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Show Personal Qualities of Admiral Bayly Described by Sims Commander of United States Ships in British W aters Tells Win English Official Wins Hearts of American Seamen. u ADMIRAL WILLIAM SOWDEN SIMS. (iVpvricia. uu, by tiie World' Work. Tl.o ro,irrt8t of IbM ftrtlelM in divM Ktituln ti tnctlj r.MrvtM by IVaraoira XUnutlm-. I mtdon; without their prruUalon quotation may Im uaii rtii'litJM by wtHH-ul rrngfiuont with fcUVhiru Newipaper Byndiost Una uvni-iic nut tho admiral bsllV4 lha.1 dolnj this, now nmi thon helpw to hisplr Mi ntsni mnd, besldss that, itu n-loyoj n-loyoj ii -tit wsj mi mads for in txotu Rlveiy land mJIot. Hs had hm flAfshlp i crulssr of mIm. Hi 6OU0 tons; hs. hsd way nf juuiplnn on board wtl limit t ho Hlltfhtoai ci ivin u ,uui Uihlng n crulM up tho wsst oOAii if IroJandi On occi Ion ths iuimii.il woAld personally is,d an axpsdlMon WhlOll wim tfuliiK to t ho rs'l1 of ii lOrpSdOSd VSSMl, looking1 lor Survivor Adrift In Hmall hoalM, Ona day Admiral Bayly, Captain PHn k of thf i'. s. s. Mi'iviiUi. Captain Uampbell, Lh n3ntrliim.;in w!.oho exploit with mystery ihlpi liad given him vrorld I fa-no, it till i ii m-lf went oul on the Active to watoh certain experiments with depth charges, it was a highly Itnpnldaflt thing to do, but thai only Added to th est or tho occasion from Admiral Uuy-ij'h Uuy-ij'h point "f view. "what a bag thli would bs for tho Hunl" in- cnuokied. "Tho ArQorloan com ma ndrfn chief, tho British admiral commanding com-manding In Irian water, n British and an A mar loon captain!" In our in 1 1 it I x cvy we oould hug our picture in tho Berlin papers, four di-tiiiKuitthou di-tiiiKuitthou prisoners standing in & row. Shows Consideration for Subordinates. A Blnglo fact hIiowh with what fon-Mdrratkm fon-Mdrratkm Ailinlral Itayly truaU-d hit mib- ordlnatea. The ustiaJ naval regulation 'U'lnands that an officer, OOmlng in trorn a trip, h.him Immediately ieK out hli commander and make a Verbal report. beouently the men came In late In th ovonlnir, extremely fuiiKuej; to muko iin-vlalt iin-vlalt then was a hardship and might do- t prive them of much needed sleep. Admiral Ad-miral Bayly therofore had a fixed rulo thai uoh v lei to abould be made at io I o clock In tlie morning following the day I or arrival, on euoh occaslonn he would often he found mm ted somewhat (trimly behind hi deakj wholly absorbed in the work in hand. If he were writing or read-in read-in hl.H mull ho would keep Steadily at It, never glanolng up until he had finished. fin-ished. H,. would listen to the report Stoically, possibly say a word of praise, and tlnn turn apaln to the hiirdueau hi hand. Occasionally he would notice that his abruptness had perhaps pained the young Amerloan; then he would break' into an apologetic emtio, and auk htm to come up to dinner that evening;, and even tills was the KroaU-n! honor of all to spend the ninht at Admiralty House. These dinners were ivat occasions for our men, pari Icularly as they were presided pre-sided over by Miss Voysey, tho admiral's niece. Miss Vpysey, the little spaniel, Patrick, and the admiral constituted the "family," and the three were entirely devoted to one another. Pat In particular particu-lar wus an Indispensable part of this menage; I have never seen any object quite si cres'fnlten and wobegone as this little dog when either .Miss Voysey or t be admiral si ent a day or two away Mm the house. Miss Vovsev was u young woman of great personal charm and cultivation; probably she was the Influence In-fluence that moat contributed to the happiness and comfort of our officers at QnaenstoWn, From the day of their arrival ar-rival she entered into the closest comradeship comrade-ship with the Americans. 8he kept open house for them, she was always on hand to serve tea in the afternoon, and she never overlooked an opportunity to add to their well-being. As a result of her delightful hospitality. Admiralty House really became a home for our officers. MISS Voyaey had a genuine enthusiasm for America and Americans; poss bly tae fact that she was herself an Australian Aus-tralian made her feet like one of us; at any rate, there were certain qualities in our men that she found extremely congenial, con-genial, and she herself certainly won all their hearts. Anyone who wish en to start) a burst of enthusiasm from our officers I who were stationed at Queens'.own need only to mention the name of Miss Voyaey. Voy-aey. The dignity with which she presided pre-sided over the admiral's house, and the success with which she looked out for! his comfort also Inspired their respect. Miss Voysey Charities Leader at Queenstown. Miss Voysey was the leader in all the war charities at Queenstown and he and the