Ambrose Ball - Stoker 1st Class

Ambrose William Ball was born on 15 April 1892 in Aldbourn Wiltshire. He was the second of four children to Ambrose W. and Jane Ball. Their other children were Edith born two yeas before Ambrose and Elizabeth and Albert who were two and four years younger. Ambrose senior worked as a carter. By 1901 the family lived at Helscombe Bottom, Aldbourne in Wiltshire.

By 1906 Ambrose had been admitted to one of the many National Schools which had been established in the 1800's in order give children of the poor a basic education and a good religious and moral upbringing. Ambrose was entered into the register on 8 January 1906 along with his brother Albert and also a girl named Rose Ball who appears to have been born a year after Ambrose but is not listed on the 1901 census as being part of his immediate family.

Following his schooling Ambrose joins the army and at the time of the 1911 census he is listed as a Private in the Wilstshire Regiment residing at Le Marchant Barracks in Devizes. Army life mustn't have suited Ambrose as four years later he joins the Royal Navy on 14 July 1914. He is given the Service Number K23001 and is a Stoker.

Ambrose spends his first five months of his time in the navy at the shore based training establishment Vivid II he joins HMS Gloucester on 5 December 1914. Gloucester was a Town Class Light Cruiser launched at the end of 1909 and was involved in the war at sea from a very early stage being involved in the hunt for the German Cruisers SMS Groeben and Breslau in August 1914.

HMS Gloucester Town Class Light Cruiser

In February 1915 Gloucester was reassigned to 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet. Ambrose serves with Gloucester until 8 January 1916 when he returns to Vivid II for three months. He was initially rated as Stoker 2nd Class but during his tie on Gloucester he is rated as Stoker 1st Class. His conduct and character is described as Very Good since he joined the navy. 

On 7 April 1916 Ambrose joins the brand new destroyer HMS Nomad. Launched in February of 1916 she was only completed in April as Ambrose joins her Nomad was one of 85 Admiralty M-class destroyers ordered during the war. Nomad was commissioned and assigned to the 13th Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet her captain was Lieutenant- Commander Paul Whitfield. 

 

HMS Shark another Admiralty M-class destroyer Nomad would have appeared near identical

On 31 May 1916 HMS Nomad was serving with the Battlecruiser Fleet as part of the 2nd Division of the 13th Destroyer Flotilla. Of the four destroyers in the 2nd Division two would be sunk in the coming battle and the captain of HMS Nestor, Edward Bingham, would win a Victoria Cross.

At 16.09 on 31 May 1916 Admiral Jellicoe ordered the destroyers of the Grand Fleet to launch a torpedo attack against the German Battlecruisers. At the same moment the commander of the German Scouting Forces ordered a similar attack by his German Torpedo Boats. The British destroyers were led by HMS Nestor with Nomad following closely behind. There followed a running fight between the two forces which saw HMS Nomad disabled by a direct hit on her engine room. A letter written by Lieutenant Commander Paul Whitfield on 8 June:

"Our misfortune lay in getting a shell from one of their Light Cruisers clean through a Main Steam pipe, killing instantly the Engineer officer and I think a Leading Stoker. At the same time from two boilers came the report that they could not get water."

Whitfield continues

"The ship finally stopped, though steam continued to pour from the Engine Room. With the ship stopped bad luck had it that the only gun that would bear was the after one and that couldn't be fought owing to he steam from the ER obliterating everything."

Lieutenant Commander Whitfield noticed that Nomad had taken a list to port and that they were in all probability going to sink so rather than let the torpedoes sink with his ship and go to waste he decided to fire them all off at the enemy battleships he could see to his starboard.

HMS Nestor had also been badly damaged in the fighting and she too was stationary nearby. As the other British destroyers retreated Nomad and Nestor were left in full view of the approaching German Battlecruisers. Nomad was slightly closer to the enemy and was fired upon by no less than four German battleships: Friedrich der Grosse, Prinzregent Luitpold, Kaiser and Kaiserin after several hits from their smaller guns causing a massive amount of damage to the stricken destroyer the crew of Nomad abandoned ship. Whitfield describes the scene:

"Salvo after salvo shook us and wounded a few. The ship sinking fast I gave the order to abandon her and pull clear and about 3 minutes after she went down vertically by the stern"

Once Nomad had been sunk the Germans fired on Nestor sinking her too. Eight of Nomad's crew had been killed in the battle with the remaining 72 being picked up by three German Torpedo Boats which also rescued Nestor's crew.

A newspaper reporting Nomad's crew being held in captivity

Ambrose William Ball was amongst those picked up by the Germans. He was held as a Prisoner of War in Germany until the end of the war. He was appears to have been released on 14 November 1918 but did not return to Vivid II until 1 February 1919.

Ambrose Ball was medically discharged on 14 January 1920 with "Neurasthenia" which is a term used to describe general fatigue, depression and exhaustion of the nerves. It is believed he died in Portsmouth Hampshire in 1982.

