could not have gone to the
Far East in 1904-05 without the supply ships of the British. The
American fleet that went round the world in 1908-09 had to depend on
British colliers. And over three-fifths of all the American soldiers
that went to France to fight the Germans went in British transports.
Transports are any ships that can be used to carry troops, horses,
motors, stores, munitions, guns, and all the other things an army
needs. They come third on this list. Fourthly, come those Merchantmen
which are not used by the Army or Navy because they carry on the
regular oversea trade as best they can. Fifthly, comes the Fishing
Fleet, many of whose best men and vessels have to be used to fish for
mines and submarines, but much of which must still be left to help out
the food supply. The merchantmen and fishing craft which carried on
their peace-time trade throughout the Great War had many an adventure
quite as thrilling and many a hero quite as glorious as any in the
fighting fleets. So there was no kind of British sea-power which did
not feel the awful stress of war; and none, we may be proud to add,
that failed to do its duty.

On the second War Wednesday (July 29th) the British Foreign Minister
warned the German Ambassador that the British could not be so base as
not to stand by their friends if Germany attacked them without good
reason. All through that night the staff of the Foreign Office were
wonderfully cheered up in their own work by looking across the famous
Horse Guards Parade at the Admiralty, which was ablaze with lights from
roof to cellar. The usual way, after the Royal Review that ended the
big fleet manoeuvres for the year, was to "demobilize" ships that had
been specially "mobilized" (made ready for the front) by adding Reserve
men to their nucleus crews. But this year things were different. War
was in the very air. So the whole fleet was kept mobilized; and the
wireless on top of the Admiralty roof was kept in constant touch with
every ship and squadron all round the Seven Seas. By Friday night, the
31st, the whole Grand Fleet had steamed through the Straits of Dover
into the grim North Sea and on to Scapa Flow, where it was already
waiting when, four days later, it got the midnight call to arms.

By the third War Wednesday (August 5th) the Germans had invaded Belgium
and France; that great soldier and creator of new armies, Lord
Kitchener, had replaced the civilian, Lord Haldane, at the