admiral made It their personal duty to look out for the victims of torpedoed ships. At whatever hoirr these survivors arrived they were sure of the most warmhearted warm-hearted attention from i.eadouartert. In a large hall In the Custom-house at the landing thfe admiral kept a stock of clgar-ets clgar-ets and tobacco, and the necessary gear and supplies for making and serving hot coffee at short notice, and nothing ever pre ented hlin and his people from stationing sta-tioning thf-mse'ves there to greet and serve the survivors as soon as they Arrived Ar-rived often wet and cold and sometime wounded. Even though thf admiral might he at dinner, he and Miss Voysey would leave their meal half eaten and hurry to the landing to welcome the survivors. The admiral and his officers always Insisted on serving them, nnd they would even wash the dishes and put them away for the next time. The admiral, of course, ADMIRAL ItAYl.Y was wonderfully quick at rt-patteo, as our men found when they began "Joahlnjr" hint on British peculiarities, for as navnl attacho he had traveled extensively In the rutted States, had observed ob-served most of our national eccentricities, and thus was a hie promptly "to come back." In such contests our men did not Invariably come off with all the laurels. Yet. despite these modern tendencies. Admiral lUyly was a conservative of t: . oanservatlveSt having: that Ingrained British respect for old things simply be-Bause be-Bause they are old. An ancient British custom requires th.it at church on Sundays Sun-days the leading dignitary In each community com-munity shall mount the reading desk p and real : c lessons, of tho day; Admiral Baylv would perform this office with a simplicity and a reverence which lndl-catevi lndl-catevi the genuinely religious natu.ro of the man. And in smaller details he was likewise tho ancient, tradltion-lovlng Briton. He would never think of writing a letter to an eqml or superior officer except in longhand; to uss a typewriter for auch a purpose would have been profanation In hts eyes. 1 once criticised a certain admiral for consuming an hour or so In laboriously penning a letter which could have been dictated to a atenoprapher In a few minutes. "How do you ever expect to win the war if you use up time this way?" I asked. "I'd rather lose the war." the admiral replied, bu: with a twinkle In his eye. "than use a typewriter to my chiefs!" Our officers liked to chaff the admiral quietly on this conservatism. He frequently fre-quently had a number of them to break-fas;. break-fas;. a:id upon one such occasion the question was asked as to why the admiral ad-miral ate an orange after breakfast, instead in-stead of before, as Is the custom in America. "T can teU you why," said Commander Eownaum. "Well, why is it?" asked the admiral. "Because that's what William the Conqueror Con-queror used to do.' "I can think of no better reason than that for doing it." the admiral promptly answered. But this remark tickled him immensely, and became a byword with him. Ever afterward, whenever he proposed pro-posed to do something which the Americans Ameri-cans regarded as too conservative, he would say: "You know that this Is what William the Conqueror used to do!" Admiral Is Hard nnd Rapid Worker. Yet in one respect the admiral was, all American : he was a hard worker even to the point of hustle. He Insisted on the strictest attention to the task in hand from his subordinates, but at least h-never h-never spared himself. When he arrived at Queenstown. a few months before our destroyers put in, he proceeded to reorganize reor-ganize Admiralty H -use on the most businesslike busi-nesslike basis. The first thing he pounced upon was the billiard room hi the basement. He decided that It would make an exee'Jent plotting room, and thai the billiard tables could be transformed Into admirable drawing boards for his staff; he immediately called the superintendent superin-tendent and told him to make the necessary nec-essary transformations. AH right." said the superintendent. "We'll start work or. them tomorrow morniny." "No you won't," Admiral Bayly replied. re-plied. "We propose to be established In this room, using these tab'es. tomorrow morning. They must be all ready for use by S o'clock. " And he was as good as his word; the workmen spent the whole night making the changes. The episode is significant, not only of Admiral Bayly's methryjs, but of his ideals. In his view, if a billiard room could be made to serve a war purpose it had no proper place In an admiralty house they were in port, Btt social festivities In t he conventional sense wet barred No ladies, except the admiral's rHuttv. a, ever watted the place. Somo of the furnishings fur-nishings were rather badly worn, but