For his service during the First World War he was awarded the following medals:

1914/15 Star

British War Medal

Allied Victory Medal

Ambrose William Ball's 1914/15 Star

Percy Bull - Chief Stoker

Percy Salter Bull was born on the 8 June 1882 in Bedminster Somerset. 9 years later he is shown on the 1891 census as still living in Bedminster with his father, mother, four older brothers and one younger sister. His father and three older brothers are all working as labourers apart from one who is a coal miner. Percy and the other brother are at school. Percy joins the Royal Navy on 4 January 1902 giving his occupation as a Collier and stating he was born n Bristol.

Percy spends the next 10 months on HMS Duke of Wellington originally launched as a 131 gun ship of the line in 1852 but now moored in Portsmouth where she saw the fleet review in 1896 for Queen Victoria's birthday. Following his initial training Percy was posted to his first sea going ship on 2 October 1902 HMS Intrepid an Apollo Class cruiser launched in 1889. Percy was rated as a Stoker 2nd Class and remained on Intrepid until the end of May 1904. He was rated a Stoker on 30 January 1903 His conduct and character were described as Very Good for his first two years in the navy.

Following two short spells ashore Percy spent the next four years aboard two battleships HMS Centurion and then HMS Prince of Wales. The latter was a Formidable Class Battleship launched in 1902 she was one of the last pre-dreadnoughts and was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet during the time Percy served on her from the end of May 1906 to the end of December 1908.

HMS Prince of Wales 

It was whilst serving aboard Prince of Wales that Percy was rated as Stoker 1st Class and then 18 months later in December 1908 just prior to returning home he was made Acting Leading Stoker. He was to spend the next 5 months based ashore at two Training Establishments where Percy was confirmed as Leading Stoker. His character and conduct throughout his whole service to this point was described as Very Good.

Percy next saw service in two of the navy's old Protected Cruisers HMS Furious and HMS Niobe which had served during the Boer War. He then found himself on HMS Proserpine a Pelorus Class Protected Cruiser launched in December 1896. These Third Class Protected Cruisers were designed by Sir William White, who dominated Royal Naval ship design in the latter part of the 19th century. The cruisers were well armed for their size but were not designed for service with the battle fleet. They were to be the workhorses of the overseas fleet and were ideal for the "policing" duties which the Royal Navy performed around the globe.

HMS Proserpine

Percy joined Proserpine on one such commission where she would be policing the seas in particular attempting to halt the illegal trafficking of arms around the Persian Gulf. The arms were usually moved through Muscat in Arab dhows and the Royal Navy had a number of ships deployed in the region in an attempt to intercept them. The navy would often send out smaller launches of armed sailors and marines to investigate any suspicious local boats. In a 20 month period between October 1909 and July 1911 the Royal Navy captured 18 dhows, nearly 13,000 rifles and more than 2,400,000 rounds of ammunition. By the outbreak of the First World War the problem of gun running and arms trafficking in the region had been wiped out.

Percy was awarded the Naval General Service Medal with the clasp "Persian Gulf 1909 - 1914" for his service in the region. He arrived back in Britain in April 1912 and spent the next 8 months on dry land where he undertook additional training to become a Petty Officer. His conduct and character had remained Very Good throughout this period.

Percy married Amelia Holdship at Portsmouth in 1912. He then spent two weeks aboard HMS Argonaut rated as Stoker Petty Officer before being posted to HMS Terrible for the next 18 months. Terrible had earned considerable fame in during the Boer War and China War of 1900 but she was now a shadow of her former self and had been laid up for several years. In March 1914 Percy transferred to HMS Edgar and was serving aboard her when war broke out in the summer of 1914. By December of that year Percy was back ashore at the shore based training establishment Victory II it was here on 23 December that he passed the examination to be qualified to take charge of a stoke hold and was now rated as Chief Stoker. His conduct and character had remained as Very Good throughout his entire service.

On the 14 January 1915 HMS Royalist was launched she was an Arethusa Class Light Cruiser which was built at William Beardmore and Company's shipyard in Glasgow. Two months later on the 19 March Chief Stoker Percy Bull joined her. 

HMS Royalist from the bow looking toward her 6" gun 

HMS Royalist, along with Percy, was assigned to the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron and was present on the 31 May 1916 when the British Grand Fleet met the German High Seas Fleet at the Battle of Jutland. Royalist sustained no damage or casualties during the battle and in February 1917 was re-assigned to the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron.

HMS Royalist's forward 6" gun taken during First World War

Percy continued to serve on board Royalist until the end of July 1917 when he was once again back on dry land. He remained ashore until March 1918 when he found himself back at sea on HMS Topaze a Protected Cruiser launched in 1903. He was to serve on her until October 1919 when he came ashore for the final time. 

Percy was shore pensioned in December 1920 and finally left the Royal Navy on 3 January 1924 after serving 22 years. He joined the Royal Fleet Reserve on 4 January 1926.

Percy Salter Bull was awarded the following medals:

Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Persian Gulf 1909 - 1914"

1914/15 Star

British War Medal

Allied Victory Medal

His conduct throughout his entire service was Very Good and he should have received the Royal Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. There is a possible reference to this medal being awarded on his Service Record but I am unsure as what it says and refers to.

