By JWT Watters

John William Thomas Watters was born on 29th August, 1876 and died 29th December, 1939. He started his professional career as a law clerk. One day, along with a young colleague, he asked for a rise; their employer was unsympathetic so the pair of them decided to become solicitors and until they finished their training they travelled down to Dublin for all their lectures. This must say something about the nature of the man.

He was one of those instrumental in setting up Belvoir Park Golf Club in 1926-7; he was Club captain in the 1930's. In 1932-3 he was president of the Belfast Rotary Club. From the 1920's until his death he was a Belfast City Councillor, representing Ballynafeigh district as a Unionist. It was said that a visit he made to Spain to study road surfaces explains why we have, or had, concrete roads in Belfast. But the highlight of his life must surely have been in 1914 when he participated in the gun-running operation at Lame which he descibes in the article which follows. He was a bodyguard to Edward Carson in 1921.

This article came to light in the 1950's and was given to the Society by his daughter-in-law. Mrs. Joan Watters, along with details of his life. Mrs. Joan Watters is a member of the Society.

I had been acting as adjutant to the Ulster Signalling and Dispatch Riding Corps (USDR Corps) and as was my custom I called in to the Old Town Hall at dinner time to answer any letters and to report myself to the officer commanding. When I got there the typist informed me that I was wanted by the OC and that I was to wait until he came down from the office of the General. When he came he said that he wanted to speak to me privately and the typist retired. He asked would I give him my word of honour that anything that he told me would be treated as strictly confidential, I said yes, he then asked me would I be prepared to do something for the Ulster Volunteer Force. I asked if he would tell me the nature of the work required, He said he could not tell me anything more unless he had my promise to do the job that was necessary but he would go so far as to say there was a certain amount of risk involved, and that was all he could tell me. I knew then there was something momentous going to happen and I was determined to be in it and damn the consequences! So I said "right, I'll do it", then after a renewed promise to keep everything he said absolutely secret he informed me that the G.O.C. had told him that an attempt was to be made to land arms. All of us knew of the mystery ship and of the attempt by Winston Churchill who beat such an undignified retreat down what is locally known as Churchill's Drive, to overcome Ulster by a display of naval force but none of us, except for the headman, knew when or where the attempt was to be made to land arms.

I was asked if I would be prepared to go to Larne on the night of 24th/25th of April 1914 on the boat train to take charge of the signal communications between Larne and Belfast, of course I knew then what was happening and I agreed. The code for the night was handed to me with a request to study it in the meantime and to be careful of it and to destroy it in the event of any trouble. I was told that if any trouble took place Larne would be in it up to the neck and that we would have to be very guarded in our reply to any questions.

The system of sending messages and the signaling stations to be used and the personnel of men to be employed was then explained and considered. It was decided to warn the officers and men that an all night signalling scheme was to be held on that fateful night.

As I left the office of the O.T.H. that evening I felt that I possessed a secret that any of my confreres in the corps and in the U.V.F. would give anything to share and in the following few days I found myself tempted to impart it to some of them, men who were as keen as myself.

The U.V.F. was busy that week, and an air of something going to happen pervaded Belfast. Rumours about the mystery ship were revived and the general order of the week served to make the members of the U.V.F. wonder if anything special was afoot.

On the Friday I told those at home that I might not be back until the morning as we had an all night signalling scheme on. I called at the O.T.H. and got final instructions. During that day I did my work in a perfunctionary way owing to a feeling of suppressed eagerness to get on with the job allotted to me.

When I took my seat on the boat train for Larne I saw several prominent members of the Force also board the train. I overheard a young lady remark to her friend that there were more people travelling than was usual.

We reached Larne in due course and as I was early I got out and walked to the harbour. As I passed a large yard to the back of some houses I saw a Company of men 'falling in' for their night' s work. I reported to Gen Wm Adair at the harbour as instructed and obtained from him a white armlet which would gain me admittance to the quay. The quay was surrounded by Companies of men and no admittance was granted unless vouched. I spent a short time looking over the lie of the ground and deciding where it would be best to dispatch riders so as to give them a clear run to and from the quay, picking a spot where they would have their motorcycles convenient and yet be able to get away at once. There was the sound of several motorcycles' engines and Gen. Sir Wm Adair asked me to get them to stop as we did not want to attract too much attention to our operations. I did as he asked and told them where to place their machines. We had now time to look around us and although the quay and its vicinity was crowded with men there was practically no noise.

All eyes were turned seaward and although there were several false alarms eventually the ''Clydevalley'' came alongside and I hurried to send my first message to the G.O.C. the first motorcyclist was dispatched on his journey.

It might be of interest to give the system of signalling from Larne to the G.O.C. at Belfast. The dispatch riders rode from the quay to the tunnel at Whitehead, a distance of seven miles, from there the message was signalled across Belfast Lough to Orlock, eight miles, and from Orlock to Helen's Tower, six miles, from there to a hill at Lisnabreeney, nine miles and then to a corner of Malone Golf Links, three miles, and from there by dispatch rider to the G.O.C. at his house. The lamps used were electric with a parabolic lens enclosed in a round cylinder case about one foot long and eight inches wide with a focussing arrangement at the bottom for throwing a parallel ray. This operation ran smoothly and there were no hitches that night.