the admiral would make no 'requisltlona for new rugs or chairs; every ponny In the British exchequer, he insisted, should be used to fight the war. He was scorn fully critical of any naval officers who made a lavish display of silver on their tables; money should be spent for depth ihaiges, torpedoes and twoivo-lnch shells, not for ostentation. He was scrupulous-tiesi scrupulous-tiesi itself In observing all regulations in tho matter of food and other essentials. Has Strong Aversion to Alcoholic Drinks. For still another reason the admiral made an ideal commander of American naval forces, lie was a strict teetotaler. Mia abstention was not a war measure; he had always had a Strong aversion to alcohol in any form and had never drunk a cocktail or ,a brandy and soda in hla life. Dinners at Admiralty House, therefore, there-fore, ware absolutely "dry." and In perfect per-fect keeping With American naval regulations. regu-lations. Though Admiral Hayly was not athletic.- hia outdoor games being limited to tip-and-run cricket In tho Admiralty grounds, which he played with a round bat and a tennis ball he WM a man of wiry physique and a tireless walker. Indeed In-deed the most active young men In our navy had great difficulty in keeping pace with him. One of his favorite diversions on a Saturday Sat-urday a::err,oo!i .,s ;o ( ,'.,,. :i gruiip or. a long hike in the beautiful country surrounding sur-rounding Queenstow n; by the time the party reached home the admiral, thong. 1 60 years old. was usually the freshest of the lot. I still vividly remember a long walk I took with him in a pelting rain: I recall how keenly he enjoved It and how young and nimble he seemed when we reached home, drenched to the skin. A steep hIS led from the shore up to Admiralty House; Sir Lewis use I to say that this was a valuable military asset-it asset-it did r.ot matter how angry a man might be with him when started' for headquarters; headquar-ters; by tho time he arrived, this wearisome weari-some climb always had the effect of quieting his antagonism. The admiral was fond of walking up this hill witn ; our young officers; he himself usually reached the top as fresh as a daisy, while his Juniors were frequently puffing for breath. He enjoyed t-'sting out our men In other ways; nothing delighted him more than giving them hard )obs to do especially espe-cially when they accomplished the taskn successfully. One day he ordered one of our officers. Lieutenant Commander Roger Wi Hams, captain of the Duncan, a reeent arrival at Queenstown. to cross I the Irish sea and bring back a ship. The' Joker lay in the fact that this man's destroyer de-stroyer had Just come In with her steering gear completely out of commission a circumstance cir-cumstance which Admiral Bayly well understood. un-derstood. , American Officer Makes Good in Test. Many officers would have promptly asked to be excused on this ground, but not this determined American. He knew that the admiral was trying to "put something over on him." and he rose to the occasion. The fact that Queenstown jsarbor is long and narrow, not wide enough for a destroyer to turn arouna, made Commander Williams's problem still more difficult, but. by deverjy using his engines, he succeeded in hacking out the distance required was five miles; he took another mile and a half to turn his ship and then he went across the sea and brought back his convoy all without any steering gear. This officer never once mentioned to the admiral the difficulties! under which he had worked, but his achievement completely won Sir Lewis's heart, and from that time this young command of all our forces, army and navy, rested In the handB of Americana; but. for particular operations, they naturally natu-rally had to take their orders from the particular officer under whom they were stationed. wui yias me neaaquaners ror iigminB German submarines. The chief duty of all men at that crisis was work and then-one then-one responsibility was the defeat of the Hun. Admiralty House was always open to our officers; they spent many a delightful de-lightful evening there around the admiral's admi-ral's fire; they were constantly entertained enter-tained at lunch and dinner, and they were expected to drop in for tea whenever man necame one 01 nil particular favorites. favor-ites. Indeed, it was the constant demonstration demon-stration of this kind of fundamental character char-acter in our naval men which made the admiral admire them so. On occasions Admiral Bayly would go to sea himself something quite unprecedented unprece-dented and possibly even reprehensible, for It was goottt the same thing as a commanding general going Into the front might have ordered others to do this work, but he preferred to give this