Percy Bull's Naval General Service Medal with clasp Persian Gulf 1909 - 1914

Peter Liddle - Chief Stoker

Peter Liddle was born on the 1st January 1876 in the hamlet of Little Fodden outside the small town of Forres on the Moray coast of Scotland. He worked as a Fireman which referred to working with steam engines as opposed to the modern occupation of a fireman. On the 15th October 1895 at the age of 19 he enlisted into the Royal Navy at Portsmouth. His height was recorded as 5' 7" with brown/ red hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. It was noted he had a scar on his neck.

Peter spent a year based at Victory II a shore based training establishment before joining his first ship HMS Melpomene a Marathon Class Cruiser and sister ship to HMS Marathon and Magicienne on the 20th September 1896 for two months where he was rated as a Stoker 2nd Class.

HMS St. George

After his short service on HMS Melpomene Peter was sent straight to HMS St. George, an Edgar Class Cruiser, which was to be his home for the next year. It would appear that he served on Melpomene and was transferred to St George whilst at sea off the West African Coast.HMS St. George took part in the Benin Expedition of 1897 which was a punitive expedition by Great Britain which saw a force of 1,200 men, consisting of Naval Brigades and local troops, under the command of Admiral Sir Harry Rawson in response to the defeat of a previous British led invasion force under Acting Consul General James Philips which led to all but two men being killed. Rawson's troops captured, burned and looted Benin City bringing to an end the West African Kingdom of Benin. As a result of this expedition and the subsequent defeat much of the country's art, including the famous Benin Bronzes, was either destroyed, looted or dispersed. or his part in this campaign Peter was awarded the East and West Africa Medal with the clasp "Benin 1897". Peter had been in the Royal Navy just over two years and his conduct had been "Very Good" so far. Whilst serving on HMS St. George Peter had been rated as Stoker from 16th May 1897.

HMS Doris

The next ship Peter was to serve on was HMS Doris an Eclipse Class Cruiser launched in March 1896. It is likely that he transferred to Doris directly from St. George whilst off the West African Coast as Peter spends no time back home between his service on the two different ships. His time with Doris commences on the 29th December 1897 and he remains aboard her for the next 3 1/2 years. Peter spent 10 days in the cells between 23rd February and 6th March 1898 and this was reflected in his conduct being described as "Good" only for 1898. 

Under the command of Captain R C Prothero, HMS Doris was the flagship of Vice- Admiral Sir Robert Harris when he was Commander in Chief, Cape Good Hope Station in South Africa1898 - 1900. In 1899 at least one of Doris's Quick Firing 4.7 inch guns was mounted on an improvised field carriage and used as a field gun in the Second Boer War. The gun used at Magersfontein was given the nickname Joe Chamberlain. The Naval Brigade landed from HMS Doris was present at many of the famous engagements of the war such as Modder River, Belmont, Paardeburg, Drifontein and Diamond Hill.

4.7 QF Gun from HMS Doris adapted for use on land during the Boer War

HMS Doris paid off in Devonport in May 1901. when, to honour the crew, the men of the other ships in the harbour spontaneously manned yards and sides and gave a salute. After a refit in June 1902 Doris was commissioned into the Channel Squadron with the crew drawn from HMS Arrogant. Peter did not land in South Africa during the Boer War therefore he was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal with no clasp. Peter spent his second period of incarceration from 23rd March to 30th March 1900 during the war so it might have been that he did not get along with his superiors whilst on Doris. Captain Prothero did have a reputation as being a man with a foul temper who was feared by those officers and crew serving under him.

Following a brief stint aboard HMS Duke of Wellington saw Peter posted to HMS Vernon a shore base establishment which housed the Royal Navy's Torpedo School. Peter served at Vernon from August 1901 until November 1903. During his time at Vernon Peter was discharged to "Sick Quarters" between 6th July and 23rd July 1902 and managed to improve his conduct being rated as "Very Good" for 1901 and 1902.

Peter served on a variety of ships for the next ten years. He spent time on HMS Hawke another Edgar Class Cruiser and then HMS Leander an obsolete Protected Cruiser which had been launched in the 1880's but was being used as a Depot Ship for Torpedo Boats. His conduct continued to be rated as "Very Good" and he steadily rose from Stoker to Leading Stoker in 1904 and then to Stoker Petty Officer in 1906 and then in 1909 whilst serving on HMS Roxburgh, a Devonshire Class four funnelled Armoured Cruiser launched in 1904 that he passed the examination for Chief Stoker and had a note added to his Continuous Service sheet stating "Qualified to take charge of a stokehold - 23rd September 1909". On the 18th February Peter Liddle married Susie Florence Edwards, a spinster five years his junior, at the Register Office in Portsmouth. Peter also appears on the 1911 census with a note stating him to be a Presbytarian.

