Captain Aristide Clopet

[Administrator]

SS Southport, 3,588/1900, Southport SS Co (W J Tatem), Cardiff, Mr A Clopet, sailed Auckland on 12 July 1914 to load phospate at Nauru, found other ships waiting and long delays, since 4 August lying in harbour at Kusaie, most easterly of German Carolines to save coal while waiting for signal to return to Nauru, unaware that war had been declared. Captured by German raider Geier (1), engines disabled and tools taken so Geier (1) could go off, crew rebuilt the engines by cannibalising other parts, obtained food and supplies from the local inhabitants, sailed 18th, and reached Brisbane on 30th.

Daring deeds of merchant seamen in the great war online

The link below includes a story of S.S. Southport, of Cardiff, commanded by Captain Aristide B. Clopet.

Daring Deeds

Probably the most romantic adventure of all in connexion with enemy raiders was that of the s.s. Southport, of Cardiff, commanded by Captain Aristide B. Clopet. It illustrates the determination, pluck, and resource of a little band of merchant seamen when confronted by a whole series of catastrophes that might well have made them give way to abject despair.

The ship, of 3588 tons, put in at Kusaie, K 145 the most easterly of the German Caroline group of islands, in September 1914. Every-body on board was in complete ignorance that there was ' a war on ' until S.M.S. Geier, a small unprotected corvette of 1604 tons mounting eight 4.1-in. guns, arrived in the harbour. She was accompanied by a transport. An armed boarding-party enlightened

the crew in no uncertain manner. When one of the German officers asked for the ship's papers to be handed over to him, Captain Clopet politely but firmly declined. He had no official information on the subject, and was not disposed to accept mere hearsay evidence. Moreover, as he explained, his
ship had been chartered to take phosphates to Stettin, which he had every reason to believe was somewhere in the dear Fatherland. All the captain's persuasive arguments proved unavailing. He was compelled by sheer force of circumstances, very tangibly represented by guns on the corvette, to surrender. Down came the Union Jack, and up went the German flag.

If muttered anathemas could have killed, the man who carried out the substitution would have dropped dead on the deck. The Germans tried a new dodge with the Southport. They sent a Uttle party of engineers from the Geier, who had lttle difficulty in rendering the vessel useless by removing certain parts of her engines. Then the transport came along, and helped herself liberally from the steamer's bunkers and oil tanks.

The commander of the man-of-war next informed the captain that as he had important business elsewhere that would occupy him for a season, he would hold Captain Clopet personally responsible for the ship, whose destiny would be decided by a Prize Court. This was nothing more nor less than adding insult to injury, particularly as he unduly emphasized the fact that the Southport was now German property. The commander expressed his regret that scarcity of stores precluded him from leaving a supply of provisions for the officers and crew, and was kind enough to add that " The people of Paris once lived on rats." He had only four loaves to spare, but by way of compensation he made an order on King Sigrah of Kusaie for such food as was obtainable. As a cyclone had recently visited the island this was of doubtful value. The Geier and the transport then proceeded on their way.

A damaged ship, little coal, less oil, nothing to eat, a scrap of German paper, and a promise to return were almost the only assets of the little band. The word ' almost ' is used advisedly. Your real British sea-dog has always a stock of grit. The men of the Southport had plenty of it. Almost as soon as the enemy had disappeared, nimble wits and busy fingers were hard at work in the bowels of the ship. The captain consulted the chief engineer, Mr Harold W. J. Cox, as to the possibility of repairing the machinery. Instead of muttering " It can't be done," the officer surveyed the high and low-pressure engines and said he would try. He and his staff set to work, and in due course reported to the captain that by a little ingenuity they could make the vessel go ahead but not astern. This was decidedly awkward. Nevertheless, it was far better than being unable to make the Southport budge an inch. She could move, and that was a very great deal. The captain had no wish to stay in port as a bailiff for the Imperial German Government. He was all for recapturing the steamer, and getting her away from beautiful but inhospitable Kusaie.

The plan was full of grave risks. Being a wise man, Clopet took the officers and engineers completely into his confidence. Without their cordial co-operation he could do nothing. Was escape worth trying ? The unanimous verdict was " Yes."

After securing a few hundred pounds of roots and a fair supply of coco-nuts, the steamer was warped into position for clearing the entrance. This was successfully accomplished, and in less than a fortnight the Ship That Could Only Go Forward arrived at Brisbane. Her captors had been most delightfully sold.

Later on the Geier herself developed engine trouble and was forced to run for Honolulu. When comfortably settled in dry dock, two Japanese cruisers and a gunboat lay in wait just outside the three-mile limit. Of course the commander of the corvette would run the gauntlet, and equally of course he didn't.
The Geier shared a similar fate to the auxiliary cruisers which had sought shelter at Newport News.

