Auxiliary Patrol Operations in 1915

Whilst the kernel of the Trawler Reserve had been created prior to the war, born of the perceived need to develop a defensive force capable of dealing with the threat of offensive enemy minelaying, the idea of extending its operations into other, often more overtly aggressive spheres of action had evidently not been anticipated, and certainly not planned for, to any considerable degree. But, as we have seen in Chapter 2, within a few weeks of the opening of hostilities, large numbers of additional fishing vessels and fishermen were quickly recruited by the Admiralty, not only for defensive minesweeping duties but also for a range of other, often more directly belligerent activities. By early 1915, less than six months into the war, the nature and range of these additional frontline operations, of what was for all intents and purposes a new and improvised navy, were becoming somewhat more clearly defined.

The opening months of the war had seen quite extensive activities by enemy surface minelaying vessels and submarines off the British coast. Such operations were also thought at the time to provide a means of allowing spies to make covert landings in the country. General instructions issued to Auxiliary Patrol units stationed around the British coasts in early 1915 were specifically focused on dealing with these threats, not only by trying to prevent such incursions occurring in the first place but also by ensuring the harassment, capture, or destruction of the enemy vessels involved.

To carry out such duties, each district took into account the local geography and regional strategic priorities when formulating operational plans. Vessels operating in the Orkney and Shetland Archipelago, for example, not only had to anticipate enemy attacks in and around the hugely important Grand Fleet base at Scapa Flow, but were also required to sink or harass U-boats voyaging westwards by way of the top of Scotland, most notably through the Fair Island Gap. By spring 1915, many Orkney duties were being carried out by a fleet of eight yachts and 72 armed trawlers, supported by a few drifters. These vessels were divided amongst three patrol areas based on Kirkwall, Stromness, and Longthorpe, known respectively as the Northern, Western, and Southern Patrols.