14 AUGUST 1909, Page 17

SUBMARINE Cll.'

[TO TEl EDITOR 0.0 THE " BP NOTWTOTL".1 SIR,-0 wing to the interest caused by the Fleet's recent visit to London, the review for the Tsar, and other causes, it would,.

appear that the loss of submarine 'Cl1' has to a great extent slipped from the public mind, with the result that the widows and other dependents of the petty officers and men drowned are receiving far less consideration than is generally the case. Some are in distress; the Service at large, and the Submarine Service in particular, are doing much, but the funds from these sources must necessarily be small compared with the amounts which would be forthcoming did people but realise that their men's relatives were suffering owing to their bread- winners having died in the service of the nation. Should you see fit, I therefore request that you will make the facts known to your readers as you may think best. In the event of any response, it would probably be best to send the sums offered to the Mayor of Portsmouth's Naval Disaster Fund (on behalf [We sincerely trust that our correspondent's appeal may not go unanswered. The crews of our submarines run great risks, but they run them cheerfully in their country's cause. The least we can do is to make them feel that if they die at their posts their wives and families will not be forgotten.— ED. Spectator.]