Reading in April 2023

Finished Reading

JRR Tolkien, The Father Christmas Letters

A series of delightful stories (delightfully illustrated) which come from letters written over a 20-year period by Tolkien to his children.

Apparently latter editions (published as Letters from Father Christmas) contain material not included in this one, and I'll certainly seek a copy out.

Paul Gannon, Inside Room 40

In this interesting and well-written book, Gannon looks at British codebreaking in World War I.  In doing so, he dispells some of the myths (deliberately planted he suggests) about the foundation and operation of Room 40.

As well as the Admiralty's Room 40 he looks at what little is known of the War Office's equivilent MI 1(a).  Work between the two wasn't co-ordinated and there was little co-operation before 1916, but broadly Room 40 (or ID 25 as it was properly known later in the war) concentrated on wireless intercepts, whereas MI 1(a) worked on cable intercepts.  As well as providing naval and military intelligence they each worked on political (ie, diplomatic) intelligence, with important results - most famously the interception and publishing of the Zimmermann Telegram.

JRR Tolkien, The Silmarillion

Carrying on from last month, I continued reading The Silmarillion in conjunction with episodes of The Prancing Pony Podcast, which considers a chapter in each episode.  That proved a very profitable was of doing it.  It was something of a time committment though - the podcast spent over 60 hours of audio discussing the book!

Kim Newman, Something More Than Night

Raymond Chandler and Boris Karloff team up to fight horrors in 30s Hollywood, written in Newman's inimical style.  Fun stuff.

Larry Niven, Ringworld

One of those books that I could never remember whether I'd read or not.  I'm nown pretty sure I hadn't.

Sailor in the Desert

David Gunn, Sailor in the Desert: The Adventures of Phillip Gunn, DSM, RN in the Mesopotamia Campaign, 1915, Pen & Sword (2013).  

The Mesopotamian Campaign is an interesting one.  The Royal Navy, having made the decision to move from coal, it was necessary to protect the oil supply through the Persian Gulf.  To this end, three Royal Naval sloops were sent to the Gulf, supported by Indian Army contingents (in those Suez Canal days, the Gulf falling within the remit of the Indian Government as far as British policy was concerned) with the aim of  removing Ottoman troops from the Shatt-al-Arab and occupying Basra.

Initial operations in 1914 and '15 were so successful that mission creep developed and the Indian Government and the army sought a way to capitalise on these successes.  Accordingly, an over-ambitious plan to advance (some 500 miles) up the Tigris as far as Baghdad was developed.  More-and-more troops were sent up-river despite limited transport, resulting in over-stretched supply-lines.  After capturing Kut, the expeditionary force failed in the final 100 mile push to Baghdad and were besieged until they were forced to surrender in April 1916.  Some 23,000 British and Indian soldiers died in the attempts to relieve Kut, and over half of the surrendered force died in captivity.

This book isn't the one you want to read to get all the details, facts and figures of the navy's role in the campaign - that's Wilfred Nunn's Tigris Gunboats, reprinted a few times since it's first publication in the 1930s.  Nunn was the Senior Naval Officer, Mesopotamia, during the campaign, and to be frank, his book is a dry read.  On the other hand, Sailor in the Desert is written from the view-point of an 19 year-old Ordinary Seaman.  Gunn* wasn't particularly ordinary though. 

*'Nunn' and 'Gunn', it's annoying, I know!

After serving on HMS Clio during her defence of the Suez Canal and in the occupation of Basra, he volunteered for 'hazardous duties'.  He then, quite literally, found himself at the pointy-end of the advance up the Tigris - ahead of the main force in a steam launch taking soundings to check that the river was navigable for the vessels commandeered down-river to act as troopships. 

Later in the war, the Fly Class of gunboat was developed for these riverine operations, but at this time, two steam launches each towed horseboats which carried antiquated naval ordnance.  Gunn lashed a ladder to his cabin to accommodate a Royal Artillery spotter.  The launch also served to ferry senior officers up- and down-river.

For his services before he was invalided out, Gunn was awarded the DSM.  His obvious merit is reflected in the fact that he ended his career as Captain, RN.

All in all, this is a good read, but I found it slight and a little disappointing.  I gave it Three Stars out of Five.

My Books of the Year (Non-Fiction)

It's the time of year for introspective posts, so I thought I'd put together a list of the top ten books I've read this year.

This list isn't in any particularly order.  It had been my intention to choose five fiction and five non-fiction titles, but I found that I hadn't read as much non-fiction as I'd thought, and that in choosing five I was struggling and excluding some fiction that deserved the cut.  Nevertheless, I;ve still been able to waffle on about them at suffient length to justify splitting the list into two posts in order to give you a break.

