The Battle of the River Plate was a huge morale boost for the Royal Navy at the start of the war. For New Zealanders the contribution by ACHILLES, mostly manned by New Zealand sailors, almost achieved mythical proportions. The ACHILLES’ ship’s company returned to New Zealand to a heroes’ welcome.
This poem no doubt draws inspiration from the names of the ships the New Zealanders served on, the HMS ACHILLES and HMS AJAX. Achilles and Ajax were also Greek mythological fighting heroes. In the poem, the story of the Battle of the River Plate is interwoven with Greek mythology. The ships AJAX, ACHILLES and EXETER meet an albatross whose soul is that of the mythical Odysseus, a survivor of the Trojan War. After the Trojan War, Odysseus was forced by the gods to wander the seas for ten years before he could go home to his island of Ithaca and his wife and son.
Charis Boos
‘I SAW THREE SHIPS’
A Fantasy
South steamed Ajax, Exeter, Achilles –
Devon, New Zealand – spawn of the sea:
South steered Harwood, combing the Atlantic,
Hunting a raider, the great Graf Spee.
South sailed Exeter, Ajax, Achilles;
Scanned all horizons; nought could they see
But one white albatross, ghost of Odysseus
The exiled raider – and still no Spee.
In the dark of a dawning the watch heard the white bird
Return from the uttermost edge of the sea –
‘I was the seaman and sailed with Achilles:
I honoured Ajax. Come! Follow me!’
Round swung the squadron, after Ulysses
(Fine was the morning, roomy the sea)
Ajax, Exeter, fleet-foot Achilles –
Out of the ocean up loomed the Spee!
Her great guns thunder searching for Exeter:
On sweeps Exeter, silent is she.
‘Down the depth-charges!’ signalled Odysseus.
Foiling the enemy, up spouts the sea!
We close the range; now open our ‘eight-inch’ –
Well laid our gunners! But we’re hit too:
Fore turret splintered, into a mad clinch
Drives wounded Exeter, bridge shot through.
Our captain shouted, ‘She shall not escape us;
Sooner I’ll ram her!’ Answered his crew –
Roll out the barrel and reload our last gun;
We’ll teach Adolf a thing or two.’
Ah! But we’re done for; motionless, Exeter
Rolls on the ocean, gasping for breath.
Smoke from their funnels like horsehair from helmet –
See – the Achaeans rush in upon Death!
Then prayed Odysseus to grey-eyed Athene –
‘Grant, O Goddess, yet one prayer more:
Save me these heroes who charged on Hector,
Charging again as they charged of yore!’
From high Olympus Athene slanted
Down to the Spee’s deck – snatching from Fate
Ajax, Achilles – blinded her gunners;
Whispered her captain; he runs for the Plate.
Then turned Odysseus out of the sunset
On tireless pinion over the sea
To the cave of Poseidon, where sit the old sea-dogs,
Each with a mermaid rocked on his knee.
The heroes hailed him – ‘How fares the world now?
Still sail the long ships? What of their crew?’
‘Still sail the swift ships?’ – answered Odysseus –
‘Aye – and their seamen are worthy of you.’
Major Sir Ralph Furse, KCMG, DSO & Bar