The courage, resolution, and skill displayed by Captain Clopet and Chief Engineer H. W. J. Cox were officially recognized by the Board of Trade. Each was presented with handsome pieces of plate ; both richly deserved them.

LINK


Full text of "Daring deeds of merchant seamen in the great war" LINK

[Administrator]

SOUTHPORT 1900 1912
O.N. 109800 3588 g; 2305 n 339.2' x 46. 1' x 24.9'
T.3 cyl. by Blair & Co. Ltd., Stockton on Tees.
3.1900: Completed by Richardson, Duck & Co., Stockton on Tees & Southport S.S. Co. Ltd. (W.J. Tatem & Co. managers). 1910: Transferred to Tatem S. N. Co. Ltd. 1912: Sold to Lewis rrading Co. Ltd. (T. Lewis manager), Cardiff. 4.9.1914: Captured by the German cruiser GEIER off the Caroline Islands. The engines were immobilized by the raider whilst other shipping was pursued. The crew succeeded in repairing the engine and on 30.9.1914 arrived at Brisbane. 1916: Sold to Sefton S.S. Co. Ltd. (H.E. Moss & Co. managers), Liverpool. 1923: Sold to G.F. Andreadis, Greece and renamed TITHIS. 1932: Sold to Italian shipbreakers.

[Administrator]

Thank you very much Keith. Much appreciated. 

We never knew what happened to the SS Southport. However, the Germans were not to leave my Grt Grandfather alone. They had registered what had happened, and in the 2nd World War, Aristide was captured by the SS in Paris and tortured for having embarrassed the Germans in the 1st World War. Amazingly, he managed to escaped from the notorious Fresnes prison outside Parus, and went with the Resistance down through the Pyrenees. He ended up in Gibraltar, and took over another British MN ship. He was around 60 by then.

His son, my Grandfather who was also in the British Merchant Navy, was in charge of the port of Casablanca before and during the 2nd World War. He met my Grandmother in Penarth and I suppose joined the MN in Cardiff after studying at a Naval school. My Grandfather ended up working directly for Eisenhower's team as he knew the sea depths of both Casablanca and Tangier Ports. This helped enormously in Operation Torch, as the American submarines and ships slipped into the harbours. My Grandmother and my Father were repatriated out of Morocco back to Penarth at this time. So one could say that the Merchant Navy men from South Wales were extremely active and brave!!! 

Caroline.

[Administrator]

The story of the first phase of the attack on British
commerce would be incomplete were no reference made
to the circumstances in which the gunboat GEIER captured
the s.s. Southport (3,588 tons). The adventurous story,
which afterwards moved the Admiralty to express their
approbation of the action of Captain A. Clopet and the
officers and men, cannot be better told than in the form
of a paraphrase of the narrative as related by the first-
named.

The s.s. Southport left Auckland, New Zealand, on
June 12th, to load a cargo of phosphates for the Pacific
Phosphate Company at Nauru, calling at Ocean Island
for orders. The voyage was uneventful. Off Nauru,
information was sent by the manager of the Phosphate
Company that loading had been delayed, owing to dan-
gerous weather, strong currents, and the exposed position
of the island, and that, in consequence of tonnage
having precedence over the Southport, that vessel need
not present herself for loading for some time. Captain
Clopet decided to follow the example of other captains
placed in similar circumstances, and wait at Tarawa
(Gilbert Islands), where further orders could be conveyed
to him, in preference to steaming round the island against
the strong prevailing easterly current. The Southport
returned to Nauru on July 28th. The captain found that
only some 450 tons of phosphates had been loaded, and
there was still a balance of 13,000 tons to be shipped before
the Southport would be required. In order to save coal,
he decided to bear up for Kusaie, the most easterly island
in the Caroline group (German), where the conditions
appeared to be better than at Taraiva. It was also
arranged that the manager at Nauru should forward loading

