104
Petroleum Co., and a timber ship of the Import and Export Lumber Co. Together with the large "Ewo" hulk we were all anchored a few miles above Nanking in a stretch of the river, designated as a "Safe Harbour" of which the Japanese authorities had been duly notified. The American gunboat "Panay" was anchored two miles lower down off the creek at the top end of Nanking, whence communication with the few foreigners in the city could still be maintained through a 'phone situated in a godown on the bank.
"The Flag Captain, Commanding Officer, and Ward Room officers of H.M.S. "Scarab" request the pleasure of the company of the British community, now afloat in the "safe" anchorage, on board H.M.S. "Scarab" at 11.30 tomorrow, Saturday, 11th December, on the occasion of the anniversary of His Majesty's accession."
It was a lively party. As you may imagine there was plenty to talk about, and the bountiful hospitality dispensed by the Navy - I naturally do not refer merely to its liquid aspect - set all in a pleasant frame of mind for a latish lunch when the gathering broke up and the participants returned to their respective ships. I have no doubt that the ensuing sense of somnolence was fairly general when, with a crash, a shell burst on the river bank not 100 yards from the nearest ship. The noise disturbed the lethargy of that Saturday afternoon. Ears pricked to discover whether there was more to come. The doubt whether that first shell was a stray or not was soon settled as two more straddled the nearest ship. Captains leapt to their bridges and called for steam. Clouds of smoke belched from the assembled funnels, marking well the whereabouts of the target. Shells began to fall regularly in the anchorage, but it was not more than fifteen minutes before the merchant flotilla, festooned with attendant small craft, was underway heading upriver. The two gunboats remained to stand-by the hulk, which was full of foreign and Chinese refugees and, having slipped its anchors, endeavoured to tow it in the wake of the other vessels. By good luck there were no direct hits on any of the ships, though some vessels were holed by splinters, and two unfortunate Chinese boatmen were killed and some others wounded.
The shelling resumed when the ships were under way a mile or two above the "safe harbour", the guns then appearing to be of heavier calibre. The shells came over in pairs and were very well