So, here we go...

Claire Tomlin, Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self.  

A  biography of Pepys, who shouldn't need any introduction to my readers.  The C17th "isn't my period", but Tomlin did the trick of making Restoration politics interesting and giving a good, rounded picture of the world Pepys was operating it.  

Unlike some other of his biographers, she devotes as much energy to Pepys' life after he stopped writing the diary as before.  In doing so, she reminds us just what an interesting life he led, and us what a loss it was that it ended where it did.  

We're so used to the diary set-pieces being thrown as us - what would it be like if they included his impressions of Paris, the death his long-suffering wife or the short reign of James II?  What would we learn about the machinations that saw him elected to Parliament, Secretary to the Admiralty, imprisoned in the Tower, tried as a cypto-Catholic and serving out his time as a non-Juror?  What personal revelations would we find about 'the second Mrs Pepys', the mistress that he kept for 20 years?  

This is a damn good read, and the best book I read this year.

DA Thomas, Edwin's Letters: A Fragment of a Life, 1940-43.    

As the subtitle suggests, this is a biography on a much smaller scale than the one of Pepys.  Thomas has collected letters (mostly from Edwin to his mother) relating to his brother's time in the RAF, from call-up, through training, to joining a bomber crew, being declared 'Missing' and finally the confirmation of his death in action. 

It's the fact that very little of this book concerns itself with operation matters that appeals to me. The great majority of the letters concern themselves with a young man thrown into a strange world and bothered about things like whether he will have to re-sit his exams on navigation yet again.

Geoffrey Bennett, Naval Battles of the First World War. 

Capt Bennett's study - first published in 1969 - is now a classic, and perhaps somewhat dated.  Despite this it's well worth the read if you want an introduction to the Royal Navy's activities during the war, particularly the Big Ships.  If you want something more comprehensive that covers all theatres, nations and types of naval combat, read Paul G Halpern's A Naval History of World War I, which I also heartily recommend,

Bennett starts with a consideration of how the German merchant cruisers were tracked down and neutralised - concentrating as you'd imagine from the title on von Spee's squadron and the Battles of Coronel and the Falklands - and the pursuit of the Goben and Breslau.  After that, despite a couple of interesting chapters on the U-boat campaigns, he is firmly focused on the North Sea face-off between the Grand Fleet and the Hochseeflotte.  

For those of you who are naval wargamers, this provides a lot of inspiration and food for thought: not least on the problem of how inadequately wargames represent the fog of war, mis-identification, lack of communication and sheer bloody cock-up.

Elizabeth Speller, Following Hadrian: A Second Century Journey Through the Rom an Empire.

I picked this book up thinking that it would be a travelogue, following some of Hadrian's peregrinations.  It isn't.  In a way it's more than that, it's a consideration of Hadrian's philhellenism and how that affected his attitude to ruling an empire.  Mainly it is concerned with the visit to Greece and Egypt in 128-130CE and how the mysterious death of his lover Antinous changed him and quite possibly his plans for the Empire.

I'm not a Roman scholar, or even anyone with more than a general knowledge of Roman history, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of Speller's arguments.  Certainly, I can imagine that for someone with a 'serious; interest in Roman history her insertion of large chunks of a fictitious diary of one of the Empress' confidants would grate.  For me, those bits were well done and reminiscent of Allan Massie's books (his praise is the cover blurb), but perhaps they belonged in another book.

23270 Pte William Ollerenshaw, 10th Bn Lancashire Fusiliers

I'm a little late in marking this centenary, but on 27/28 June 1916 William Ollerenshaw of the 10th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers was killed, aged 18,  in the build-up to the Battle of the Somme.  He was my Great Uncle.

The 10th Battalion was raised in Bury, Lancs, in September 1914 as part of Kichtchener's New Army.  It disembarked at Boulonge on 15 July 1915 as part of the 52nd (Infantry) Brigade of the 17th (Northern) Division.

I know practically nothing of the circumstances of Wiilie's death.  The Battalion War Diary (WO 95/2012/1 at The National Archives) only gives a few pages to June 1916.   Her are the events around Willie's death, which took part during the build-up to the great offensive on 1 July 1916.

23rd
Take over 20th Brigade Front from 2nd Gordons of 8th Division
23rd-28th
Gas and smoke attacks and a practically continuous bombardment of the enemy by our artillery.  At times for an hour intensive.  Enemy replying by M.G. fire at night and a vigorous shelling of our trenches.  Casualties during this period - Killed - Wounded - Missing.*  That they were not greater due to the excellent trenches and 'dug-outs' and also the large extents of front held.
28th
The Battn relieved by 2nd Gordons, 2nd Boarders of 9th Division

*Frustratingly, these details were never filled in.

