Chapter 39 – Dacre

Many details in this chapter are taken directly from Lieutenant-Commander Dacre Stoker’s autobiographical account Straws in the Wind . Some wording changes have been included, but details of the passage through the narrows, crashing on each bank and escaping whilst being chased by numerous boats are generally as Stoker’s own account (pp. 109-115).

Dacre Stoker’s early memory of a young female inspiring his courage whilst standing in defiance at the crater of Vesuvius as it spat forth a cloud of ash and glowing rocks is taken from this account. He describes her as “Pluck personified” (p. 24).

Details of this sequence are also recounted by Fred and Elizabeth Brenchley in Stoker’s Submarine (p. 73-78), including a statement that one crewman counted the scraping of 18 mine mooring wires through the minefield (p. 73)

A member of the AE2 crew, Torpedoman John Wheat, recorded in his diary of events during the making of the Narrows on the morning of 25 April 1915:

“We could hear the shells striking the water and bursting outside. At this stage the Captain Stoker told us to remain cool and all would go well. He then looked through the periscope and saw that we were being fired on from all sides (it was only a miracle that we were not hit). After the Captain had a quick look around, he gave the order to go full speed ahead. We were soon delighted to see by the depth gauge that we were moving off into deep water and we were soon down to 80 feet, as if nothing had happened. During all this the Captain remained extremely cool, for all depended on him at this stage. It is due to his coolness that I am now writing this account. Nobody knows what a terrible strain it is on the nerves to undergo anything like this, especially the Captain, as all depends on him.”

This diary is held by the Mitchell State Library of NSW, and a transcript can be viewed at:

http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/_transcript/2012/D16835/a3901.htm