CHAPTER 2 Part 1: England Expects More....
ONE
By chance, Walke and Torrance Smythe entered the conference room together, where the half-dozen officers waiting around the table got to their feet.
“Good morning gentlemen, Please sit down.” Commander Torrance Smythe remained standing as they resumed their seats and Walke moved to a vacant chair. “I'm Commander Louis Torrance Smythe, and as you all know I will be leading this little group of ours. At least this is what I have been led to believe as we await more explicit orders from the Admiralty.
“Most of you arrived in the last 48 hours and are wondering what your job, our job, is to be here. Indeed you may be wondering where 'here' is, officially. We are within HM Dockyard Portsmouth, and officially attached to it. Our little group has, as yet, no name. Perhaps by the end of today we will have been given one, or can make one for ourselves and get it accepted. For the time being we are a quiet little administrative unit – but working on the U-boat problem.
“Our mandate is not yet well defined, but as I see it we are to do whatever it takes to come up with a way, or ways, to sweep the U-boats from the seas around Great Britain and get ships safely to our shores. Yes, others are working on the problem from their specific operational viewpoints, we are to start with a blank slate.”
Walke interjected: “I suppose one could say that we can make out own viewpoint as we need to.”
Torrance Smythe nodded: “From what I have been told, that is probably a good way to think of it. We have a senior officer coming shortly to tell us what the Admiralty says on that score. In addition, he will brief us on the scope of our mission. We will have a lot to discuss.
“I've spoken with most of you individually, if even for a few minutes last night or this morning. After this morning's meeting I will sit down with each of you to clarify assignments, if and as required. I presume you've been introducing yourselves just now, but let's review.
“Lieutenant Leonard Walke, whom we have just heard from, arrived with me last night from Rosyth. He's spent the war in the gunnery department of HMS New Zealand, and played a part in gunnery reforms for the Grand Fleet. He is also a mathematician, and his role here with us will be analytical and mathematical depending on what we find.
“Lieutenant Commander John Barker* has spent the last few years in submarines, commanding of two of them on a number of active patrols. It is two, I believe?”
“Yes, sir,” Barker spoke up in his gravelly voice.
“Lieutenant Commander Barker, 'Barky' in the submarine service, is to be our adviser on matters of submarine operations. More on that on a moment, because – our job is to do with the submarine menace.”
Several heads nodded at this. Submariners were a new group of specialists for the RN, and it made sense to have one in a group looking at countering enemy submarines.
“Lieutenant Commander Wilson Imrie,* is our expert for mine laying and sweeping matters, as well as inshore navigation. If required he will assist the other RNR officers in their key task, but I suspect that is unlikely.
“Lieutenant Robinson, RNVR,* comes from his peace time job as a barrister, and he will be our administrative coordinator when required, as well as joining all of us in figuring out what to do about U-boats. I hear he is a masterful chess player, so be warned.”
Robinson laughed at this. “I never play for drinks with my own colleagues. I reserve that for other people's colleagues.” This produced some chuckles from the others as Torrance Smythe went on.
“Lieutenants Cabot,* Parker,* and Weldon,*” each nodded in turn, “are all experienced merchant mariners. They will be finding out everything they can about every encounter our ships have had with U-boats. Gentlemen, as necessary, indeed as soon as possible, you will be going out to interview ships' Captains or others for first-hand information.
“And, you will have help with that. We can have five or six fresh green RNVR subbies assigned to us – they are actually to be selected by you. The Sub-Lieutenants are all straight from their commissioning ceremony this morning, and so this afternoon you will be picking those you believe will be most useful: three assistants for you in reviewing reports or interviewing others for useful data, and two or three more to help with analysis. So it's up to you but a bit of seaman-like knowledge might possibly be helpful for the first, but an ability to think logically and ask pointed questions might be much more important for the others. Perhaps Walke or Robinson can go along to help with that part of it? Both?”
Walke nodded at this, and Robinson spoke up: “There may be some intelligent or experienced heads in the RNVR group if we can grab them quickly. I think it could be a good investment of our time, sir.”
“Good idea. See what they are made of. Just remember some are quite inexperienced and we'll not want to frighten them unduly!” Smithy warned as he saw the gleam in Walke's eye.
“Aye, aye, sir.”
“I know I have been droning on, but there's one more thing and then we will take a short break before we see the man from the Admiralty. Our little establishment has a number of other ranks to handle the flow of reports from all sources, and transferring that into useful tables of information. Key among them are four POs that I was able to bring along from my time running the Fleet Analysis and Control Tables at Scapa. CPOs Davies* and Jones,* and POs Cooper* and MacPherson.* They were vital engines in the machinery that ran that place, and that experience will be useful to us here.
“Right now they are working with the carpenters to design and build for us a large table, and one or two small ones, all of which we will use to illustrate and examine anti-submarine tactics. This was a very useful device for us in developing and training the communications and command procedures of the Grand Fleet, and I hope will be useful to us here. We can lay out scale diagrams or even use small models to trace out what happened. Or we can work through how things work out, or how we hope they will work out, in practice. Barky, you will have to get involved in setting up how submarine attacks take place. Maybe check with them this afternoon to ensure they build in anything you need.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
This brought a quiet murmur of curiosity and a raised eyebrow or two, but before there could be any further discussion, there was a quick knock and the door opened. CPO Davies came in followed by a steward carrying a tray with a large coffee pot and mugs which he took to a side table. Davies whispered to Smithy. “Sir, we've been warned there's an Admiral coming along the street, heading this way. MacPherson will guide him here in about two minutes, sir.”
Smithy turned back to the room. “Steward: a cup for whomever wants it, smartly if you please. We have two minutes – the Admiralty seems to have made up it's mind, so we'll be getting our orders from the top. I'll move over there, leave the chair here at the head for the Admiral. Take a deep breath gentlemen.”
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*All of these officers are ficticious. The four Petty Officers are all ficticious and are veterans of England Expects that Every Man.