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