Citadel New Military Cemetery, Fricourt

William Ollerenshaw is buried at the Citadel New Military Cemetery at Fricourt.  The Commonwealth War Graves Commission describes the cemetery

The cemetery is in the Northern part of a valley, running from Fricourt to the Somme, which was known in 1916 as "Happy Valley." It was begun by French troops and from August 1915, when the first Commonwealth burials were made, it was known as the Citadel Military Cemetery (Point 71). It was used until November 1916 and once in August 1918. The great majority of the burials were carried out from field ambulances before the Battles of the Somme. In the Autumn of 1916 the Citadel became a large camp for units withdrawn from the line.

He is also commemorated, along with 627 others, on the Stalybridge War Memorial which was unveiled in November 1921.  The memorial takes the form of a low curving wall, flanking Trinity Street - making an approach to the bridge over the Tame.  It's relatively difficult to take a photo of it, but the one below from this site catches it quite well.

The following members of 10th Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers died on 27 June 1916

5535 Cpl Edmund BIBBY 

17116 Pte James BLINSTON 

15653 Pte Michael CARROLL 

14663 Pte Walter GIBSON 

27055 Pte Ernest HIPKIN 

5305 Pte Jonathan HOLT 

21142 Pte James MAGUIRE

23270 Pte William OLLERENSHAW

13049 Pte Michael OWENS

4092 Pte Norman PETER

19188 L/Cpl Lawrence SMITH

6192 Pte John STANTON 

21494 Pte James STIRZAKER

5448 Pte Patrick WALSH 

5386 Cpl A WALTON 

4043 Cpl W WATERHOUSE

13160 L/Cpl Edwin WILLDIG

A Jutland Sailor

As I'm sure most of my readers will know, this week has seen the centenary of the Battle of Jutland.  Much has been written and will be quite easy to find on the net.  Here I'm going to make my own little tribute based on items from my collection.

These are two of the First World War medals and id disc of SS.107636 Leading Stoker John Jones, of HMS Broke.  Jones served on Broke at Jutland and was severely wounded during the battle.

Early Life 

Jones' service record shows that he was born on 31 January 1890 in Middlesborough, Yorkshire. On his enlistment he is described as 5 foot 3.8 inches tall with a chest measurement of 36 inches. He had a dark complexion, brown hair and brown eyes. At some stage during his naval career he picked up a scar over his left eye. 

The 1891 Census shows John living with his father Samuel and mother Eva at 74 Derwent Street, Linthorpe, Middlesborough. His father was a 'riveter (boilers)' a profession that John began to follow, as his occupation on enlisting is given as 'rivet heater' - but other ancestral voices may have called as his grandfather, also named John Jones, is listed on the 1871 census as a seaman. In the 1901 census, John's father is described as a 'riveter (bridge builder)', but I can find no trace of John himself. 

Joining the Navy 

Jones enlisted at the age of 18 as a short service man (five years in the RN to be followed by seven in the Royal Fleet Reserve).   Non-continuous service was established under the Naval Forces Act, 1903, because there was a recognised lack of stokers in the navy due to changes in technology - in 1890 there were 8,900 stokers required, but by 1901 this had become 21,400.   The Act established Class C reservists, who served seven years with the fleet and then five years in the reserve. In Jones' case, as was the case with all stokers, these figures were reversed, presumably to make that branch more attractive. 

HMS Nelson

On enlistment in August 1908 Jones was rated as a Stoker 2nd Class and immediately posted to HMS Nelson, where he remained until January 1909.   Nelson was an armoured cruiser, built in 1876; by 1908 she had become obsolete due to the rapid increase in naval technology in the intervening years and was stationed in Portsmouth as a training ship. She was finally sold off in July 1910. 

Image from the collections of the National Maritime Museum: A
water-colour  'HMS Seagull gunboat 1903-1905' by WC Barnaby.

Jones next served a Stoker 2nd Class on HMS Seagull, from 14 Jan 1909 to 31 Mar 1909.   Seagull was a torpedo gunboat launched in May 1889 and converted to a minesweeper in 1908. She was lost in a collision in 1918.

HMS Cochrane

From Apr 1909 to Sep 1910 Jones served on HMS Cochrane - being promoted to Stoker 1st Class on 12 Sep 1909.  Cochrane was a large Armoured Cruiser (1st Class) built as part of the 1903-04 naval building programme.  She was launched on 20 May 1905, named in honour of  Admiral Lord Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, and completed in Feb 1907.   During Jones' time in her, she was part of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron. Later she escorted the Royal Yacht Medina on her world tour and during the war served at Jutland, in the West Atlantic and Russian waters. She was wrecked in the Mersey on 14 November 1918.