personal per-sonal expression of a real seaman's sympathy sym-pathy for other, seamen In distress. It is unnecessary to say that any American officers who could get there In time always al-ways lent a hand. Of course, there were regularly appointed representatives of shipping companies charged with the duty of providing quarters, for these people and I many other contingents. Clearly it was impossible for me to devote all my time exclusively to any one of these commands; J so far as actual operations were con I cerned. it was necessary that particular commanders should control them. 1 All these destroyer squadrons, Including Includ-ing that at Queenstown. were under the command of the American admiral stationed sta-tioned in London; whenever they sailed from Queenstown on specific duty, however, how-ever, they sailed under orders from Ad- j miral Bayly. At any time I could with-t with-t draw these destroyers from Queenstown and sehd them where the particular ne-I ne-I cessities required. My position, that is, j was precisely the same as that of General Gen-eral Pershing in France. He sent certain American divisions to the British army; , as long as they acted with the British I they were subject to the orders of Sir ; Douglas Halg; but General Pershing ! could withdraw these men at any time for use elsewhere. The actual supreme transporting them to their homes; but th s reception immediately upon landing was for the purpose of expressing sympathy sym-pathy and tiding over, with hot coffee and tobacco, the Inevitable delays In completing com-pleting the arrangements. I am sure that long after most of the I minor Incidents of this war have faded from memory. I shall still keep a vivid recollection of this kindly gentleman. Admiral Ad-miral Sir LeWlS Bayly. K.C.B.. K.C.M.G.. C. V.O., Royal Navy, serving coffee to wretched British. American. French. Italian. Ital-ian. Japanese and negro sailors, with a cheering word for each, and afterward with sleeves tucked up calmly washing dishes In a big pan of hot water. I have my fears that the admiral will not be particularly pleased by the fact that I have taken all these pains to Introduce In-troduce him to the American public. Excessive Ex-cessive modesty Is one of his most conspicuous con-spicuous traits. When American correspondents corre-spondents came to Queenstown Admiral Bayly would receive them courteously. "You can have all you want about the navy." he would say, "but remember not a worn about Admiral Bayly." He wne so reticent that he was averse to having his picture taken; even the mov- Irjr picture ooerator detailed to ast a historic record of the arrival of our destroyers de-stroyers d'd not obtain a n-ood v'ew of the admiral, for. whenever Sir Lewis saw him coming he would turn his back to the camera ! My excuse for describing this very lovable man, however, is because be-cause he became almost an orHeef of veneration ven-eration to our American officers. anoV because, since for eighteen months he was the c ""nander of the American for-e bused on Queenstown. he Is an o'vject of legitimate interest to the American Amer-ican neonle The fact that the admiral was generally known to our officers as "t'nele Lewis" and that some of those who grew to know him bpt even cal'ed him that to his face Illustrates the delightful de-lightful relations which were established. Any account of the operations of our navy in the Kuropean war would thus be sadly incomplete which ignored the Splendid sailor who was largely responsible respon-sible for their success. Admiral Bayly Loved by American Sailors. The fact that these American destroyers destroy-ers were placed under the eonvnnnd of a British admiral was somewhat displeasing to certain Americans. T renumber that one - rather bumntlons American correspondent, corre-spondent, on a visit to Queenstown. was loud In expressing ids disapproval of this state of affairs, and even threatened to "evnose" us all In the American ress. The fact that I was specifically enm-irdfl enm-irdfl "ionfd as destroyer commander alpo con f n Red the Situation. Yet the nro-ced"re nro-ced"re was entirely proner, and. In fact, absolutely nt-ccssnry. My official title was "oommanrV'- of the U. R. naval for-cs onerntine in European waters"; besides this. I w-as the representative of our navy department nt the. Briltsh .admiralty and American member of the allleil "naval council. These duties required my presence pres-ence in London, which became tho center of all our operations. I was commandtr not only of our destroyers at Queenstown. but of a destroyer force at Brest, another at Gibraltar, of subchaser forces at Corfu and Plymouth, of a mixed force at the Azores, of battle squadrons at Scara Flow and Berehaven. Ireland, and of |