Peter was posted to HMS Renown in May 1912 and served on her for 18 months whilst the old pre-Dreadnought Battleship was being dismantled and eventually scrapped. Peter was rated as Acting Chief Stoker but by September he was rated as Chief Stoker. After leaving this obsolete vessel Peter was next assigned to one of the most modern ships in the Royal Navy, the Battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary.

HMS Queen Mary

HMS Queen Mary was launched on 20th March 1912 and was commissioned on the 4th September 1913 the day Peter joins her. She was the last battlecruiser built by the Royal Navy and incoroporated many of the same features as HMS Lion.

Queen Mary's first action was as part of the Battlecruiser Squadron under Admiral Beatty during the Battle of Heligoland Bight on the 28th August 1914. Beatty's ships had originally been intended as support for the British cruisers and destroyers closer to the German coast in the event of the High Seas Fleet launching a sortie in response to the British attacks. The German light cruisers SMS Strassburg and Coln were pursuing the British cruiser Arethusa when Beatty led his battlecruisers into the fray. SMS Strassburg managed to escape under the cover of mist but the Con was quickly shot at and crippled. Beatty should have sunk her but he became distracted when he saw another German cruiser, SMS Ariadne, directly ahead of him. He pursued and sunk her with three salvoes from two of his battlecruisers killing 200 of her crew of 257. Beatty then ordered his force to retire when they encountered the crippled Coln which was sunk by HMS Lion.

Stokers HMS Queen Mary

The Gemran raid on Scarborough and the pursuit by the battlecruisers was Queen Mary's next opportunity for action although the Germans managed to evade the bulk of British forces and return safely home. HMS Queen Mary was refitting in January and February 1915 and therefore did not participate in the Battle of Dogger Bank. She was back with the Grand Fleet and was present on the 31st May 1916 when they sailed out to meet the German High Seas Fleet in what came to be known as the Battle of Jutland.

The German High Seas Fleet commanded by Admiral Hipper made a sortie into the North Sea on 31st May 1916 and the British Grand Fleet was hastily dispatched to meet it under the command of Admiral Jellicoe with Beatty in command f his Battlecruiser Squadron. Beatty and his battlecruisers first spotted the German's to their east at 15:30 After changing course to intercept the German fleet cut off their line of retreat Beatty and the German Admiral, Hipper, both headed south in what came to be known as "The Run to the South" as two lines of battleships and battlecruisers exchanged fire at a distance of 18,000 yards. The German fire was more accurate from the start and British ships took their time getting into the correct formation. With the range narrowing as the two line converged HMS Queen Mary scored two hits on the SMS Seydlitz at around 15:55.

Beatty ordered a slight change in course which exposed HMS Lion to the full fire of the leading German battlecruisers and she was hit several times by SMS Derfflinger. The smoke a fumes Lion gave off caused the Germans to loose sight of Lion so they turned their guns on Queen Mary instead. As the duel progressed Queen Mary hit Seydlitz again and Seydlitz in turn hit Queen Mary twice until 16:26 when Derfflinger hit her twice more. One shell hit forward and detonated one or both of her forward magazines which broke the ship in two near her forward mast. There was another explosion caused by cordite igniting which caused the rear half of the ship to capsize. HMS Tiger, who was positioned behind Queen Mary was showered in debris from the explosion and was forced to alter course to avoid the wreckage.

1266 crewmen were lost and only 18 survivors were picked out of the water. Peter Liddle was amongst the dead. 

HMS Queen Mary explodes - HMS Lion to left of picture

Peter Liddle is remembered with honour on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial

Peter Liddle served for 20 years in the Royal Navy and was awarded the following medals:

East and West Africa Medal - Clasp Benin 1897

Queen's South Africa Medal

1914/15 Star

British War Medal

Allied Victory Medal

Peter Liddle's East and West Africa Medal with the clasp "Benin 1897"

 

  

Alfred Larrett - Chief Petty Officer

Alfred Larrett was born on 13th November 1877 in Essex. The 1881 census shows his father William was an Agricultural Labourer and his mother Julia worked as a Domestic Servant. They lived in Tendring, Essex along with Alfred and his three siblings. The eldest William was 15 and like his father worked as an Agricultural Labourer, Martha and George were 11 and 6 respectively and were described as Scholars and then there was Alfred who by this time was 3 years old.

On the 25th April 1894 Alfred commenced his career in the Royal Navy. He was sent to the training depot HMS Impregnable and then on to the training ship HMS Lion. Impregnable was a shore based training depot and after just four days there Alfred went onto HMS Lion. Lion was nearly 50 years old and was a twin deck, 80 gun second rate ship of the line launched in 1847. She had long been converted to a training ship and was anchored off Torpoint opposite Devonport Dockyard.

Alfred spent the next 18 months aboard Lion learning the skills he would need to become sailor and was rated as Boy 1st Class when on the 24th September 1895 he boarded his first proper ship HMS Galatea an Orlando Class Cruiser. His time on Galatea was short, just two months, but by the end of that time Alfred had been rated as an Ordinary Seaman with his character having been "Very Good" since he joined the navy. The next three years saw Alfred serve on board two battleships HMS Empress of India and HMS Monarch.