The hatches were taken off the ship and a squad of men jumped into the hold and started to unload. The rifles were in bundles of six and as they were dumped on the quay by crane they were unloosed and made ready for transference into motor cars. It was now the marvellous organisation and forethought was remarkably displayed, in one line a stream of lorries, motor cars, char-a-bancs of all shapes and sizes and horsepower came in a slow unending succession down the quay and no driver dare let his engine stop and if it did for any reason somebody came and cranked the car to start the engine and at the same time giving the driver the rough side of his tongue! As each car came in turn to the quayside the driver was asked his destination and load and that quantity was put in the back of his car and he went on his way. Some of the lorries were drawn up to the side of the circle and loaded to their full capacity and sent off to their destination.

As I looked at the glare of headlights I knew that this was a scene which would probably never be repeated and I felt glad that I was in the thick of if. I asked Captain Richards what he thought of it, and he said it ought to (be repeated) for it was the most damnable piece of cheek he had ever heard of.

The work went with a swing, relays of men went on board to do the unloading, more and still more cars appeared, messages came and went, reporting progress to the G.O.C. and nothing happened officially to mar the greatest gun running coup of modern times.

In a hut on the quay a band of ladies dispensed tea and sandwiches. HOT tea and SUCH sandwiches, one was a heavy meat and the other a feast. My sincere thanks to these ladies, they shall live in this night's story.

Some time during the night I got a dispatch from Major Crawford, and eventually he appeared, looking more like a disreputable loafer than a military gentleman.

Some stories are told of the night's events. One Official (customs) when in bed heard the noise and bustle of the motor cars and got up to investigate. When he got to his gate he found that the traffic was coming from the harbour so he proceeded thence. He pushed his way through the crowd till he came to a guard and was stopped and challenged. He said it was his duty to go to the quay and report what was happening to London. The guard eventually spoke to his superior officer who abruptly told the customs official that while he might promise him a safe pass to the quay he would not by any means promise him a safe pass home and if he took sensible advice he would go home to bed and forget all he had seen. The advice seemed good and he took it.

About four o'clock in the morning everybody seemingly had gone and I realised I had not made any arrangements about getting home. All the vehicles were by now scattered far and wide across the country. Just as I had given up I espied a dispatch rider with his motor bicycle and sidecar and he kindly volunteered to take me to his home in Whitehead for the night, or what was left of it. I was delighted with my luck and thanked him, Wm Bob Lyttle, a fellow member of the Corps, so off we went, I had a tin of petrol between my feet in the sidecar.

SOME BACKGROUND TO THE GUN RUNNING OPERATION

The gun running was arranged by a committee but Captain Crawford was the one who went to Hamburg to assemble these arms for the UVF. It was a mammoth task to pack 30,000 rifles and three million rounds of ammunition, especially as he wanted them in small packets of five rifles, batonettes and 500 rounds of ammunition to make it easier to land in Ulster.

He purchased a tramp steamer of 500 tons in the 'Fanny'. It had a Norwegian skipper and crew who agreed to navigate under the direction of Captain Andrew Agnew, a friend of Crawford's. The steamer to proceed to the Kattegat and wait for Crawford who would bring the cargo by lighter down the Elbe and through the Kiel Canal.

The rendezvous was kept and the cargo transhipped to the 'Fanny'. Unfortunately a Danish Harbour Master was not satisfied the 'Fanny' carried a general cargo and finding the arms he impounded the ship's papers. Crawford decided to make a dash for the open sea and in a squall and heavy mist he sailed. After rumours of capture and much change of plan the steamer headed for Great Yarmouth where Agnew was put ashore and sent to Belfast to get another boat and meet the 'Fanny' at Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel. The idea was to again put the cargo on a different ship for although the 'Fanny' was now the 'Dorian' she still looked too foreign to go unchallenged.

Crawford had a bad attack of malaria and the skipper decided to make for Dunkirk and a doctor, but Crawford staggered from his cabin and putting a pistol to the skipper's head made him continue the journey.

Captain Crawford was angry when he got orders contrary to the original plans, and he went to Craigavon to meet Mr Craig and Mr Carson and after some arguement it was decided to let Crawford take charge again. He went to Glasgow and bought the 'Clydevalley' where she was due to sail to Belfast with a cargo of coal. The two vessels met off the Welsh coast and the arms were transhipped at sea.

Crawford christened the ship 'Mountjoy II' after the ship that broke the boom at Derry in 1690. Small consignments were also landed at Bangor and Donaghadee, the Bangor one in broad daylight! The only mishap was the death of a man at Donaghadee from a heart attack.

Source: ''Carson '' by Montgomery Hyde.