Sunday, 10 November 2024

HMS Bulwark

 

HMS Bulwark

                        William Robert Mayne, Chief Yeoman of Signals

Since 1777 there have been seven ships bearing the name ‘Bulwark.’ The name references the Royal Navy as the bulwark or defence of the country.

The seventh ship of the name is an amphibious assault ship launched in 2001 and delivered into service in 2005.

The fifth HMS Bulwark was an armoured battleship laid down in Devonport dockyard in 1899 and completed in 1902. At one time she was commanded by Captain R.F. Scott, then the most junior battleship captain, who later became famous as an explorer, dying in Antarctica in 1912.

Two of her sister ships, were built at Chatham dockyard, HMS Venerable completing in 1902 and HMS Prince of Wales, in 1904.

                                                    HMS Bulwark

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Bulwark was the flag ship of the Mediterranean Fleet, and later the flag ship of the Channel and Home Fleets. The flag ship carried the admiral, the commanding officer of the fleet. For four years, from 1910 to 1914, she was mothballed, to be kept in reserve.

However, when the First World War began in July 1914, Bulwark was brought out of reserve in August to form part of the Channel Fleet with the express purpose of patrolling the North Kent Coast and protecting the British Expeditionary Force as it crossed to France.

Moored west of Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey, in the River Medway estuary, Bulwark was taking on coal from the Isle of Grain, when she was torn apart by a huge explosion, on 26th November, 1914.

In the House of Commons that afternoon, Winston Churchill announced, ‘I regret to say I have some bad news for the House. The Bulwark battleship, which was lying in Sheerness this morning, blew up at 7.35 o’clock . . . the loss of life is very severe. Only twelve men are saved. All the officers and the rest of the crew, who, I suppose, amounted to between 700 and 800, have perished.’

The explosion was heard twenty miles away in Whitstable and at first, sabotage was suspected, or the beginning of the feared Zeppelin raids. The Naval Court of Enquiry established as far as it could that an internal explosion had occurred. It concluded that a fault with one of the ammunition shells or overheating cordite near a boiler room bulkhead might have been responsible for the explosion.

Eye witnesses, on shore and on nearby vessels, described seeing the flash of detonation, and that once the thick smoke had dissipated, there was nothing to be seen. The ship had completely disappeared. The explosion was so violent that little could be found of her when naval divers went down to investigate. Debris, clothes and bodies were blown into the rigging of other ships in the vicinity. It remains the second most catastrophic accidental explosion ever seen in the UK.

The area of the wreck is a designated Military Wreck, or war grave, and is marked by East Bulwark and West Bulwark buoys.

Of the few survivors, five died of their wounds within days, and most of the others were seriously wounded. Only thirty bodies were recovered for individual burial. The rest were placed in a communal grave. Most of the crew came from the Portsmouth area.

Bulwark’s sister ships, Venerable and Prince of Wales, served throughout the war and were broken up in 1920.

The crew members were young, some only 15 or 16.

Boy 1st Class William Monckton Kellow J/28702

Royal Navy, HMS Bulwark

26/11/1914 (aged 15)

Midshipman William Ellice

Royal Navy, HMS Bulwark

26/11/1914 (aged 15)

Boy 1st Class Edward Ernest Leslie Hyslop J/28341

Royal Navy, HMS Bulwark

26/11/1914 (aged 16)


The final hearing was held on 16th December, 1914, my father’s tenth birthday. He was the youngest of three brothers and his father had been killed on HMS Bulwark. His father’s masonic regalia was washed ashore and returned to his mother.

Chief Yeoman of Signals William Robert Mayne 167410

Royal Navy, HMS Bulwark

26/11/1914 (aged 39)

MAYNE, WILLIAM ROBERT (39), Chief Yeoman of Signals (no. 167410), HMS Bulwark, Royal Navy, †26/11/1914, Son of Henry and Ellen Mayne, of 9, Harold Terrace, Emsworth, Hants.; husband of Harriet Mayne, of Frondeg, Penllergaer, Gorseinon, Glam, Memorial: Portsmouth Naval Memorial

Will stands between his father and my father, the baby. Harry is in front.

My father and his eldest brother both went on to join the navy, the Royal Navy for my father and the Royal Canadian Navy for Will. The middle brother, Harry, disappeared, cutting off all ties with his family, to his mother’s eternal regret.

William, standing, Harry left, and Charles right.