Alfred's next ship was HMS Magicienne a Marathon Class Protected Cruiser with a crew of 218 she was a smaller ship than the previous two Alfred had served on. Magicienne was built for tropical service and would include patrolling the coast of Africa, Persian Gulf and the Bay of Bengal.

HMS Magicienne

Magicienne was at Port Elizabeth under the command of Captain W B Fisher when the Boer War began in October 1899. She was ordered to Durban and from there she should proceed to Beira, a port in Portugese waters and then proceed to Delagoa Bay where the port of Laurenco Marques was to be blockaded to prevent the potential landing of war material that may aid and assist the Boer forces. On the 27th December HMS Magicienne became embroiled in international controversy when Captain Fisher stopped the German mail steamer Bundesrath under the suspicion of carrying goods to aid the Boer war effort. There were several German nationals on board who made it quite clear that they were on their way to join the Boers and fight the British. The Bundesrath was escorted to Durban to be thoroughly searched but was ultimately allowed to proceed on her way but not before the German government issued several indignant ultimatums and the international press leapt on the story as proof of British arrogance. HMS Magicienne went onto take part in a brief campaign to suppress an uprising in Jubaland by the Ogaden Somalis. However Alfred did not stay with Magicienne for that short campaign he was transferred to HMS Barrosa on 16th November 1900 presumably to replace many of Barrosa's crew who were serving on land with one of the Naval Brigades that was formed during the war. Whilst serving on board Magicienne Alfred had been rated Able Seaman and again his character was described as "Very Good".

Following his service during the Boer War Alfred spent time on shore at the training establishments Pembroke I and II he was rated Leading Seaman in May 1901 and it was in this rate that he saw service on board the London Class Battleship HMS Venerable commencing in November 1902.

HMS Venerable

HMS Venerable served with the Mediterranean Fleet and had the misfortune to run aground outside Algiers harbour in 1906. Alfred spent three years on board and enjoyed a period of promotions during this time He rose from Leading Seaman, the rate he joined the ship with to Petty Officer 2nd Class from 1st January 1902 to Petty Officer 1st Class from 1st February 1905. He left Venerable at the end of July 1905 and spent the next three ashore serving at the training establishments Pembroke I, Vernon and Ganges.

An 18 month stint on board HMS Irresistible followed until May 1910 when Irresistible saw her crew reduced to a nucleus just prior to her being paid off and returned to Chatham Dockyard for a refit was followed by a short period ashore and then a brief four month spell aboard HMS Magnificent an old Pre-dreadnought battleship. It was whilst serving on Magnificent that Alfred was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct medal on 22nd November 1910.

The years between 1910 and the outbreak of the First World War saw Alfred spend 18 months at sea on board HMS Forte an obsolete cruiser which had seen service with two of Alfred's previous ships Magiceinne and Barrosa during the Boer War with the remainder of his time spent ashore. The First World War started in August 1914 Alfred was assigned to the Cressy Class Cruiser HMS Hogue on 2nd August 1914.

HMS Hogue - Armoured Cruiser sunk 22nd September 1914

At 06:00 on 22 September the three ships Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue were patrolling in line abreast. Lookouts were posted for submarine periscopes or ships and one gun either side of each ship was manned. U-9 commanded by Kaptianleutnant Otto Weddigen had been ordered to attack British transports at Ostend, but had been forced to dive and shelter from a storm earlier on in the day. On surfacing, she spotted the British ships and moved to attack.

At 06:20, the submarine fired one torpedo at the nearest ship from a range of 550 yards, which struck Aboukir on the starboard side, flooding the engine room and causing the ship to stop immediately. No one had sighted a submarines, so Drummond assumed that the ship had hit a mine and ordered the other two cruisers to close in to help. After 25 minutes, Aboukir capsized, sinking five minutes later. Only one boat could be launched, because of damage from the explosion and the failure of steam-powered winches needed to launch them. U-9 rose to periscope depth again after diving once she had fired the initial torpedo to observe two British cruisers engaged in the rescue of men from the sinking ship. Weddigen fired two more torpedoes at his next target, HMS Hogue, from a range of 300 yards. As the torpedoes left the submarine, her bows rose out of the water and she was spotted by the crew of  Hogue, which opened fire before the submarine dived again. The two torpedoes struck Hogue; within five minutes, Captain Nicholson gave the order to abandon ship, and after only 10 minutes she capsized before sinking at 07:15. At 07:20, U-9 fired two torpedoes from her stern torpedo tubes at a range of 1,000 yards. One missed, so the submarine turned to direct her one remaining bow torpedo toward HMS Cressy, and fired at a range of 550 yards. Cressy had already seen the submarine, and opened fire and then attempted to ram her, but failed. The ship had then returned to picking up survivors. Both torpedoes struck her and the ship capsized to starboard and floated upside down until 07:55 when she too sank.

Approximately 1,450 sailors were killed, and there was a public outcry at the losses. Alfred was lucky and survived the sinking of the Hogue.

