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On October 26, Colonel Henderson reported to Colonel Switzer, at Ottawa, that no mechanical transport had arrived. Colonel Switzer informed Major James, who then said there was a second ship, but took no action. There is no doubt in my mind that what was known to Lieutenant Winter was kn to Colonel Henderson.
On October 25 Major Gwynne had informed Captain Bush, the Staff Cap- tain of Force "C", that the vehicles would not arrive before sailing time. Unques- tionably this would have been reported to Brigadier Lawson. Also on that day the ships' master told Major Gwynne that even if the vehicles did arrive, he could not take them, giving as his reason that the ship was going on a long journey, that he would probably go in a roundabout way and needed extra fuel oil. On the evening of October 27 before the ship sailed the ship's Captain again said to Major Gwynne and Mr. Cooke, the manager of the ship's agents, that even if the vehicles arrived he could not take them unless he pumped out some 100 tons of oil. While Mr. Cooke says this is so he goes on to say that had the vehicles arrived before the ship sailed this oil would have been pumped out and the vehicles loaded. This seems inconsistent with the Captain's view that he needed this extra fuel oil and I do not understand Major Gwynne's evidence to be that Captain Martin was agreeable to dispensing with this fuel.
Had Colonel Spearing, when he realized as early as October 10 that the Awatea could not take all the mechanical transport, taken immediate steps then to ascertain the capacity of the ship and, with his knowledge from past experience as to the space required to carry the other equipment and stores, formulated what space would remain, the twenty vehicles could have been despatched in plenty of time to have reached the Awatea in time for loading on October 24. Had this been done I am of opinion on all the evidence that it is highly probable they could have been loaded. I have in mind not only this feature of Colonel Spearing's activity but his whole evidence, to which I have made reference at some length, and I do not think that he was as alert as he ought to have been. In his post he has undoubtedly moved hundreds of thousands of troops and their equipment and, I have no reason to doubt, done it very efficiently, but I think on this occasion, whatever may have been the cause there was some lack of energy. In war, energy is, perhaps, the cardinal virtue. It must of course be guided by knowledge and judgment, but without energy, knowledge and judgment are fruitless.
There remains the question whether the 20 vehicles, despatched when they were, would have been loaded if they had arrived before the vessel sailed assuming Captain Martin would have been willing at that late hour to take them, the ship at that time having fully loaded its cargo and fuel oil.
I shall deal first with the question of suitable space.
It will be seen, from what has already been stated, that it was the result of an estimate by Colonel Spearing as to there being some unoccupied space in the Awatea that the Transport Controller permitted the twenty vehicles to proceed toward the coast. What the shape of the space would be, and whether or not it could accommodate large boxes containing these heavy motor vehicles, no one in N.D.H.Q. knew, nor did the Controller of Transport. The Awatea was a passenger vessel, not designed for such cargo.
The unfilled space existed in holds numbers 1 and 2 which were filled in part only. The other two holds were entirely taken up with other stores.
The cases containing the vehicles measured:
12' 8" x 7' 5" x 5' 2"
14' 8" x 7' 9" x 5′ 3′′ 14' 9" x 7' 6" x 7'
and they weighed 9,550 lbs., 8,700 lbs., and 9,500 lbs., respectively. The open- ings to numbers 1 and 2 holds measured 20' 8" x 18' and 13′ 6′′ x 12′ respectively and these openings were boxed in between "A" and "C" decks.
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The statements made by the stevedores on the one hand and the wharf superintendent and a marine surveyor on the other are at variance as to the possibility of loading any of the vehicles in No. 1 hold, the opening to which is ly 10" wider than the length of the smallest case. They are also in disagree- ent as to the fitness of the vessel's equipment for loading. These statements were not subject to cross-examination, and one of the stevedores made a later statement changing his earlier one. In these circumstances no finding can be made upon them.
There is however the evidence of Mr. Cooke and Mr. Lockwood the Controller of Transport. Mr. Lockwood is a man of immense experience in the shipping business before the war as well as in his present office. Mr. Lockwood says:-
With every study I am trying to improve as far as I can and to ascertain exactly how many we could have squeezed in, and as near as I can figure now we could have carried the six universal carriers.
Q. Where?-A. With some difficulty.
Q. Where?-A. In No. 1 hold.
Q. That is, if you could have got them down there?-A. Yes. Q. What do you say you could have got down?-A. Six universal carriers in No. 1 hold, my lord; I think there was sufficient space if we had met with no difficulties arising out of obstructions in the hatch-way. Q. Yes?-A. And seven trucks and two water tanks in No. 2 hold. That would have been approximately three carlots out of the four.
Q. With regard to the six universal carriers in No. 1 hold, are you leaving the practicability out of that estimate and merely taking the size of the hatch and the size of the boxes and saying you could measure the two and see that they would go down? Are you leaving the practical element out of that estimate? A. Yes, and taking it from the size of the hatch and the size of the space in the hold.
Q. That is to say, you are really leaving out of account the risks of passage owing to, let us say, carelessness on the part of the stevedores?— A. Yes,
Q. You are leaving all that kind of thing out? A. Yes.
Q. It would have been a close bit of work, I understand you to say?- A. The stevedores call it "tight"; it would be a tight fit. I thought perhaps it would be of interest to show how they are slung. This is not the exact box we are using, but it is an example of how they are slung on board ship. Q. You are producing a pamphlet which shows a box containing mechanical transport and shows the loading by the use of a boom from which the box is suspended by ropes, and I suppose your point, Mr. Lockwood, is that as that box is dropped into a hold there is a certain amount of oscillation and canting which might cause jamming?-A. Yes, and for that purpose there are marks on the sides of the cases where the wire sling must be put in order to keep it perfectly level; otherwise you get jamming and lots of trouble.
Q. Have you any experience which would enable you to say as to whether the getting such a box into a hold of that character is more difficult or less difficult than getting it out?--A. More difficult in getting it out?
Q. So that as to whether or not, apart from measurements, those universal carriers could have been loaded into No. 1 hold you would leave that for the shipping authorities or the stevedores? A. Yes, you would have to leave it to them,
Q. I do not know that I quite understand the question, and I am not sure that I understand your answer. I suppose you have had a great deal more practical experience in regard to the shipping of mechanical
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