Who commanded the Royal Navy vessels involved in the action off Great Yarmouth on 3 November 1914?

[The Holyboy]

In the action off Great Yarmouth on 3 November 1914 the following Royal Navy vessels were involved - would anyone be kind enough to tell me who was in command of each of them :

HMS Halcyon

HMS Lively

HMS Leopard

HMS Success

Submarines E10, D5 and D3.

Any help much appreciated.

Best wishes

Neil

Edited January 23, 2013 by The Holyboy

[Mervyn Mitton]

Neil - doesn't seem that any member so far - has interest in this period. I remember that I had in my Police collection a souvenir

medal issued by the local Constabulary to commemorate the shelling of the British coastal towns. Is this the same action that you

are talking about ? Mervyn

[peter monahan]

Here is a little info., gleaned from a quick sweep through Wikipedia, which for all its faults is very useful for this sort of thing.

The British force was led by HMS Halcyon, the flagship of the small flotilla, according to this site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_Yarmouth

HMS Halcyon was a Dryad-class torpedo gunboat - in 1913, was converted to a minesweeper and served under the orders of the Admiral Commanding Coast Guard and Reserves. She was sold for breaking in 1919

In August 1914 she became the ship of the Senior Naval Officer North Sea Fisheries, serving under the orders of the Admiral Commanding Coast Guard and Reserves

HMS Lively was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer launched in 1900, acquired by the navy in 1901 and sold in 1920.

HMS Leopard was an Avon-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was among the vessels reclassified as C-class destroyers in 1913

HMS Success was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1901. On 27 December 1914 she was wrecked off Fifeness during heavy gales

HMS D3 was a British D class submarine - commissioned 30 August 1911.

HMS D5 was a British D class submarine - commissioned on 19 February 1911.

HMS E10 was a British E class submarine - commissioned 10 March 1914. E10 was lost in the North Sea on 18 January 1915.

I haven't been able to identify the Captain of the Halcyon, but I hope this is of some help. A word of caution as well, though you may well know it already: apparently there was a fishing trawler on hire to the RN at the same period of time, called "Halcyon II".

Peter

Edited January 25, 2013 by peter monahan

[Odulf]

I have here the RN List for June 1914, but I am not sure if the facts match a situation of months later, as two of the units were unemployed at that time.

If you want the details I can reproduce...

[The Holyboy]

Many thanks to Mervyn, Peter and in particular thanks to Odulf for his kind offer. Yes, I would appreciate seeing the details from the RN list, I think it would be a good place to start and if I have no joy with further research online and at hand I will drop a line to the folks at the RN Museum.

[Odulf]

From the Navy List for July, 1914:

[Odulf]

HMS Lively, Leopard and Success were tenders to the old Light Cruiser HMS Leander (1882), which was the Depot Ship of the Patrol Flotillas and 7th Destroyer Flotilla in Devonport.

[Odulf]

and from the same Navy List this list

[peter monahan]

Well done, that man!

[Odulf]

Maybe another line of investigation Neil.

I don't know if any of the ship's officers were awarded for this action. As these are minor units, if any decoration was given it would probably be a DSC.

After the action, on 01-01-1915, 10-02-1915, 15-03-1915 etc. DSC were awarded to RN and RNR Lieutenants. Perhaps one of these was in connection to the action off Great Yarmout.

I don't have the Naval Yearbooks for 1914/15 any more, so I cannot look into the matter any further.

Perhaps a library can help you, and what I would be looking for is: "The Fleet Annual and Naval Year Book 1915". This volume is in a series which was started in 1905 and published by Chapman & Hall Ltd. in Covent Garden. The 1915 volume deals with the actions which took place before 01-03-1915.

It gives much detail an lots of names.

Best of luck with your research, and keep us posted...

[The Holyboy]

I would like to extend a very big thanks to Odulf and all those who have helped in this enquiry. You are all gentlemen indeed.