30 Dec REMEMBERING JUTLAND
Burn victims from HMS Tiger after the Battle of Jutland. On board the hospital ship, HMHS Plassey. Courtesy of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, 1990_296_27.
The National Museum of the Royal Navy’s JUTLAND IMPACT PROJECT will shortly be launching a platform onto which we can all upload our family memories of Jutland. Nick Jellicoe talks about his grandfather’s legacy with museum staff surrounded by artefacts of Britain’s naval past.
One of its objectives is to get as close as is possible – for the first time – to having a full database of all the people who actually participated in the battle. And there were more than 100,000 sailors on the seas on May 31st 1916. The site will allow families to find where there ancestors lived on maps that showed the urban & country landscape as it was 100 years ago. It is really exciting to be part of this project.
click here to see the interview
Jon
Posted at 22:44h, 15 JanuaryHMS Yarmouth is missing from the database – my great uncle served on her at Jutland. Will the website facilitate descendents of those from the same ship having a chance to meet – even if virtually via the website?
Nick Jellicoe
Posted at 23:22h, 15 JanuaryDear Jon
You are absolutely correct. Not an oversight but simply ran out of time when I wanted to meet the Nov 11th launch target. So we’re a few shy. That said, thank you for taking the time to get me the feedback and for reading the site materials in the first place. Would you help write up the relevant materials on Yarmouth? The we could load next week. Let me know. Your second question is an interesting one. We’re doing this for the ROH list where we can and the lists are there. There is no “participants” list for Jutland (YET). We are working towards that (the NMRN, FindmyPast, IWM volunteers, U3A and others). At that point we should then try to go the step further. It won’t be difficult to replicate the same approach that exists in the IWM Lives remembered communities, I don’t think. Nick
Jon
Posted at 09:34h, 18 JanuaryThank you Nick – I’m not a Naval buff but here go’s;
Prior to Jutland HMS Yarmouth had been involved in the search for the Emden and had sunk one of its colliers and captured another, she was then attached to the 3rd LCS (Light Cruiser Squadron) and formed part of Beatty’s fleet – on the fleets outward passage to Jutland a periscope sighting was reported by Yarmouth, which turned out to be mistaken, but caused Beatty to change direction for approx. 20 minutes. Not an auspicious start to Jutland but during the battle the Yarmouth expended 160 6in shells – second only to Falmouth (also in the 3rd LCS) – together they expended a third of all the 6in shells fired by Light Cruisers in the battle. Ships they engaged with were the Wiesbaden, Lützow, Derfflingger and various destroyers. Yarmouth also fired a torpedo at fired at the Lützow but missed.
Connected to both the Yarmouth and Jutland, is the interesting story of “Rutland of Jutland”.
Attached to the 3rd LCS was the seaplane carrier HMS Engadine. On 30 May 1916 Beatty ordered Engadine to make a search to the north-northeast. At 15:07 Lieutenant Rutland took off in his Type 184 and his observer, Assistant Paymaster G. S. Trewin, signalled Engadine that they had spotted three German cruisers and five destroyers at 15:30. This was the first time that a heavier-than-air aircraft had carried out a reconnaissance of an enemy fleet in action. Rutland was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross “for his gallantry and persistence in flying within close distance of the enemy light cruisers”. During the Battle of Jutland, the armoured cruiser HMS Warrior had been crippled by numerous hits by German battleships. At 19:45 Engadine attempted to take her in tow, but the jammed rudder prevented that until it was trained amidships. Early the following morning Warrior ’s progressive flooding had worsened and she was sinking. The captain ordered his ship abandoned after Engadine came alongside to take the crew off at 08:00. About 675 officers and men successfully made it to the much smaller Engadine. Among these were about 30 seriously wounded men who were transferred across in their stretchers; one man fell from his stretcher between the ships, but, against orders, Rutland dived overboard with a bowline to rescue him. For his bravery he was awarded the First Class Albert Medal for Lifesaving in gold.
On 28 June 1917, Flight Commander Rutland took off in a Sopwith Pup from a flying-off platform mounted on the roof of one of the gun turrets of the light cruiser HMS Yarmouth, the first such successful launch of an aircraft in history. He received a second award of the DSC in 1917 for “services on patrol duties and submarine searching in home waters”.
However the story does not have a happy ending – Rutland resigned his commission in 1923. He had come to the notice of MI5 in 1922 when the agency had received what it called “reliable information” from a “very delicate source” that the Japanese had had secret talks with Rutland. MI5 noted that Rutland possessed “unique knowledge of aircraft carriers and deck landings”. He had subsequently been providing technical details which helped the Japanese design aircraft carriers, in the years before the attack on Pearl Harbour. This was discovered when Japan’s cyphers were broken. MI6 discovered that Rutland had come to the attention of the US authorities. He returned to Britain on 5 October 1941 and on 16 December 1941 he was interned under Defence Regulation 18B “by reason of alleged hostile associations”.
Rutland committed suicide in 1949.
Jon
Posted at 09:38h, 18 JanuaryHMS Yarmouth
Builder London & Glasgow (Harland & Wolf,Glasgow)
LD Jan.27/10
LCH Apr.12/11
COM Apr./12
Commissioned into service and attached to the 4th Battle Squadron Mediterranean Fleet Aug./13-Aug./14
on the China Station and joined in the hunt for the Emden
Captured ExGreek Pontoporus, one of Emden’s colliers in Oct./14 and sank the collier Markomannia
joined the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron Grand Fleet 1914
then the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron at Rosyth in Feb./15
took part in Battle of Jutland
attacked unsuccessfully by a U boat Jul./16
rejoined the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron 1918
became temporary Flagship at Cape in June 1918 before returning home for refit
assigned to the 7th Light Cruiser Squadron South America from 1919 to 1920.
placed in Nore reserve from Dec./20
attached to signals school at Portsmouth 1922 to 1924
refitted Dec./24 to 1925 and then undertook trooping runs from 1925 to 1926
back at signal school at Portsmouth in 1927
became Flagship of the Rear Admiral of Submarines at Falmouth from April to October 1928
put in care and maintainence and sold for scrap in Nov./28.
Dimensions
Length(O/A) 453′ (138m)
Length(P.P) 430′ (131m)
Beam 48.5′ (17.8m)
Draft 15.6′ (4.8m) (Avg)
Displacement
Full Load 5,800 tons
Normal 5,250 tons
Propulsion
Boilers 12 Yarrow small tube
Turbines Parsons geared steam
Brown-Curtis geared turbines (Yarmouth only)
Horsepower 22,500 ihp
24,700 ihp (Yarmouth only)
Shafts 4
2 screws (Yarmouth only)
Endurance 4,500 NM @ 10 knts
Max Speed 24.75 knts (design)
25.9-27 knts best speeds
Oil Bunkerage 600-1190 tons oil
Protection
Belt nil
Deck .075″-2″ (19-50mm)
Gun Shields 4″ (102mm) (main guns)
Conning Tower 4″ (102mm)
Armament
Main Battery 8 x 6″ (152mm)/50 cal. BL Mk XI in single mounts
AAW 4 x 47mm (3pdr) Mk II in single mounts
1 x 76mm (12pdr)/45 cal QF HA Mk I added during war
4 x Maxim MGs
1 light landing gun for shore bombardment
Torpedoes 2 x 21″ (533mm) below water
Aircraft
Fixed Wing (Wartime) 2
Launching 1 Ramp immediately forward of the bridge
Complement
Usual 380
475 maximum wartime
540 wartime flagship