Images courtesy of members of 'World Naval Ships Forum'
Commonwealth Graves 1917 - 13 Men Died in 1917
Trimmer Andrew Smith, No: 908166, of the Mercantile Marine Reserves, serving on HMS Teutonic, an armed Merchant Cruiser, was born c1892, Son of Andrew and Mary Smith, living in Co. Kildare, Ireland. He died of illness on 20.1.1917 , aged 25 and is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 652, Queensferry Cemetery. He was awarded the Victory and British War Medals.
Petty Officer Stoker Oliver Mitchell, No: 304279, of the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Queen Elizabeth, a Dreadnought Battleship, was born on 2.4.1884 in Sheffield. He died of Illness on 3.2.1917 aged 32, leaving a Widow, Catherine Mitchell, of Sheffield. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 653, Queensferry Cemetery and was awarded the 1914/15 Star and Victory and British War Medals.
Second Mate Robert Thomson Bird, of the Merantile Marines, serving on SS Unio, was born in 1888 in Gateshead, to Thomas and Margaret (Mary) Jane Bird. He died at sea on 29.3.1917, aged 29 and is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 654, Queensferry Cemetery. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medals.
Gunner William A Sherringham, No: RMA/8620, of the Royal Marine Artillery, serving on HMS Inflexible, was born on 3.4.1880, in Essex. He died of Heart Failure, on 21.4.1917 aged 37. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 655, Queensferry Cemetery and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medals.
Gunner William George Conway, No: 14799, of the Royal Marine Artillery, serving on HMS Renown, was born on 28.10.1898 in Hampshire, to George and Kate Conway. He died on 16.5.1917, aged 18, accidentally killed. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 643, Queensferry Cemetery and was awarded the Victory and British War Medals.
Able Seaman George Pike Shuttle,No: 217583, of the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Renown, was born on 7.7.1886 in Woodford, Essex, to James and Annie Shuttle, ms Pike. He died from illness on 17.6.1917, aged 30 and is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 644, Queensferry Cemetery. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medals.
Stoker 1st Class John Collins, No: 280238, of the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Woolwich, was born on 10.9.1870 in Stockton on Tees, Durham. He enlisted on 1.8.1895. John died from Heart Disease, on 23.6.1917 aged 46. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 455, Queensferry Cemetery. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medal.
Able Seaman Stanley Randolph Bedford, No: J/7025, of the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Tiger, was born on 6.4.1894 in Hackney, London, to Raglan and Emma Bedford. He died from illness on 13.7.1917 aged 23. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 456, Queensferry Cemetery and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, and the Victory and British War Medals.
Boy 1st Class Edward Pyke No: J/37640, of the Royal Navy serving on HMS Champion, was born on 12.12.1899, in Newbury, Berkshire. He was accidently killed on 20.8.1917 aged 17. He is buried in commonwealth Grave Ref: 458, Queensferry Cemetery and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medals.
Ordinary Seaman John Rodgers, No: J/39463, of the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Agincourt, born 31.8.1899, in Wolverhampton, died of illness, on 2.9.1917 aged 18. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 457, Queensferry Cemetery and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medals
Stoker 1st Class William Toomer, No: J/290318, of the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Agincourt, was born on 27.5.1877 in Birmingham. He died of illness, on 12.9.1917 aged 40. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 459, Queensferry Cemetery and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medals.
Sergeant John Smith, of the Royal Garrison, serving in the 136th Siege Battery, was born in 1880 in Dublin, Ireland to Philip and Ann Smith, ms Ryan. He died of tuberculosis, at home in Queensferry on 25.12.1917 aged 37. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 861 and was awarded the Victory and British War Medals. You can read more in the "Memorials" 1917 page.
Captain Herbert Laurence Edwards, of the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Calypso, was killed in action on 17.11.1917, aged 40. He was born on 25.1.1877 in Mauritius, and enlisted on 15.1.1891. Herbert is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 444, Queensferry Cemetery. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medals. You can read more about Captain Herbert Laurence Edwards History, below.
With kind permission from Mike McDowall, Queensferry History Group.
"Captain Edwards is remembered on a gravestone in Queensferry Cemetery within the ‘Commonwealth War Graves’ area that commemorates 185 naval personnel. He is the only Captain and therefore most senior of the fifteen officers, which includes three Lieutenant-Commanders, nine Lieutenants and two Sub-Lieutenants.
Herbert Laurence was born in Port Louis, Mauritius, on 25th January 1877, the son of Charles F Edwards, Register General of Mauritius, and his wife Mary Wales. (Charles had been born in Bedfordshire, but his wife, who was 29 years younger than him, was born ‘at sea’).
Herbert had two elder brothers, John and William who had also been born in Mauritius. By 1881 their father had retired and the family had returned to live at Westfield Villa, Outram Road, Portsea, Hampshire.
Herbert followed his elder brother John (who in 1891, age 19, was a midshipman on the corvette HMS Volage) and just before his 14th birthday, passed the entrance exam for a cadetship on HMS Britannia at Dartmouth. As a sub-lieutenant he served aboard the battle-cruisers HMS Rodney and Undaunted and the corvette ‘Active’. He was promoted to Lieutenant in July 1897 and between then and 1908 served aboard a succession of cruisers, mostly of the Home Fleet, notably HMS Diadem and her sister ships Andromeda and Europa.
In June 1901, while serving aboard the cruiser HMS Galatea, he married Eleanore Barnewall O’Hea from Dublin, in Marlebone, London. She had attended Portsmouth High School for Girls. Eleanore was from a prominent Irish family, and it is interesting to note that Herbert’s service record has her surname as ‘White’.
