Got up late. Had to hurry to work. Very little to do. Finished early. At choir practice at night. Mr Kettle at meeting at the chapel. Received news at night of the loss of the Aboukir, Hogue & Cressy, by German submarines. Supposed† to be attacked by 5 or 6 submarines. The Aboukir was sunk first and when the others were taking off the crew they were sunk. About 1200 lives lost. British capture armed liner “Spreewald” & two coalers (H.M.S.Berwick) and also news of the capture of the Professor Woermann at Sierra Leone.¹

1. Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy were old cruisers patrolling in the Broad Fourteens area of the North Sea. They were supposed to sail at 13 knots (which they were too old to do) and to zigzag (an order widely disregarded as submarines had not been seen in the area); however the submarine U9 was indeed there, and sank all three. Spreewald: armed cruiser/ex-liner,3,900 tons, supplying raiders in W. Indies; Professor Woermann: 6,000 tons, apparently merchantman; became SS Professor after War. ↩