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A total of five officers and thirty men were saved, and eighteen lives were lost.
The commanding officer of H.M.S/M POSEIDON was found to have been in error by improperly starboarding his helm when he should have maintained his course and speed under Collision Regulations.
Based at Wei-Hai-Wei, through the summer until the latter part of August HERMES exercised regularly with other units of the fleet.
Meanwhile in England the difficult financial situation, largely brought on by the effects of the Great Depression, had deteriorated further. The Labour government of Ramsay MacDonald had been unable to cope with the rapidly rising numbers of unemployed and in August had resigned. From 25th August MacDonald had continued as prime minister, but now as head of a coalition administration consisting of Labour, Conservative and Liberal members.
One measure of financial stringency which was adopted was to reduce the pay of civil servants and of members of H.M. Forces. Unfortunately in the Royal Navy the matter was badly handled by the Admiralty, and to a lesser extent by senior officers of the Atlantic Fleet. In addition political agitation had occurred, and elements of the press had not been of much assistance in calming the situation, rather the opposite in fact. The result was that early in September the Invergordon Mutiny had taken place.
In China too all was not easy.
Admiral Sir Howard Kelly drily noted:
'Even for the China Station, where dull moments are unusual, the month of September has been one of considerable excitement.'
He continued in paragraph two:
"The assumption of office by the new Government of the United Kingdom and consequent economy measures, the advance of the Cantonese Forces against Nanking with the prospects of increased unrest in the Yangtze valley, the commencement of the fall of the River, when