HMS Hermione

After serving in Cochrane, Jones joined HMS Hermione, serving in her from Sep 1910 to Aug 1912.  Hermoine was a cruiser of the Astraea Class launched in 1893 and had taken part in the 3rd China War.  When Jones joined her she had just become the depot ship for naval airships, based in Barrow-in-Furness, and he would have witnessed the experiments with HMA No 1 (His Majesty's Airship No 1, AKA 'Mayfly').  HMA.1 was an experiment built as a result of Germany's Zeppelin programme, intended to act as an aerial scout.  Sadly she never flew.  Following static trials, Mayfly was wrecked while being removed from her hanger for her maiden flight.  The experience with this craft and her sisters led the Admiralty to decide in favour of heavier-than-air aircraft.

The wreck of HMA No1, Sep 1911

When the Navy's lighter-than-air project was shelved, Hermione re-joined the Home Fleet (Jones leaving at about the same time).   During the First World War she was the HQ Ship for motor launches and coastal motor boats. She was sold to the Marine Society in 1922 and became TS Warspite. She was scrapped in 1940.

HMS Ariadne

During 1912 Jones spent some months in HMS Ariadne.  Ariadne was a Diadem Class Cruiser, launched on 22 April 1898.  In 1912 she was in reserve as a stokers' training ship (which would explain the short periods Jones served in her). She was brought back into the operational fleet in 1914 and converted into a minelayer in 1917. She was torpedoed and sunk on 26 July 1917 by UC65 off Beachy Head.

HMS Princess Royal

From Nov 1912 to Aug 1913 Jones served in HMS Princess Royal, finishing his enlistment in the Royal Navy.  Princess Royal was a Lion Class Battlecruiser - one of 'the Splendid Cats' - launched in May 1911 and completed in Oct 1912. For the first time in this time of constant change, Jones was serving in a state-of-the-art ship.  During the First World War she served with distinction, taking part in the battles of Heligoland Bight, Dogger Bank and Jutland. She was sold for scrapping in 1922.

Jones spent his last week in the RN at HMS Victory II, before being discharged to shore and transferred to the RFR on 10 Aut 1913.  Less than a year later he was called up, reporting to Victory II again on 2 Aug 1914 as the Reserve was mobilised in anticipation of the outbreak of hostilities.

World War I

In Dec 1915 Jones was appointed to HMS Broke, a small ship that was soon to make a big name for herself.

HMS Broke

Broke was a Faulknor Class flotilla leader.   She had been launched in May, built for the Chilean Navy as the Almirante Lynch-class destroyer Almirante Goñi.  But as war broke out she was bought by the Royal Navy and named for Admiral Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke - 'Broke of the Shannon' - who had commanded HMS Shannon during her engagement with, and capture of, USS Chesapeake in the War of 1812.

The Battle of Jutland

At the battle of Broke was hit by at least nine shells and seriously damaged in a collision with HMS Sparrowhawk. Forty-seven of Broke's men were killed, twenty-eight of whom were stokers.   Jones was severely wounded.

At about 23,15 on 31 May 1916 the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, of which Broke (captained by Cdr Walter Lingen Allen RN) was the Half Leader (ie, second in command), sighted three approaching ships.  Uncertain of who these ships were, a recognition signal was given, only to be answered by them opening fire at a range of 600 yards. It was  the van of the German High Seas Fleet, the light cruisers, SMS Stuttgart, SMS Hamburg, SMS Rostock and SMS Elbing.  The battleships SMS Westfalen and SMS Nassau also opened fire with their secondary armament.

Despite the opening of fire, confusion remained.  Allen ordered no torpedoes be fired until the ships were positively identified as German. This being done, the leading British ships - Tipperary, Spitfire, Sparrowhawk, Garland, Contest and Broke all fired torpedoes at the German ships before turning away from the incoming fire.   None of the destroyers further behind felt sufficiently confident to attack.

One of the torpedoes hit Elbing, which was also rammed by the battleship Posen as they turned to avoid the attack - Elbing was abandoned and sank around 03.40.  Spitfire collided with Nassau, both being very badly damaged.  The flotilla leader HMS Tipperary was ablaze and sank about 02.00 with the loss of 185 hands from her crew of 197.

The official history of naval operations during the war records that

Broke had taken the Tipperary's place. Commander Allen found that half a dozen boats had got into line astern of him, and ... he was leading them southward, where he judged he should find the enemy again. He was not far wrong. In a few minutes—it was about 11.40—he could see a large ship on his starboard bow heading to cross his course. He challenged. The answer was again a blaze of searchlights and a burst of rapid fire. Commander Allen swung to port to bring his tubes to bear. Lieutenant-Commander S. Hopkins in the Sparrowhawk did the same, and then to his horror he saw that the Broke, instead of steadying her helm, was continuing to swing and coming straight for him. As the Broke turned she had been hit by a salvo which put her out of control. There was no time to avoid a collision, and she crashed into the Sparrowhawk just before the bridge. 

