Beef and dairy products from the Netherlands, surplus to domestic requirements, had been sold to both Germany and Britain since the beginning of the war in 1914. But two years later, three issues made ensuring the smooth continuation of the Anglo-Dutch trade one of pressing importance. Firstly, the available Dutch and British tonnage for shipments was being steadily depleted by German mining or submarines. Secondly, both Germany and Britain began to suffer from the impact of a bad summer for farmers (the winter would be worse). And thirdly, the British government formed a Ministry of Blockade in February 1916, which took a much firmer hand in the interdiction, management and control of goods into and from the neutral countries. A new trade deal with the Netherlands was agreed in June by which a large amount of food which had previously been sent to Germany was now directed to Britain.
The L-class destroyer HMS Legion, in a picture postcard listing her ‘battle honours’ obtained while serving with the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla at Harwich.
This food had to cross the mine and U-boat infested North Sea. And the job of ensuring that it did so safely fell to the Harwich Force.
Originally intended as the southern wing of the Grand Fleet, and commanded by the hard-driving Commodore (T) Reginald Tyrwhitt, the Force had already distinguished itself. The Battle of Heligoland Bight saw the Harwich ships in desperate action; they fought at the Battle of Dogger Bank as well. Tyrwhitt and his men pioneered naval aviation from warships; they hunted for U-boats and minelayers; officers of the Force invented the coastal motor boat (CMB). And nearly every day throughout the war, Harwich Force ships were at sea seeking the enemy.
But ensuring food reached British and not German mouths was probably the most war winning, and least appreciated, of its efforts. Moreover, the officers of the Force loathed the work – it was the antithesis of how destroyer captains saw themselves. ‘Frankly, we detested it’, recalled Henry Taprell Dorling. ‘It would have been easier if all the ships of the convoy had steamed at the same speed….when the leader arrived at the Maas, the convoy was spread over fifty miles of sea…with no more than four destroyers to guard it’. From the start, Tyrwhitt tried several means of convoy (bear in mind that the Royal Navy would not adopt convoy per se until May 1917). Passage by night, then day was undertaken; warships were stationed at set points on the route; eventually continuous escort was adopted and air observation added to increase the range at which an enemy could be detected. All of this was new learning for the navy.
And it was successful. From the inception of the Beef Trip in July 1916, 1,861 vessels were escorted between Holland and Britain (and vice versa) and only seven cargo ships were lost over that period, one before the declaration of unrestricted submarine war in February 1917 and six afterwards.
Harwich was central to the war effort. Apart from the Force itself and their associated submarines, there were Auxiliary Patrol and minesweeping vessels drawn from civilian resources, aviators and their aircraft at the Felixstowe seaplane base, a large naval research organisation and the grit of the townspeople themselves.
The Harwich Striking Force recounts the major and minor actions of the Harwich ships in a narrative which helps the reader to understand what it was like to be there, the challenges that had to be overcome and stress and strain of daily actions. It is a tale is about men and tactics; but it is also about the ships, the destroyers and the light cruisers which were so hard worked during the campaign.
And when the battle was finally won, Tyrwhitt, the Striking Force and Harwich itself gained further fame when the entirety of the German U-boat fleet was surrendered there. And yet today, despite Tyrwhitt’s claim in 1918 that ‘the Harwich Force has made its name and will not be forgotten during the future annals of history’, few people are aware of the Force’s exploits. Men and ships died in the unforgiving North Sea to protect trade and stave off national hunger. Their sacrifice is remembered in this book.
Steve R Dunn is the author of The Harwich Striking Force: The Royal Navy’s Front Line in the North Sea, 1914-1918.