Survivors of Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue

Alfred remained ashore for the next 10 months and was married to Annie Hayler in Kent in the early part of 1915. He was then sent to a brand new ship which, unlike so many of Alfred's recent ships that had been out of date or obsolete, had only been completed in June 1915. Alfred joined HMS Conquest on 15th June and it is very likely he was one of her original crew. Conquest was assigned to the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron in the Harwich Force which operated in the North Sea to guard the eastern approaches to the Dover Straits and the English Channel. In August 1915 she was among the ships which took part in the pursuit of the Imperial German Navy Auxiliary Cruiser Meteor in the North Sea which resulted in Meteor scuttling herself on 9th August. She covered the force that carried out the Royal Naval Air Service seaplane raid on the German Navy airship hangars at Todern, then in Northern Germany on 24th March 1916. 

During the Lowestoft Raid - the German Naval bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft on 25th April 1916 German battlecruisers opened fire on Conquest and she suffered a 12 inch shell hit which destroyed her aerials and killed 25 and wounded 13 of her crew. Conquest still managed to maintain her speed at 20 knots despite this damage and return home safely.

HMS Conquest

 

Back in service after repairs Conquest sortied along with the rest of the Harwich Force and the Grand Fleet in August 1916 in an unsuccessful attempt to bring the German High Seas Fleet to action in the North Sea while out at sea she opened fire on the German Navy Zeppelin L 13 but was unable to bring the airship down. In January 1917 she took part in an unsuccessful attempt to attack German destroyers off the coast of Belgium. On the 5th June 1917, Conquest and the light cruisers HMS Canterbury and HMS Centaur sank the German torpedo boat S 20 in the North Sea near Shouwen Bank off Zeebrugge during a Royal Navy raid on Ostend, Belgium. She was damaged by a mine in July 1918 and was decommissioned on 13th July 1918 for repairs which were to last for the remainder of the war and on until April 1919.

Alfred received further promotion whilst serving on HMS Conquest and 1st November 1916 he became Acting Chief Petty Officer and then a year later on 1st November 1917 he was made Chief Petty Officer.

There is a note on Alfred's service record which says:

NL 3228 OF 5.10.15

To be informed of the findings of the Court of Inquiry into the death of Stateley 555618

This has been transcribed incorrectly and actually refers to  SS5618 Ordinary Seaman Frank Edward Elias Stutely a 19 year old sailor from Sandhurst in Kent who was serving on Conquest and fell overboard and drowned on 9th September 1915. Alfred was at that time a Petty Officer 1st Class on Conquest and Stutely must have been under his command. It would appear that Alfred was cleared of any blame for the incident.

Once Alfred left Conquest he spent the remainder of the war on shore.

Alfred Larrett was discharged from the Royal Navy on 13th May 1919 he joined the Royal Fleet Reserve on the 8th November 1919. He served in the navy from April 1894 until May 1919 and was awarded the following medals:

Queen's South Africa Medal

1914/15 Star

British War Medal

Allied Victory Medal

Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

Alfred Larrett died in 1962

Alfred Larrett's Queen's South Africa Medal

 

 

 

Albert Davies - Acting Stoker Petty Officer

Albert Davies was born in Pembroke in 1884. Albert was the third and only boy of five children to William and Sarah Davies. The family lived at Golden Hill, St. Mary's Pembroke. His father, William, worked as a Dockyard Worker. By the time of the 1901 census Albert is 17 years old and is working as an Carpenter's Apprentice. He is living at home in the same address as as the previous census. There are only two other children still in the family home and Albert's father is now working as a Stationary Engine Driver.

Albert must have found the life of a Carpenter's Apprentice not to his liking as he chose to join the Royal Navy at very end of 1902. On the 30th December 1902 he signed on to serve in the Royal Navy as a Stoker for 12 years. He was described as being 5' 9" tall, this was to rise to 5' 10" by 1914, with dark brown hair, hazel coloured eyes and a fresh complexion. Interestingly his occupation is given simply as "Labourer" rather than that of Carpenter's Apprentice which he was employed as the previous year.

Upon joining the Royal Navy Albert was sent to the shore based establishment Vivid II. This was the navy barracks at Devonport and in particular Vivid II was the training school for Stokers and Engine Room Artificers. Albert spent nearly a year at Vivid II until being posted to his first sea going ship HMS Perseus on the 21st December 1903.

HMS Perseus 

 

HMS Perseus was one of 11 Pelorus Class Cruisers constructed and launched between 1896 and 1900. These small cruisers were reasonably well armed and protected for their size but were never expected to serve as part of a battle fleet. They spent their careers on overseas stations primarily for colonial "police" type work. HMS Perseus was part of the East Indies Fleet. Albert was to serve on Pelorus from 21st December 1903 until 8th May 1906. During that time the ship was engaged in coastal policing and anti gun running operations on the East Coast of Africa notably off Somalia supporting operations against the "Mad Mullah" who was in reality Mohammed Abdullah Hassan a Somali religious and patriotic leader who established a Dervish State and fought a 20 years long war against the Ethiopian, British and Italian forces until he died of influenza in 1920 following his defeat by a well coordinated air and land attack carried out by the British.For his part in the operations in and around Somalia Albert Davies received the Africa General Service Medal with the clasp Somaliland 1902 - 04.


