ROMP OF THE TARS SET CONEY A-TREMBLE
Hands Joined Across The Sea As 20,000 Corks Popped
NO, these are not our headlines. They
appeared in the New York Times on 14 November 1905, the day after what
must truly have been a party to remember. The six ships of the Royal
Navy's 2nd Cruiser Squadron, led by Rear-Admiral Prince Louis of
Battenberg onboard HMS Drake, had arrived in New York on 9 November during a
cruise that had already taken in much of the Mediterranean as well as the
eastern seaboard of Canada.
 The
previous week they had been at Annapolis where the US Navy had extended a
warm welcome to the British ships, while the Prince had been feted in
Washington where he met President Teddy Roosevelt. On the squadron's
arrival in New York there was a memorable ball given on board the DRAKE
but what the ratings would never forget was the party thrown by the US
North Atlantic Fleet's enlisted men at Stauch's, one of the most popular
eating places and dancehalls on the Bowery on Coney Island.
About 1,200 British sailors were hosted by
1,400 Americans. According to the New York Times, dinner was due to start
at 6.30pm but was delayed because the Prince and Rear-Admiral Robley
Evans, commander of the US North Atlantic Fleet, were late, which might
have caused some discontent.
Nevertheless, the semi-official account of
HMS Drake's 1905 cruise recorded: "A great ovation was accorded to Prince
Louis and Admiral Evans as they entered; every man jumped up and let forth
a yell of welcome. No sound-producing machine could produce such a clamour
as came from those 2,600 sailors' throats. The walls of the huge building
thrilled and vibrated. The roar of welcome swept the admirals forward on a
tide of delight, and they smiled their appreciation as they passed among
the enthusiastic sailors, there being no cessation in the outburst until
all those at the admirals' table had filed in to their seats... All the
captains and principal officers were present, a total of 116."
The admirals quaffed some beer with their
men but this was only the start of a busy night for the Prince who first
went on to the Horse Show at Madison Square Gardens, arriving at about
9.30pm. From there he moved on to the warrant officers' ball being held on
board HMS Drake. Dancing carried on until midnight and the Prince stayed
for about an hour, dancing with several American ladies. He wrote his name
on each lady's programme, more than 300 in total. After that he moved on
to the Lambs Clubhouse where there was another 'gambol' before he had
supper. By that time he had surely earned it.
But what of the party at Stauch's where
20,000 bottles of beer were said to have been used to wash down the meal?
The NYT's reporter had been denied access to the event but he obviously
had his sources. He wrote: "Shortly after the Prince's departure all
semblance of discipline vanished. The men broke loose; the beer flowed
like water, and everybody was willing to drift with the tide." After a
description of what went on among the sideshows in the Bowery, the
reporter added: "Men were standing on the long tables with bottles of beer
in their hands (all the glasses had been smashed), toasting one another. A
vaudeville entertainment was in progress, but nobody listened. After one
act the tars took possession of the stage and danced anything and
everything - English and American.... Many lay down upon the stage and
fell asleep, while a score or more danced a cakewalk round the balcony.
Others lay under the tables, but all were happy."
I
 t
cannot often be that a medal is issued to commemorate a party - even one
on this scale - but that is what happened on this occasion. Measuring
4.3cms across, these may only have been made of tin but a number of these
cheap-looking souvenirs found their way back across the Atlantic, probably
to be put at the backs of drawers and forgotten, although today they make
unusual collectibles. The obverse shows a US warship while the reverse
reads: "Entertainment given by Enlisted Men of the U.S. North Atlantic
Fleet in Honour of our Cousins the Enlisted Men of H.B.M. 2nd Cruiser
Squadron at Stauch's, Coney Island, N.Y. Nov 13. 1905." The 5cm-wide
ribbon bears the US flag and the White Ensign.
 These
medals were not the only trophies to emerge from the 2nd Cruiser
Squadron's visit. Shortly after the British squadron returned to England,
the Prince sent a three-foot high, silver-plated cup to Admiral Evans. The
side of the cup was engraved with a message that had echoes of the tin
medal: "To the enlisted men of the North Atlantic Fleet from their British
cousins of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron. In grateful remembrance of the many
kindnesses, tokens of good fellowship and wonderful entertainments that
were given to them in cordial friendship by their comrades across the
sea."
The Prince asked that the trophy - still
known as the Battenberg Cup - should become a challenge cup among the
North Atlantic enlisted men. The rules were set up for cutter racing,
including a provision that British sailors could compete with their
American counterparts "whenever a ship holding the cup would fall in with
a British man-o-war." Only once in 34 years of competition and 52
challenges did the U.S. Navy lose the cup to the British. That was in 1907
during the Jamestown Exposition in Norfolk, Viginia.
These competitions carried on until the
Second World War when the cutter challenge was interrupted and never
started again. USS West Virginia was the last ship to win the cup in 1940.
It was still on board on 7 December 1941 when the USS West Virginia was
sunk at Pearl Harbor. It remained on board as the ship was raised,
refitted and returned to service and continued to be kept on board until
the ship's decommissioning in 1947. At that time, the cup was displayed at
several US Navy commands and was eventually placed in the Navy Memorial
Museum in Washington, where it stayed until 1977. The cup was then awarded
to USS Holland.
The criteria for earning the Battenberg Cup
changed in that year from having the fastest cutter to having the crew who
most distinguished themselves. A variety of aspects are now taken into
consideration when deciding the winner, including scores in the Battle
Efficiency competition and improvements or achievement in other areas such
as operations, administration and leadership.
On its 1905 cruise, the 2nd Cruiser
Squadron had consisted of HM Ships Drake, Cornwall, Berwick, Essex,
Bedford and Cumberland. The 14,150-ton HMS Drake, completed at Pembroke
Dockyard in January 1903, was little over two years old when the cruise
began in March 1905. She was lost during the First World War when she was
torpedoed by U79 off Rathlin Island, north of Ireland, on 2 October 1917.
Her flag captain in 1905 was Captain Mark
Kerr who, then an admiral, in 1933 wrote The Navy in My Time. The visit to
the States, despite its significance in terms of bolstering international
goodwill, does not rate a mention; Kerr was much more concerned that in
1906 the squadron was top in gunnery in the Royal Navy and that the DRAKE
was the most successful ship.
 HMS
Drake's 1905 cruise with the rest of her squadron - all Monmouth class
cruisers each displacing 9,800 tons - is told in detail at
www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/hms_drake.htm. Here you will find a
selection of photographs of the ship and her crew, including a number
taken in 1905-06. It is a valuable resource which, with an original
account of the cruise, runs to seventy-two A4 pages. All the officers are
listed but, perhaps more interestingly, the narrative includes references
to a number of ratings, some because they had achieved a distinction of
some sort, perhaps in a sporting competition, others because they had died
or been involved in accidents.
When HMS Drake's commission ended in May
1907, it was described somewhat grandly by the officer who recorded its
details as 'the happiest and not least eventful which is recorded in the
history of our modern Navy'. Some of its ratings might have said 'Aye,
aye' to that!
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