CH. iv] CAPTURE OF THE " SOUTHPORT " 205

orders by the steamer Germania, due at Kusaie on August
28th. The Southport arrived at Kusaie on August 4th,
and remained there awaiting instructions. The non-arrival
of the Germania on the stipulated date caused surprise,
owing to the regularity of her previous voyages. No
news being forthcoming, it was decided to sail for Nauru
on September 6th. On the 4th, the captain being ashore
at the time, the German gunboat GEIER and the transport
Tsintau, of Bremen, came to anchor in the harbour, and
a boat full of armed officers and sailors put off from the
GEIER and boarded the British ship. Captain Clopet, on
returning on board his ship shortly afterwards, was in-
formed by the German officers that, " war having been
declared by England on Germany," they demanded that
all the ship's papers, register, ship's articles, load-line,
etc., be handed over. It was explained that the ship
was chartered to load phosphates at Nauru for Stettin.
The engineers of the warship then came on board and
began disabling the vessel, principally by removing the
four eccentrics of the L.P. and H.P. engines and other
connected parts, as well as the intermediate stop valve.
The following day the transport Tsintau proceeded along-
side and started transhipping the Southport's coal into
her bunkers, the work continuing until 6 a.m. on
August 7th (Monday). The same day at 10 a.m. a boat
full of armed officers and men boarded the Southport and
came on the lower bridge, when a formal act of seizure
was read over to the captain by the officer in charge,
appropriating the vessel to the Imperial German Govern-
ment. The armed sailors were lined up on one side of
the lower bridge, and, the British ensign having been
previously hauled down, the German naval ensign was
hoisted on 1^ie flagstaff, the German officers and sailors
saluting theiteflag. Everything was done in the most
formal manner, as though the scene were being enacted
on the stage before an appreciative audience. Captain
Clopet was subsequently informed that he would remain
in charge of the ship and responsible for it, as well as for
the discipline of the crew, pending any future action on
the part of the German Government. It should be men-
tioned that the commander of the GEIER at first decided
to sink the Southport. He learnt afterwards that, owing
to the non-arrival of the Germania with provisions, the


206 EXPLOITS OF THE " EMDEN " [CH. iv

Southport was exceedingly short of food, and he was told
that the crew would be faced with starvation unless the
situation was relieved. The German officer was not un-
sympathetic, but urged that he could not send provisions,
having himself an insufficient supply. Ultimately he did
in fact send four loaves of bread, which were accepted.
But his more effective aid took the form of an order on
the King of Kusaie, in the name of the Imperial German
Government, to supply the ship with such food as the
island produced.

The GEIER and Tsintau left on the afternoon of the 7th,
the Germans apparently satisfied that the Southport could
not move ; they disappeared in a south-easterly direction.
After their departure, the captain consulted the chief
engineer (Mr. J. C. Dodd) as to the possibility of repairing the
engines in such a manner as to enable the Southport to put to
sea. Mr. Dodd, nothing daunted by the damage which had
been done, decided that the position was not hopeless. His
confidence was justified. The work of repair was carried
on from day to day until September 15th, when Captain
Clopet had the satisfaction of learning that the engines
were ready. Steam was raised and orders were given for
a trial that night. The trial began shortly after midnight,
the captain being present in the engine-room in order to
judge the reliability of the engines. After two attempts
the engines started. They were stopped after a few
revolutions, the chief engineer stating that he was confident
that everything was as satisfactory as could be expected.
A statement was handed to the captain in confirmation
of this opinion. The following evening, Captain Clopet
called the officers and engineers of the ship to the cabin,
and then told them that he intended to make an attempt
to recapture the steamer and take her into Australian
waters, Brisbane being the nearest port. As an alternative,
it was suggested that the vessel might remain in Kusaie
until the end of hostilities, when in all probability an ex-
change of vessels would take place between England and
Germany. Captain Clopet pointed out, however, that the
value represented by the Southport was at stake, and that
at that moment, to all intents and purposes, the ship
was the property of the German Government ; if the
attempt to bring the vessel to a safe Australian port was
successful, the money represented in the ship would revert

CH. iv] A BOLD STROKE 207

to the original flag. The captain's decision was unani-
mously accepted by the officers present, and on the following
morning the crew gave their support. In anticipation of
the voyage, since there was a shortage of provisions, the
captain obtained from the shore some 400 pounds of roots,
which are used by the natives only when on the verge of
starvation, besides about 350 cocoanuts, the latter being
provided by the King of Kusaie, who was by this time
aware that an attempt to escape was to be made. Though
other provisions were taken on board as a precautionary
measure, the voyage was begun on straitened rations.

A word may be added as to the manner in which the
engines were repaired. The German engineers had left
the two eccentric rods for the L.P. engines ; one of these
was put on the ahead sheave of the H.P. engine, the other
rod being kept in place on the ahead sheave of the L.P.
engine. Thus the engineers were able to work the engines
subject to the disadvantage that they could move only
in one direction, i.e., ahead ; it was impossible to reverse
the engines, however great the need. There was also some
difficulty in restarting the engines once they were stopped.
These circumstances rendered the task of handling the
ship difficult. The attempt to move the Southport was
made early on the morning of September 8th. The
harbour of Kusaie is very small, having on one side land
and on the other a coral reef. It provided barely sufficient
room for the steamer to swing, and at the time of
starting, Captain Clopet swung her stem towards the
entrance, the channel having been buoyed by his orders
previous to heaving up the anchor. With the assistance
of warps, the steamer's stern was brought into the wind,
the anchor hove barely clear of the bottom, and her head
started to pay off with the wind towards the entrance.
When nearly square in the channel, the telegraph was rung
" Full ahead," and the last rope was let go as soon as the
engines started.