Whilst serving on HMS Perseus Albert's character was rated as "Very Good". When he arrived on Perseus he was rated as Stoker 2nd Class this was increased to Stoker 1st Class from 14th April 1904. After arriving back in Britain he spent nearly 6 months based at Vivid II before being sent to HMS Royal Oak, a Royal Sovereign Class Battleship, on 1st January 1907. Albert only spent 6 months on Royal Oak before he was again serving on another Royal Sovereign Class Battleship this time HMS Ramilles where he was o spend the next 18 months. This was followed by 2 years spent on board HMS Queen a London or Queen Class Battleship which also saw Albert being rated as Leading Stoker. Throughout this period his character was consistently rated as "Very Good"

A short spell in Malta was followed by several postings to cruisers again following several years on battleships. By early November 1913 Albert was serving on HMS Forth a Mersey Class Cruiser. 

HMS Forth

Launched in 1886 HMS Forth was an obsolete Light Cruiser which was put into the reserve in 1903. From 1904 - 1914 she was used as a Submarine Depot Ship at Devonport, then the Humber for 2 years and finally from 1916 until 1919 at Harwich.

HMS Forth - Submarine Depot Ship

On the 30th December 1914 Albert signed to continue serving in the Royal Navy for another 10 years. He was rated as Acting Stoker Petty Officer from 7th September 1915. 

As HMS Forth was serving as a Submarine Depot ship from the start of Albert's time with her it seems likely that he had been chosen or volunteered to serve on submarines. His next posting after Forth was to HMS Dolphin which was a shore based establishment but was also the Royal Navy Submarine School. Albert spent a month there from 10th September to 7th October 1915 before being sent to HMS Maidstone which was a depot ship serving submarines in Harwich. 

Albert was serving as Acting Stoker Petty Officer on board HM Submarine E6 when on the 26th December 1915 HMS E6 left Harwich to carry out an anti-submarine patrol in the North Sea. As the submarine neared the Sunk Light Vessel she was signalled by a patrolling torpedo boat to keep clear. E6 continued on her course and within view of the torpedo boat struck a mine and disappeared. E6 sank taking all of her 31 crew with her. E6 lies in approximately 18 metres of water at Latitude 51' 48 and Longitude 0' 21

HM Submarine E6

 

Albert Davies was "Discharged Dead on 26th December 1915 - Lost his life on duty"

Albert is Remembered with Honour on the Plymouth Naval Memorial and is also commemorated on Panel 5 of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum's Memorial Wall.

Albert Davies' Africa General Service Medal with clasp Somaliland 1902 - 04

 

Frank Schunck - Captain RN

Frank Schunck was born on the 8^th March 1899 at Chapel en le Frith in Derbyshire. In January 1912 Frank was sent to Britannia Royal Naval College more commonly known as Dartmouth to begin his initial Royal Navy officer training. He was to spend the next 2 and ½ years here learning the basics of his trade. In August 1914 Frank was appointed a Midshipman and left the college to commence his career in the navy with the following comments on his report written by a Captain Craig:

General Conduct – Satisfactory

Ability – Exceptional

Comments – Very bright, zealous and intelligent young officer

The first ship Frank was to serve on was HMS Amphritite a Diadem Class protected cruiser launched in 1898 which was considered obsolete by 1914. Amphitrite had the nickname 'am and tripe' amongst her crew based on a humorous malapropism, and a reference to common foodstuffs such as might be served on board. HMS Amphritite was part of the Ninth Cruiser Squadron, serving in the Atlantic. In June 1915 she was placed in reserve. Frank served on Amphitrite until 22^nd June 1915 when he moved, briefly, to a shore based establishment. He must have impressed his superiors as the following comments were entered onto his service record by Captain Gerrard:

General Conduct – Satisfactory

Ability – Exceptional

Comments – Exceptional calm, zealous and promising. Takes things well and makes his own mind up, physically strong and good handler of boats under sail or steam. 

Frank spent a month ashore before being posted to his next ship HMS Barham. Frank was to serve on Barham for much of the First World War from 22^nd July 1915 until September 1917. Frank was serving on board Barham during the battle of Jutland. HMS Barham was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship of the Royal Navy named after Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, built at the John Brown shipyards in Clydebank, Scotland, and launched on 31st December 1914.

HMS Barham 1917

 At the Battle of Jutland on 31 May to 1 June 1916, Barham was Admiral Hugh Evan-Thomas's flagship of the 5th Battle Squadron, attached to Admiral David Beatty's battlecruiser fleet. Barham fired 337 15-inch shells and 25 6-inch shells during the battle.The number of hits cannot be confirmed, but it is believed that she and her sister ship Valiant made 23 or 24 hits between them, making them two of the most accurate warships in the British fleet. She received six hits during the battle, five from 12-inch shells and one from an 11-inch shell, suffering casualties of 26 killed and 46 wounded.