The salvo which has hit broke was fired by the battleship Westfalen at a range of 150 yards.  Confusion reigned.  One officer from Sparrowhawk was thrown onto Broke during the collision.  He reported to Allen, who told him to return to Sparrowhawk and prepare to take the crew of Broke on board.  When he did so, he found that his own captain had ordered the evacuation of Sparrowhawk's crew to Broke!  Approximately 20 men from Sparrowhawk transferred to Broke, while fifteen of Broke's crew crossed to Sparrowhawk.  Any question of which vessel was to be abandoned was settled when Contest back-ended Sparrowhawk, removing six feet of her stern.  After the destroyers were disentangled, and following another brief exchange of fire, they limped back to England.

The recommendation for Allen's promotion states that "Broke was very badly damaged and casualties very great, but the morale seems to have been unshaken and the ship was successfully steamed back to port."  Whether it was due to the shelling of Broke or the collisions, Jones' records show that he was dangerously wounded during the battle.

Broke arrived in the Tyne on 3 June, Jones was transferred to Victory II on 9 June, where he remained until April 1917.

The 4th Destroyer Flotilla, having suffered great losses during the battle, was removed from the Grand Fleet and stationed at Devonport.  Broke went on to nation-wide fame as part of the Dover Patrol, taking part in the Second  Battle of Dover Strait in Apr 1917.

Jones was also to join the Dover Patrol, being posted to HMS Attentive, an Adventure Class light cruiser, commissioned in 1905. She was leader of the 6th Destroyer Flotilla.   In August 1917, Jones was posted to his final ship, HMS Amphitrite 

HMS Amphitrite

Amphitrite (nicknamed 'am and tripe) was a Diadem Class cruiser, converted to a minelayer in 1917 and attached to the Nore Command. She collided with and sank the destroyer HMS Nessus in foggy weather in the North Sea on September 8th 1918 and was sold for scrap in 1920.

Jones was discharge from service on 5 June 1921.  I have no information on his later life.

A Round-Up and PBB

Santa is Coming!

And he means business!

I'm been remiss in not promoting the Secret Santa (send a £15.00 gift) and the Santa Clause (paint a £5.00 figure), both of which I've signed up for.  Final shouts are now out for people to sign up.

WWI Centenary

I had intended to write centenary posts for the First World War, but only six weeks in have fallen behind!  And it's not as if it'll be over by Christmas.

Those of you who follow my geekery on Facebook, won't be surprised to find I'm going to concentrate on naval actions.  Which brings me to...

Prettiest-Killing-Ship-Spotted-on-Facebook Of the Week

Iltis, a gunboat of the Kaiserliche Marine, launched in 1898 and saw service in Chinese waters.  She saw service during the Boxer Rebellion (taking part in the bombardment of the Taku Forts).  She was awarded the Pour le Mérite (the Blue Max), which is the decoration on the prow - the only ship to be so distinguished.

Play By Blog - Clint's Game

This week's turn (Turn Seven) of the 'Blood, Bilges and Iron Balls' finally saw some gun-smoke!  Clint's report can be found here.

I'll do my own report on my BBIB page.

Play By Blog - Michael's Game

This week was also a 'turn week' for Michael's Game of Diplomacy (Fall 1901).

The Movement results are here.  Coming soon will be the Retreat Phase (Austria has been forced out of Trieste) and the end-of-year allocation of troops.

There's a lot to digest (and I don't want to give anything away about my gameplay), so I won't write anything here.  Fortunately, Michael has devised an in-game newspaper, The Daily Dissembler - "We make sense of a complicated, far-off world so you, dear reader, can enjoy the Gilded Age".

First Shots, First Losses

HMS Amphion

On 5 August 1914 the Royal Navy's Harwich Force made their first wartime sweep of the northern approaches to the English Channel as far as the Dutch Coast.  The rear part - the cruiser HMS Amphion (Capt C H Fox) and destroyers from the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla - were advised by a trawler that a suspicious vessel had been seen "throwing things overboard".

The Koenigin Luise in peacetime - for war service she was re-painted in

the colours of a Great Eastern Railway Co ferry

Two of the destroyers, Lance and Landrail, were sent ahead to investigate.  About 11 am they sighted the Koenigin Luise (Cdr Biermann) a ferry that had been requisitioned to serve as a mine-layer.  The destroyers gave chase, signalling the rest of the force to join them.  Lance opened fire, the first British shots of the world war.

