girl can make two belts per hour.

While those with a sewing machine

Can complete one every 20 minutes.

Each belt is expertly checked -

Attention made to the webbings strength.

200 girls are then daily employed

Between them making 2000 belts daily,

With a grand total of 10,000 per week.

Continued preparations are needed

For men in the field and in training.

So needs for these are likely to last.

Supplies of flannel start to shrink

With requisitions of the navy arm -

As Red Cross, Russia and France

Make requisition for woollen goods -

So is the need to build reserves.

This process creates growth

Of registering girls for work -

When a young man answers

His country's call, a girl is chosen

To take his place -for some organisers'

It is a surprise how many ladies

Possess exceptional abilities.

An employer requesting a girl with able 

Knowledge of figures – after an hour’s exam

One girl’s skills changed a city man’s mind.

Another lady proved her worth; a rapid

Shorthand writer of Spanish and French. 

Viscountess St Cyres, representing

Association of Women Clerks,

And Secretaries joined panel for

Professional Classes War Relief Fund.

Her purpose; to find women clerks

Work in their profession - with particular

Attentions given to highly trained,

And most competent women.

Funds from one philanthropist provided

Trained secretaries for schemes

Of public relief  - that might have

Only found volunteers or untrained clerks.

On occasions when work cannot be found,

Younger members are to be trained,

For other posts in colonies or elsewhere.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1914. Girl Typists - Scheme of Paid Work. The Daily Telegraph. [online] 6 Nov. p.4. Col.1-2 . Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11208699/Daily-Telegraph-November-6-1914.html [Accessed: 6 November 2014].

Mann, J., 2014. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 6 November 2014). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11208699/Daily-Telegraph-November-6-1914.html

http://worldwaroneblogger.blogspot.co.uk/

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