Damage to HMS Barham inflicted at the Battle of Jutland

Following Jutland, Barham was under repair until 5 July 1916. She was refitted at Cromarty between February and March 1917, being fitted with a pair of 12-pounder anti-aircraft guns that year, and was again refitted in February 1918.

Frank was appointed Acting Sub- Lieutenant on 15th May 1917. He continued to serve on HMS Barham until September 1917 Lieutenant Commander Kennedy wrote the following comments onto his service record:

General Conduct – Satisfactory

Ability – Above Average Ability

Comments – Completed three weeks training in JBD(?) Keen interest in Engineering. Learns quickly. Highly intelligent and independent  - lacking only in physique.

A short stint on the ageing Blake Class protected cruiser HMS Blenheim was followed by a series of shore based postings during which Frank was promoted to Sub Lieutenant  and lasted until peace was declared in November 1918. Frank was to remain at HMS Alecto, a depot ship, until 15th January 1919 when he moved to the London based naval establishment President V where he studied a course regarding Naval Accounts. He then moved to HMS Conqueror for an engineering course which was to last until 20th January 1920.It was during his time on Conqueror that Frank was appointed Acting Lieutenant and then Lieutenant backdated to 15th August 1919.

An entry on Frank's service record written by a Captain Seagrove for this period states:

General Conduct – Satisfactory

Ability – Above Average Ability

Comments – A very intelligent officer with lots of character. Not very athletic but he should do well in the service if he sticks to it.

Frank remained ashore for the next 5 years until 30th January 1925 when he joined HMS Tiger which at this point had become a seagoing training ship. 

HMS Tiger

HMS Tiger was a battlecruiser built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland, and launched in 1913. Tiger was the most heavily armoured battlecruiser of the Royal Navy at the start of the First World War, but was not yet ready for service when it began. The ship was assigned to the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron (1st BCS) for the duration of the war and participated in the Battle of Dogger Bank in early 1915, though she was still shaking down and did not perform well. Tiger next participated in the Battle of Jutland in 1916, where she was only lightly damaged despite suffering many hits by German shells. Apart from providing distant cover during the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1917, she spent the rest of the war on uneventful patrols in the North Sea. Tiger was recommissioned at the end of the war as a seagoing training ship.

Frank spends much of the 1920’s and early 1930's attending courses at shore based naval establishments as well as Woolwich studying naval ordinance and in particular torpedoes. On 15th August 1927 Frank is promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. By the mid 1930's he is serving on the staff at Greenwich as a Torpedo Officer.

In 1929 Frank attends the wedding of Edward Russell Gibson, 3rd Baron Ashbourne and Reta Francis Manning (nee Hazeland) Lady Ashbourne and is photographed with the wedding party wearing his uniform and First World War medals. Two years later in 1931 Frank himself married Robina Richie at St. Georges, Hanover Square in London.

Frank Schunck - Back row third from the right

 

Britain and France declared war against Nazi Germany on 3rd September 1939 whilst Frank was still serving at Greenwich as a Torpedo Officer. On 3rd October Frank was granted Acting Rank of Commander and continued to serve in the navy. 

On the 8^th March 1942 Frank Schunck is placed on the Retired List with the rank of Commander (Retd)

Then on the 18^th August 1942 Frank was recorded as being “on loan” to the Royal Australian Navy with the appointment of Torpedo Inspecting Officer. He and his wife, Robina, left the UK on the 21^st August 1942 from Liverpool on board the SS Delftdijk a ship of the Holland America Line bound for Australia. The ship was a civilian passenger liner but was obviously doing some sort of work for the war effort as all the First Class passengers where specialist officers of the Royal Navy and their wives. The SS Delftdijk arrived in Australia on the 5^th October 1942 along with Frank, Robina and several other Royal Navy specialists, engineers and liason officers.

SS Delftdijk the ship which took Frank and many Royal Navy officers to Australia in August 1942

Frank spends the remainder of the war in Australia. Once the war is over in August 1945 Frank and Robina return to the United Kingdom. On the 5^th June 1946 Frank is appointed to a role serving with the Royal Navy at Woolwich. Two years later on 1^st June 1948 Frank is appointed the Naval Member of The Ordinance Branch at Woolwich. On the 16^th June that year he is appointed to serve in the Acting Rank of Captain at Woolwich.

Frank retires on 8^th March 1956 – There is a note on his service record which states:

To be re-employed as assistant to Chief Inspector of Naval Ordinance (CINO) Group C Naval Ordinance Inspection Department in Bath. Vice Commander Busbridge – A separate communication will be made about salary.

Frank Schunck was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal and Allied Victory Medal for his service in the First World War. It is not known if Frank qualified for any medals following his service in the Second World War.

It is possible Frank Schunck died in 1974 but I do not have a definite date for him. Robina, Frank's wife, died in 1985 on Anglesey. 

The 1914/15 Star awarded to Frank Schunck Midshipman