Lance's 4 in gun, preserved in the Imperial War Museum

When Amphion and the the rest of the destroyers joined the fight, Koenigin Luise attempted to withdraw to neutral waters (leading the British into a minefield on the way).  This failed and, hopelessly out-numbered, Biermann gave the order to scuttle.  Koenigin Luise sank at 12.22, and 46 of the 100 crew were picked up by the British ships.

Fox later commented on the effectiveness of his gunnery:-

I commenced with salvoes from the three foremost guns with 7,200 yards on the sights; the first salvo was short and badly out for deflection; I made a lucky correction for the latter and went up 500; one round of the next salvo hit the top of the Keonign [sic] Louise's foremast and exploded. This was too much for the guns' crews, whom I previously imagined to be drill perfect; they started off firing as fast as they could, and it was a good minute before by dint of throwing things at them that I could stop them; the sights were again corrected and the order given for rapid independent — "Fire three rounds." At least two out of the three shots hit consistently. 

The RN's first naval engagement was a victory - as the Official History puts it "and so we drew first blood".  Yet two incidents quickly followed that cast a shadow over this victory.

Capt (later Rear-Adm) Cecil Henry Fox

 As Amphion and the destroyers continued their sweep, the destroyers sighted another ship of the same type as Koenigin Luise flying a large German flag.  They opened fire.  But this wasn't a mine-layer, it was the St Petersburg, a ferry carrying the German ambassador away from England.  With a diplomatic incident in the offing, Capt Fox sent a signal to the destroyers to cease firing.  Whether caught up in the excitement of the moment, or because the order wasn't received, the destroyers continued to shell the ferry.  Fox was force to put Amphion between St Petersberg and his own ships in order to stop the engagement.

The second incident was more serious in its consequences.  At about 6.30 the next morning, while returning to Harwich, Amphion struck one of Koenigin Luise's mines.  The explosion caused severe damage, breaking the ship's back.  Surviving crew were given to abandon ship and were picked up by the destroyers.  151 members of Amphion's crew and 19 prisoners from the Koenigin Luise were killed.

Crew of HMS Amphion

British Casualties of the Loss of HMS Amphion

ADAMS, Carl H B, Shipwright 2c. ARUNDEL, Norman Mc K, Leading Telegraphist. ASHTON, Robert, Stoker 1c. AUSTIN, Albert V, Chief Engine Room Artificer 1c.

BEARNE, George, Leading Signalman. BENNETT, Henry J, Engine Room Artificer 1c. BIRKIN, James W, Stoker 1c. BOND, John, Master at Arms. BOWEN, William, Act/Chief Stoker. BRETT, William, Stoker 2c. BURNS, Robert, Private, RMLI. BURT, Benjamin J, Armourer

CALLAGHAN, Owen, Stoker 1c. CANN, Jerome, Private, RMLI. CARTER, William A, Private, RMLI. CHARLES, Ernest E, Engine Room Artificer 4c. CHRISTIE, George, Joiner. CLARK, Thomas H, Ordinary Seaman. CLARKE, William. COKER, Fred, Stoker 1c. COLLINS, Andrew, Leading Stoker. COOK, Frank A, 2nd Sick Berth Steward. COOMBES, Edwin, Stoker 1c. COPLAND, Henry, Leading Stoker. COWLEY, Albert, Able Seaman. CRAIG, David, Leading Seaman. CRIDDLE, William J, Petty Officer. CROCKER, Samuel E, Chief Ship's Cook.

DAVENPORT, Raymond T, Able Seaman. DAWE, Samuel H, Petty Officer Telegraphist. DEACON, James W, Blacksmith. DENCH, John W, Ordinary Signalman. DICK, William, Stoker 2c. DONOVAN, Denis G, Stoker 2c. DOUGLAS, William J, Stoker 2c.

EDGCOMBE, Walter, Stoker 2c. ELLIOTT, Claude H, Shipwright 3c. ELLIS, William J R, Ship's Steward Assistant.

FIELDHOUSE, Ernest, Engine Room Artificer 4c. FISHER, Frank L, Stoker Petty Officer. FLACK, Robert W, Private, RMLI. FLEET, Frederick E, Leading Seaman. FOSTER, Jesse, Stoker 1c. FREEMAN, Cecil A T, Ordinary Seaman. FROST, Thomas N, Officer's Steward 3c.

GEDGE, Joseph T, Staff Paymaster. GRANGER, Charles, Act/Leading Stoker. GRISWOOD, Albert E, Stoker 1c. GROVES, Charles H, Private, RMLI. GUNN, James, Stoker 1c.

