Governor of the idyllic Fiji Isles from 1912 until 1918 was Sir Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott. “Toward the end of 1914,” said he in England last fortnight, “I received a message that Von Spee’s squadron was heading toward the Fijis and was only a day’s voyage away.
“I knew that any wireless message sent from Fiji would be intercepted by the German warships, so I gave instructions for the following words to be wirelessed in English to H. M. S. Australia, flagship of the Australian fleet: THANKS FOR MESSAGE. SHALL EXPECT YOU EARLY TOMORROW.
“I had no idea where the Australia might be, and I learned afterward that it was nearly 2,000 miles away from the Fijis. “We found out later that things happened exactly as we had calculated, for we intercepted a letter from a German officer on one of the ships which read:
” ‘So the British bulldog was waiting for us ’round the corner. How kind of them to let us know of the trap in time and what a fool of a governor to give the show away! When Von Spee was informed he laughed heartily, and we steamed off full speed in the opposite direction.’ “
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Cecily Strong on Goober the Clown
- Column: The Rise of America’s Broligarchy
Contact us at letters@time.com