 By the start of the First World War in August , Amphion and her flotilla was assigned to the Harwich Force , defending the eastern approaches to the English Channel , under the command of Captain Cecil H. Fox . In the morning of 5 August , Amphion and the 3rd Flotilla sortied into the North Sea to patrol the area between Harwich and the Dutch island of Terschelling for German activity . At 10 : 15 a ship in the black , buff , and yellow colours of the Great Eastern Railway 's steamers that plied between Harwich and the Hook of Holland was spotted . Fox sent the destroyers Lance and Landrail to investigate and shortly afterwards another destroyer reported that a trawler had seen a suspicious ship , ' throwing things overboard , presumably mines ' . Amphion led the flotilla to investigate and observed that the fleeing ship was deploying mines even then . At 10 : 45 , Lance opened fire at a range of 4 @,@ 400 yards ( 4 @,@ 000 m ) . 