HAMLIN, Joseph, Leading Seaman. AMLIN, Thomas, Stoker 1c. HARRADINE, Albert L, Ordinary Seaman. HENDER, Charles R, Able Seaman. HICKS, William E, Signal Boy. HILLIER, Douglas R, Able Seaman,. HOCKING, Thomas J, Leading Seaman. HOLWILL, Thomas S, Leading Seaman. HORRIDGE, Frank V, Stoker 2c. HORTON, William E, Stoker 2c. HOURIHAN, Timothy, Able Seaman. HUGHES, William J, Leading Stoker. HULL, Richard E, Private, RMLI. HUNT, James W, Able Seaman

JARVIS, George, Stoker 1c. JENNINGS, George, Canteen Server, Admiralty civilian. JONES, George, Stoker Petty Officer. JONES, Richard G, Ordinary Seaman. JORDAN, Maurice P, Cooper's Crew. JUBB, Ernest W, Able Seaman. JULIAN, William, Leading Stoker.

KELLYN, Irvine, Private, RMLI. KERSWILL, Ernest R, Able Seaman. KINGHAM, Lionel F, Signalman. KINSMAN, Arthur W, Signal Boy. KNIGHT, William J, Stoker 2c.

LAMBELL, Peter J, Boy 1c. LANE, Albert E, Able Seaman. LANE, William J, Stoker 1c. LAVERACK, Francis W, Able Seaman. LENNON, Herbert, Stoker 2c. LOVELL, Henry, Able Seaman. LUXTON, Alfred J, Stoker 2c. LYNCH, Joseph, Petty Officer 2c. LYONS, Lawrence, Stoker 1c.

MACEY, Robert H G, Ship's Corporal, 1c. MAIR, William C, Leading Telegraphist. MARTIN, Albert, Stoker 1c. MAXWELL, John, Signal Boy. MCCONACHY, Charles G, Able Seaman. MCDOWALL, John, Corporal, RMLI. MCKEY, Victor J, Able Seaman. ERRETT, John E, Petty Officer 1c. MICHELL, Frederick C, Stoker 2c. MINIHANE, Jeremiah, Able Seaman. MOLES, Albert E, Able Seaman. MORRIS, Frederick, Stoker 1c. MORRISON, Frank, Stoker 1c. MULLEN, William, Leading Stoker. MUNNELLY, Martin, Chief Stoker. MURPHY, Joseph P, Signalman

NICHOLAS, William, Able Seaman.

OLVER, Charles H, Stoker Petty Officer.

PARSLOW, Samuel, Stoker 1c. PELLOW, James, Engine Room Artificer 2c. PENDRY, George F, Stoker 1c. PENGELLY, Albert G, Engine Room Artificer 4c. PINNOCK, Percy J, Stoker 2c. POUND, Frederick W, Stoker 1c. PRESS, Sidney L, Able Seaman.

REDFORD, Frank, Stoker 1c. REILLY, John, Act/Leading Stoker. RICE, James W, Leading Signalman. ROUTLEDGE, Charles, Private, RMLI. RUNDLE, Nicholas W, Able Seaman.

SCOTT, James E, Sergeant, RMLI. SHEPHARD, Archibald T, Stoker 1c. SIMMONDS, Alfred, Stoker Petty Officer. SKIDMORE, Walter H H, Ordinary Seaman. SKYRME, James H, Stoker 1c. SMITH, Gustave A C, Lance Corporal, RMLI. SPURDLE, Albert F, Boy 1c. STANLAKE, Henry T, Stoker 1c. STEVENSON, Joseph, Able Seaman. STOKES, George, Private, RMLI. STREET, Herbert J, Stoker 1c. SWEETMAN, Reginald H, Officer's Cook 3c. SYDENHAM, John W, Able Seaman.

TANCOCK, Thomas, Stoker 1c. TENNENT, John, Private, RMLI. THOMAS, Robert J, Petty Officer. THOMAS, William H, Stoker 2c. TICKELL, Nicholas, Able Seaman. TOLCHER, William J, Leading Seaman. TOOKEY, Frederick G, Stoker 2c. TOWILLIS, John D, Petty Officer. TUCKER, Reginald P, Act/Leading Stoker.

VIDLER, William H, Private, RMLI. VYVYAN, Francis A, Able Seaman.

WALLER, Harold, Stoker 2c. WARREN, John W, Carpenter's Crew. WARSAW, Eli W, Able Seaman. WELTON, William, Stoker 1c. WHITE, Thomas M, Stoker 1c. WILLIAMS, Edward A K, Shipwright 2c. WILLS, Frederick W, Stoker 1c. WOODHOUSE, Abraham, Leading Seaman.

