The following is a despatch from Harwich, of An to "Evening Ne ies of the naval engagement off Heligoland yesterday were told by the men on board the cruiser Fearless and the destroyers which arrived here to-day. The engagement lasted about eight hours, during which time a mist hung over the fleets. The fighting is described as sharp and terrible, and the British losses seem to have been miraculously light. Of the destroyers only one presents any signs of having taken part in a battle.
Although the official report said only five German vessels were sunk in the battle, the crews of the destroyers say there were at least eleven.
A non-commissioned officer of the Fearless, which in the thick of battle picked up many German wounded, said:
"The whole operation took place in a thick haze. When we opened fire there was not a single scarchlight: playing upon us. The mans all seemed to be asleep.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.