The voyage was uneventful; lights were carefully screened
up to 9 p.m., when they were put out. The steamer
passed to the westward of San Christoval (Solomon Islands)
on September 23rd, and arrived to the north-east of Sandy
Cape on September 28th when, in reply to inquiries,
the s.s. Westminster reported the coast clear of enemy
ships. A course was then shaped towards Brisbane.


208 EXPLOITS OF THE " EMDEN " [CH. iv

On the same day the Southport observed the Dutch steamer
Tasman, of Batavia, altering her course towards the coast,
and shortly afterwards a steamer ashore at right angles
to the beach was observed. The Southport also turned
towards the steamer, which was flying the International
Distress Signal N.C. (" Want immediate assistance ").
The vessel was the s.s. Marlvo. As the first impression
conveyed by the steamer's position was that she must
have gone ashore during the night, the captain of the
Southport decided to come to anchor in a position to render
help. It was a characteristic act on the part of a British
seaman who had so recently been himself in trouble.
The Southport drew in between the Tasman and the
stranded vessel. Assistance had unfortunately come too
late, for the Marlvo already had her after compartments
full of water, through striking some obstruction off Sandy
Cape. Her passengers were transferred to the Tasman,
and the Southport proceeded on her voyage to Brisbane.
She completed the passage without further incident. In
these circumstances the GEIER was deprived of the only
prize which she made during her career as a commerce-
destroyer.

LINK

[Administrator]

As the chairman opened by saying, these stories are remarkable
in that they, more than almost any other of Kipling's works, display
his zest for the portrayal of the other man's job. In this he took
enormous risks, and knew it, as his own confession in Something of
Myself makes very clear. Except for professionals writing about
their own occupations, it would be hard to name any other novelist
or short story writer who has dared to expose himself to the ribald
censure of professional critics, by which is meant critics who belong
to the trade or calling being discussed by the writer.

Both are stories of the sea: the first is of the almost miraculous
rehabilitation of a wrecked engine-room and the other of a salvage
exploit which also in some of its details strains credulity.


December 1965

THE KIPLING JOURNAL

71

Much of the discussion was bound to be focussed on technical
matters, and it had been hoped that Mr. F. E. Langer, O.B.E. would
be present to give us the benefit of his expert knowledge and answer
questions. He is a Member of the Royal Institution of Naval Archi-
tects, and also of the Institution of Marine Engineers, and has lately
retired from the post he held for many years of principal technical
adviser to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service of the Royal Navy, a fleet of
more than a hundred ocean-going vessels. In his unavoidable absence,
much of the technical information referred to in the discussion had been
either approved or provided by him. About "The Devil and the Deep
Sea" he says "The story to my mind is technically accurate as to the
description of the propelling machinery and equipment which would
be fitted in a ship with compound engines of vintage 1850-1870. The
repairs described in the story, however, would be technically impossible
with the primitive facilities available. Faced with a similar situation, I
would have attempted to transform the engine into a single-cylinder
propulsion unit", and Mr. Langer goes on to explain how he would
have effected this".

It so happened that at this meeting, Mr. T. E. Cresswell was
able to produce the remarkable parallel case, which occurred during
the 1914-18 War, of the s.s. Southport, the account of which from
Naval Operations, Volume I, page 304, is worth quoting in full. It
may well be considered as yet another example of Kipling's uncanny
gift of prescience.

The German gunboat Geier had captured at Kusaie in the Eastern
Carolines, on September 4th, 1914, the British s.s. Southport,
which was lying there ignorant that war had broken out. Having
disabled her prize's engines so that she could not get away, the
Geier left her in harbour and went off on a fortnight's cruise.

No sooner was she gone than the master of the Southport, Captain
Clopet, made up his mind to escape. Desperate as was the chance
and short the time, the crew agreed, and under the clever engineer,
Mr. H. Cox, they set to work to repair the engines, in spite of
the almost hopeless condition to which they had been reduced.