YATES, Frederick J, Engine Room Artificer 4c.

Lights Out

It almost seems superfluous to mention that today marks the centenary of Britain's declaration of war against Germany in 1914.

This was the culmination of the 'July Crisis'.  Following the assassination of Arch-Duke Franz Ferdinand of Austro-Hungary, various diplomatic manoeuvers ended with Austria (heavily prompted by the German Kaiser) sending Serbia an impossible ultimatum on 23 July.  Treaty obligations (and refusal to follow the arbitration procedures in other treaties) now led to a series of escalations.

On 24 July Russia had a partial mobilization in support of its Baltic ally; Serbia itself mobilized the following day.  On 28 July Austria declared war against Serbia, which prompted a general mobilization by Russia.  Germany sent ultimata to Russian and France (Russia's treaty-partner and Germany's preferred enemy) requiring that they should not support Serbia.  On their reply, Germany declared war against Russia on 1 August and mobilized.  Germany moved west into Luxembourg on 3 August and declared war against France.  Belgium refused permission for German troops to enter its territory, but German crossed the border at 8.02am (local time).  The British government issued an ultimatum, requiring Germany to maintain Belgium's neutrality (as guaranteed by the 1839 Treaty of London) - the reply was 'unsatisfactory' and Britain entered the war at 11.00pm London time (bringing the Empire along with it).

All this led to the famous comment later attributed to Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary:-

"The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our life”

To mark all this an event called Lights Out is being held.  Everyone in the UK is being asked to turn out their lights between 10.00pm and 11.00pm, leaving on a single light or candle.

It seems a simple and beautiful thing to do.

Bumping the Sikhs

Over on Facebook fellow blogger PK has shared some photos from the History Live! event at Kelmarsh Hall, Notts (hopefully he'll blog about it once he's recovered).  History Live! is English Heritage's flagship event where history from the Romans to the C20th is celebrated through displays and re-enactments.  It sounds like great fun.

The photos that caught my attention were those of a group from the National Army Museum's 'War and the Sikhs' project.  This has involved training up members of the Sikh community as living history re-enactors (as the 15th Ludhiana Sikh Regiment, who will be travelling around the country doing educational events commemorating the Sikh contribution to World War I - more details on the NAM website.

The following photos come from The National Army Museum.

The big feller was obviously 'excused boots'!

Other re-enactors are available...

For some reason, Sikh troops have always caught my imagination.  I'm not too sure why - despite being brought up in an area with a large second-generation Punjabi population, I don't know any Sikhs.  Perhaps I read a book or saw a film at an early age which impressed the image of a bearded, turbaned warrior on my little mind.  Perhaps it's because (like highlanders) they're that little bit 'different'.

Anyway, I'm going to bump my Perry Sikhs back onto the painting list.  (I put them on one side when the Analogue Painting challenge started last December, and haven't revisited them since).  It doesn't mean that they'll get done, but it's nice to remember that they're there!

I should have blogged about... (#2)

As most have you will realise by now, these days my blog tends to be reactive - something strikes my fancy and it sets me off down a path of further research or (more likely) a stream of consciousness.

So, if I'd been around to blog last week what would you have been reading?

When Franz and Sophie Met Gavrilo

I had intended to mark the centenary of the Sarajevo assassination by doing profiles of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Duchess Sophie and Gavrilo Princip.   Well, frankly, you'll have read all that elsewhere if you'd wanted to.

In an aside, the BBC kept referring to the assassination as 'the shot heard around the world'.  Well it might have been, but it jarred with me: the phrase was coined by Ralph Waldo Emerson to describe the first shot of the American War of Independence at Concord, MA.  It's that kind of pedantry which you missed...  Oh what fun we would have had!

Flying Saucers to Mars...

NASA tested its saucer-shaped 'landing system', the Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD).  They did this by attaching it to a stadium-sized balloon and dropping it 180,000 above Hawaii.  The idea is to use this system to deliver robotic missions to Mars in advance of human exploration.

But Are Chas and Nailbrush Included?

Plasticine hero Morph returned from the dead, albeit on a YouTube channel, following a Kickstarter campaign.

Damn, Big Ship!

HM Queen Elizabeth wasted a single malt launching HMS Queen Elizabeth, a very fine looking aircraft carrier.  Unfortunately there aren't any planes to go on it and without a decent destroyer screen it's nothing but a very large target.  It seems HMS Prince of Wales will be mothballed before she (yes, she) is launched.

Told You So!

It was announced that Nurse Edith Cavell will be commemorated on a new £5.00 coin to be issued next year.

You Scratch Mine, I'll...

Famous tennis dress sold for £15,500.  Who would buy something like that?  I have my own theory.