THE ADMIRAL AND ME
( BEING A SAILOR'S ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF JUTLAND )
The greatest naval battle
In the whole of history
Was between the German High Seas Fleet
The Royal Navy, and me.
So sailed out to battle
On the dark North Sea
Cruisers and Battleships
Admirals, and me.
So sailed out to fight
To see what they could see
Dread-naughts and destroyers
Admirals, and me.
We searched for the Germans
And they searched for we
Captains and commodores
Five Admirals and me
But then I had a cunning plan,
With which to beat the enemy
It would have won the victory
Had the admiral, asked me.
We had wireless (jammed), and signal lamps
And flags we couldn't see
We didn't know which way to turn
The admiral and me.
The German shells went through our ships,
Causing huge explosions
But ours bounced off their armour-plate
Their paint was barely chipped
But brave bold admiral Beatty, he was heard to say
There's something wrong, I don't know what's wrong,
With our bloody ships today!
And you'd think that being an admiral
A full one, not just rear!
He'd have had, more or less,
Some idea of where to steer.
One German shell
On our Q turret fell
And showed only too well
That H.M.S. 'Invincible',
Wasn't.
So blew up and sank
With most of her crew
Our admiral's flagship
And yours truly too
Down, down to the bottom
Of the dark North Sea
More than one thousand sailor boys
One admiral and me
But then I bobbed up like a cork
'cos I'm the floating sort!
Rescued from the cold North sea
No admirals, rear admirals
Commodores or captains
Just six men clinging to a raft
And one of them
Was me.
© nigel hallworth 2014
Gunner Bryan Glasson lived to a ripe old age, and had a conversation with the queen on the occasion of the launching of the aircraft carrier ' invincible ' , on 11th. july 1980.
The battle of Jutland, the only full-scale fleet action of the war - was a draw.