CE Le Mesurier - letters Home
Wednesday 07 June 1916
Sweetheart: Yrs of Sunday: that day I was still rather edgy: we had our own memorial service here- and then toddled off on shore to attend the big ‘un. I had a first class serious heart to heart talk with one of my fellows – and probably wanted more sleep! All serene now and I am tame enough to feed out of anybody’s hand!While the holes in our transom are being fast covered up – C in C sent for me this morning to talk shop, and told me with a twinkle in his eye that ‘the various reports are coming in fast now, and the number of explosions seen, or heard, after firing torpedoes is prodigious’! A sly dig at me. ‘cos I maintain stoutly that ours got home!One of our destroyers fetched safely into harbour on the East coast with sixty feet of plating ex: a German light cruiser sticking in her bows! That was a sad smash- poor Savill in Hampshire and very rough on K of K they had all been on board the Fleet flagship that very day, leaving at tea-time. Blowing hard, as luck had it. Leeme see – news? – Nothing doing up here: I am longing to get to sea again, stopping in harbour is very bad for one: two of my little ships had 20 hours in harbour after we get back t’other day, and were pushing out for three days patrol and are all the better for it!...Glad to see the newspapers are taking a saner view of things naval, but ‘twill take some time to get rid of the unpleasant impression left on one after reading Saturday and Sunday last. Night-night.