anean, the Suez Canal and Red Sea, the East and West
Indies, the coasts of the Dominions and Colonies, and for the Russian
lines of communication in the White Sea. For these oversea bases just
under 1000 ships were required, exclusive of those locally supplied by
the Dominions and Colonies themselves.

All this without considering the main battle fleets or, in fact, any
portion of the regular navy, and the ships required for the transport of
food, troops and munitions of war, together with their escorts. Some
idea of the numbers engaged in keeping the Allies supplied with the
diverse necessities of life and war may be gathered from the fact that
the average sailings in and out of the harbours of the United Kingdom
alone during the four years of war amounted to over 1200 a week.

The immense fleet forming the new navy was not homogeneous in design,
power, appearance or, in fact, in anything except the spirit of the
personnel and the flag beneath which they fought--and alas! nearly 4000
died. The squadrons, or units, as they were called, consisted of fine
steam yachts, liners from the ocean trade routes, sturdy sea tramps,
deep-sea trawlers, oilers, colliers, drifters, paddle steamers, and the
more uniform and specially built fighting sloops, whalers, motor
launches and coastal motor boats. The latter type of craft was aided by
its great speed, nearly fifty miles an hour; but more about these ships
and their curious armament later.

WAR BASES

The great auxiliary navy had to be built or obtained without depleting
the ordinary mercantile fleets, and the shipbuilding and repairing
yards, even in the smallest sea and river ports, worked day and night.
The triumph was as wonderful as it was speedy. In less than fifteen
months from August, 1914, the new navy was a gigantic force, and its
operations extended from the Arctic Sea to the Equator. All units were
armed, manned and linked up by wireless and a common cause.

Before this could be accomplished, however, the problem of maintaining
this vast fleet and adequately controlling its operations had to be
faced and overcome. The seas adjacent to the coasts of the United
Kingdom, the Mediterranean Littoral and Colonial waters were divided
into "patrol areas" on special secret charts, and each "area" had its
own naval base, with harbour, stores, repairing and docking facilities,
intelligence centre, wireless and signal stations, reserve of officers
and men, social headquart