The eccentric of the mean (intermediate) and high-pressure engines
and the intermediate stop valve had been removed as well as a
good many of the tools, but after eleven days work, by fitting the
astern eccentric of the low-pressure engine to the high-pressure
cylinder, and cutting out the middle cylinder, they got a semblance
of a compound engine. True, it would not go astern, and if it
stopped might get on a dead centre and refuse to start again.
Nor was this the only trouble. They had over 2,000 miles to go
to reach a British port, and no provisions except what the island
— which like the rest was not self-supporting — could provide.

However, from the native king, whom the Germans had told to help
him with food, Captain Clopet obtained 350 coconuts and 400
pounds of root which the natives only eat in times of famine.
With this equipment, after infinite difficulty in getting their un-
handy craft to sea, they started on September 18th with only a
day or so in hand. Still, they escaped, and on the 30th put into


72 THE KIPLING JOURNAL December 1965

Brisbane with their news and another page added to the record
of resource and daring with which the mercantile marine was to
glorify itself in the course of the war.

The exploit was recognised by an Admiralty letter expressing high
appreciation of the captain's and engineer's seamanlike and skilful
conduct, and to each of them the Board of Trade presented a
piece of plate.

Note: An eccentric, by definition, in marine engineering, is a disc
mounted out of centre on a shaft to give reciprocating movement to
a lever. It moves the valves controlling the flow of steam to and
out of the cylinder.

It seems clear, Mrs. Scott-Giles was heard to remark, that the
Chief Engineer, Mr. Cox, must have read "The Devil and the Deep
Sea".

LINK

www.kiplingjournal.com/textfiles/KJ156.txt

[Administrator]

Leutnant Werner:
Jetzt mal was Lustiges über GEIER und ihre heldenhafte Prise SS Southport...

01.10.1914: "The GEIER was also suspected of being somewhere about. She had not been heard of for over a month, but news of her had just come in. It was that on September 4 she  had captured at Kusaie in the Eastern Carolines, the British S. S. Southport, which was lying there ignorant that war had broken out. Having disabled her prize´s engines so that she should not get away, the GEIER left her in the harbour and went off on a fortnight´s cruise. No sooner was she  gone than the Master of the Southport, Captain Clopet, made up his mind to escape. Desperate as was the chance and short the time, the crew agreed, and under her clever engineer, Mr. H. Cox, they set to work to repair the engines, in spite of the almost hopeless condition to which they had been reduced. The eccentric gear of the mean and high-pressure engines and the intermediate stop valve had been removed as well as a good many of the tools, but after eleven days´work, by fitting the astern eccentric of the low-pressure engine to the high-pressure cylinder, and cutting out the middle cylinder, they got a semblance of a compound machine. True, it would not go astern, and if it was stopped might get on a dead centre and refuse to start again. Nor was this the only trouble. They had over 2000 miles to go to reach a British port, and no provisions except what the island - which, like the rest is not self-supporting - could provide. However from the native king, whom the Germans had told to help him with food, Captain Clopet obtained 350 cocoanuts and 400 lb. of a root which the natives only eat in time of famine. With this equipment, after infinite difficulty in getting their unhandy craft to sea, they started on Sebtember 18 with only a day or so in hand. Still, they escaped, and on the 30th put into Brisbane with their news, and another brilliant page added to the record of resource and daring with which the mercantile marine was to glorify itself in the course of the war. The exploit was recognised by an Admiralty letter expressing the high appreciation of the captain´s and the engineer´s seamanlike and skilful conduct (...)"

Corbett, a.a.O., page 304

Na, wenn das mal nichts ist!

to be continued

LINK

[Administrator]

On the 4th September at the island of Kusaie Geier surprised and captured the British freighter SS Southport and boarded her. Captain Clopet told the Germans he had been at sea and had no idea that Engalnd and Germany were at war. Taking them at their word the German boarding party decided not to scuttle the vessel and instead disabled the engines and disposed of tools that would aid in its repair before promptly disappearing again. The situation on Southport was bleak, it would take a miracle to get the engines working again but with pure determination from Clopet and his engineer Mr H Cox they managed to jury rig the engines to work in a very flimsy manner – it wouldn’t go backwards and they were was a strong concern that should they ever stop they may not get it to go again. This was coupled with the 2000 miles to the nearest British port and a severe lack of supplies. The Germans had told the local tribal king to supply the British ship with as much supplies as they could whilst it remained at the island and Clopet was able to barter for 350lb of coconuts and 400lb of a local root that the natives would eat for sustenance when all other food ran out, then he gave the order to set sail. On the 30th September Southport pulled into Brisbane harbour and it became one of the great tales of British seamanship, doing the impossible and news of the Geier’s last known position was reported to the Admiralty but it was almost a month out of date. 

LINK