36 comments:

  1. How sad for your Dad. It's good that you know the family history though and have some wonderful photos too!

    Isn't it strange how we think of 15 and 16 year olds as children, but back then they fought for their country and many gave their lives!

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    1. Some younger than that desperately wanted to join up. We say that children grow up too quickly now in the 21st century, but in earlier centuries they were forced by circumstance to take on adult roles at very young ages.

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  2. You have the ship being torn apart by an explosion in 2014, instead of 1914 (*~*)
    I think she was quite magnificent and did a fine job during her years of service.

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    1. Thank you for pointing that out - amended now!

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  3. What an interesting and, in many ways, tragic family history. Thank you for sharing it.

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    1. It was a history shared by many families and remains so in today's conflicts.

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  4. Wow. What a story! What happened to your grandmother after this? How did she make her way? You never heard from Harry again??? How old was he when he disappeared? Was he a child or an adult?

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    1. My grandmother made her own way. She became a pub landlady, though she didn't drink. Later, she remarried. My niece tried to trace Harry, with no luck. There's a feeling that he, too, went to Canada when he was a young adult.

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  5. Extra interesting when it became personal. How horrible for so many young men to lose their lives, with no doubt a huge impact on their families.

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    1. It is a shock to visit war graves and see just how many young lives were lost. The saddest are those that contain the remains of more than one life.

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  6. It is great that you have the photos and the personal history. Sad that one brother cut contact. I often wonder how that happens. My partner was surprised after his mother died to discover that HER mother had a second younger brother who went to Australia in the 1950s and seems never to have been spoken of again!

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    1. It happens more than is realised. It's sad, but, as the saying goes, you can choose your friends, but not your family.

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  7. Yes, a sad story but how wonderful to have those family photos.

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    1. Photographs were quite rare and expensive. We are lucky that we can record whatever we wish, whenever we like.

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  8. History is so much more when it involves family memories like these, so many questions from your story, thank you for sharing.

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  9. So many questions I could have asked when growing up, but didn't. It's the same for every generation, I suppose.

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  10. A wonderful though very sad article, especially with the connection to your grandfather and the story about your father’s brother. Coincidentally my husband was assigned to the HMS Bulwark when he was on an exchange tour with the Royal Navy, this one being built during WWII. It was decommissioned shortly after he left it in 1971. He was only on there for three months as he found his job very boring. He asked the XO if he could be reassigned, which he was. We met when he joined his other ship. If he hadn’t have been bored we would never have met. Forks in the road and all that. I am showing him this as still being a naval history buff, I know he will be very interested. Great article!

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  11. That's quite a coincidence and a happy one, too.

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  12. Tragic and sad story, but an amazing genealogy story. Especially with the photographs.

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    1. So many lives lost and so many young ones, too.

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  13. What a tragic piece of history, and you have a personal connection to it. There are so many tragic elements to maritime history.

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    1. It was a tragedy and could possibly have been avoided, but the true story will never be known.

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  14. Oh wow. Thank you for sharing and v. interesting to read about the tragedy. Churchill !
    Cute family photo.
    I forget that taking family photos used to be a special event and people went dressed up and positioned themselves.

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    1. Old photographs rarely show people smiling because of the need for a long exposure.

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  15. That's sad but it's good you still have the photos.

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    1. The photographs are now digitised so are reasonably safe.

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  16. As others have also commented, I too am going to say ... a sad story, but I think it's wonderful that you have those family photographs.

    All the best Jan

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    1. At least one of those photographs is 120 years old - quite astonishing, really.

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  17. A heartbreaking tragedy. What a treasure your photos are. All of my family photos (dating back to 1900 and earlier) were lost when our house burned down in 2009. With all my family gone, replacements are impossible. My husband is more fortunate with siblings and cousins who supplied many family photos. I especially miss having any pictures of my mother.

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  18. That is so sad and a horrible experience. We had a house fire and though it didn't destroy the entire house, we lost some irreplaceable items.

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  19. I sympathize with your loss. Such a traumatic experience a house fire is, whether partial or entire (as ours was).

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    1. I can't imagine the shock of losing your entire house and having to start again.

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  20. What a tragic and heartbreaking story, Janice! xxx

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  21. It was hard for my grandmother, having to bring up three sons.

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  22. What a fascinating post, you are fortunate to have such good photographs. I think that blogs are a wonderful way to share and record lives such as these, a really valuable social history.

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    1. It is interesting to read other people's blogs and discover a little of their history.

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