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Auction: 23111 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 434

A uniquely named and poignant 'Loss of the Hampshire' Great War Bronze Memorial Plaque awarded to Stoker J. Dowson, Royal Navy

Great War Bronze Memorial Plaque (Joseph Dowson), good very fine

Joseph Dawson was born at Middlesborough, Yorkshire on 17 March 1895 and worked as a Railway Porter before joining the Royal Navy on 24 November 1914 as Stoker Class II. His first posting afloat was with the cruiser Hampshire on 26 June 1915 and he was still with her when she steamed into action at the Battle of Jutland.

Joining 2nd Cruiser Squadron she was still with this unit which formed part of the cruiser screen for Admiral Jellicoe's battleships. Hampshire took the role of linking ship between the screen and Jellicoe's Flagship Iron Duke. In that role she fired several salvoes at the 2nd Scouting Group but found herself to be out of range. She managed to avoid taking a hit throughout the battle.

With the fighting done the Grand Fleet returned to its station at Scapa Flow and Hampshire was detailed for a special mission. Lord Kitchener himself was travelling to Russia in order to meet with the Government and discuss munition shortages and military strategy. She sailed only to encounter heavy seas, her destroyer escort was lost and she was isolated. Reaching the Marwick Head, about a mile and half off the mainland of Orkney, Hampshire struck a mine laid by U-75. What followed is summarised on the 'Scottish Wreck' website:

'It was around 8.30 p.m. suddenly the ship was rocked by a loud explosion and almost immediately she was plunged into total darkness as all electrical power failed. Survivors later described the acrid smell of fumes from the exploding mine which permeated the sinking ship as the crew scrambled through the darkness in an attempt to save themselves. The terrifying roar of rushing water could be heard throughout most of the ship. The crew knew instantly that their ship was doomed and that their own chances of survival in the cold, angry seas off Orkney were slim. However, discipline was maintained as the crew rushed to their muster stations and waited the command to abandon ship. Some of the survivors recalled seeing Kitchener on deck before she went down but he and his staff were to perish that night along with the vast majority of the ship's crew of more than six hundred.

The mine had struck on the port side at the forward engine room and had ripped a huge hole in the bottom of the ship. With water quickly filling this huge space the building pressure rapidly smashed the engine room bulkhead and the Hampshire was doomed. The devastation in the engine room itself was appalling with most of the crew in the area killed instantly by the explosion. Elsewhere on the ship the crew flooded the magazine to avoid further explosions while they desperately tried to reach the comparative safety of the deck. However, once on deck the situation was little better. The larger lifeboats could not be launched as they were lowered by electrically powered winches and all power had been lost. A few smaller boats were launched but were immediately smashed against the side of the ship or overturned in the heavy swell throwing their occupants into the boiling sea. The most effective rescue devices were the huge cork Carley floats which were simply hurled into the sea. Many survivors clambered aboard these simple structures. The few seamen who reached the safety of the Carley floats looked back in awe as the huge ship reared her stern high in the air and sank by the bow.

Ashore on Orkney a few islanders actually witnessed the explosion and watched in horror as the huge ship plunged to the seabed. The alarm was raised and a message sent to Stromness. Later, there was considerable controversy over the apparent delays in the rescue efforts. The lifeboat at Stromness was not called out though it must be questionable if it could have reached the area in the dreadful sea conditions that night. In the end it was 9.45 p.m. before the ocean-going tug Flying Kestrel and the trawlers Northward and Renzo put to sea. Over the next few hours many other ships were sent to the scene but it was too late. These ships did not pick up a single survivor.'

In the event only twelve men made it ashore from the 662 crew and passengers aboard. Dowson was not amongst them, he is commemorated upon the Portsmouth Naval Memorial; sold together with copied research including service record and Commonwealth War Graves Certificate as well as a Hampshire cap tally.

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Sold for
£120

Starting price
£20