In June 1909 while aboard the battleship ‘Cornwallis’ he was promoted to Commander. His service record shows that he was considered an ‘exceptional navigator’ with comments that included ‘implicit trust in him’, ‘iron nerve’ and ‘have a very high opinion of him’.
Further appointments included HMS Shannon and the battlecruisers ‘Indomitable’ and ‘Indefatigable’.
When the First World War started he was serving aboard HMS Lion, Vice-Admiral Beatty’s flagship. He was almost certainly present at the first battle of Helogoland in August 1914. He was at the battle of Dogger Bank which took place on 24th January 1915 (the day before his 38th birthday). After naval intelligence reported an intended raid on the British fishing fleet by the German High Seas Fleet. HMS Lion sailed from Rosyth with ‘Tiger’ and ‘Princess Royal’, HMS New Zealand and Indomitable of the second cruiser squadron and four ships of the first light cruiser squadron. They were joined by three light cruisers and 35 destroyers from Harwich.
During the battle HMS Lion was hit 14 times and was so badly damaged that she had to be towed back to port by Indomitable. The commanding officer of Lion reported that Commander Edwards “steered the ship with great coolness and forethought, keeping an accurate reckoning during the whole action in very difficult conditions owing to the large amount of water that entered the conning tower.”
In June 1915 Admiral Beatty endorsed his promotion to Captain and from December of that year until May 1917 he appears to have been based in Devonport as the King’s Harbourmaster for Plymouth Sound. He therefore missed the battle of Jutland in June 1916 when Beatty once again took HMS Lion to sea.
However, on 24th May he took command of HMS Calypso (D61), a new C-class light cruiser, launched on Tyneside in January 1917. Commissioning was completed on 21st June and she joined the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron under Rear-Admiral
Edwyn S Alexander-Sinclair CB MVO based at Rosyth. November 1917 HMS Calypso along with her sister ship HMS Caledon were part of the force that intercepted German minesweepers and their escorts attempting to clear the British minefield off Heligoland Bight. During the battle Calypso’s bridge took a direct hit killing ten crew including Captain Edwards and causing an accidental firing of a ready torpedo. Both Caledon and HMS Cardiff suffered damage and casualties in the engagement.
Captain Herbert Laurence Edwards was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the Victory and British War Medals. It was either the ship’s company or perhaps Admiral Beatty himself who arranged for the commemorative cross to be erected.
© Queensferry History Group 2015
Trimmer Andrew Smith, No: 908166, of the Mercantile Marine Reserves, serving on HMS Teutonic, an armed Merchant Cruiser, was born c1892, Son of Andrew and Mary Smith, living in Co. Kildare, Ireland. He died of illness on 20.1.1917 , aged 25 and is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 652, Queensferry Cemetery. He was awarded the Victory and British War Medals.
Petty Officer Stoker Oliver Mitchell, No: 304279, of the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Queen Elizabeth, a Dreadnought Battleship, was born on 2.4.1884 in Sheffield. He died of Illness on 3.2.1917 aged 32, leaving a Widow, Catherine Mitchell, of Sheffield. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 653, Queensferry Cemetery and was awarded the 1914/15 Star and Victory and British War Medals.
Second Mate Robert Thomson Bird, of the Merantile Marines, serving on SS Unio, was born in 1888 in Gateshead, to Thomas and Margaret (Mary) Jane Bird. He died at sea on 29.3.1917, aged 29 and is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 654, Queensferry Cemetery. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medals.
Gunner William A Sherringham, No: RMA/8620, of the Royal Marine Artillery, serving on HMS Inflexible, was born on 3.4.1880, in Essex. He died of Heart Failure, on 21.4.1917 aged 37. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 655, Queensferry Cemetery and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medals.
Gunner William George Conway, No: 14799, of the Royal Marine Artillery, serving on HMS Renown, was born on 28.10.1898 in Hampshire, to George and Kate Conway. He died on 16.5.1917, aged 18, accidentally killed. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 643, Queensferry Cemetery and was awarded the Victory and British War Medals.
Able Seaman George Pike Shuttle,No: 217583, of the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Renown, was born on 7.7.1886 in Woodford, Essex, to James and Annie Shuttle, ms Pike. He died from illness on 17.6.1917, aged 30 and is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 644, Queensferry Cemetery. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medals.
Stoker 1st Class John Collins, No: 280238, of the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Woolwich, was born on 10.9.1870 in Stockton on Tees, Durham. He enlisted on 1.8.1895. John died from Heart Disease, on 23.6.1917 aged 46. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 455, Queensferry Cemetery. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medal.
Able Seaman Stanley Randolph Bedford, No: J/7025, of the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Tiger, was born on 6.4.1894 in Hackney, London, to Raglan and Emma Bedford. He died from illness on 13.7.1917 aged 23. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 456, Queensferry Cemetery and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, and the Victory and British War Medals.
Boy 1st Class Edward Pyke No: J/37640, of the Royal Navy serving on HMS Champion, was born on 12.12.1899, in Newbury, Berkshire. He was accidently killed on 20.8.1917 aged 17. He is buried in commonwealth Grave Ref: 458, Queensferry Cemetery and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medals.
Ordinary Seaman John Rodgers, No: J/39463, of the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Agincourt, born 31.8.1899, in Wolverhampton, died of illness, on 2.9.1917 aged 18. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 457, Queensferry Cemetery and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medals
Stoker 1st Class William Toomer, No: J/290318, of the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Agincourt, was born on 27.5.1877 in Birmingham. He died of illness, on 12.9.1917 aged 40. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 459, Queensferry Cemetery and was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medals.
Sergeant John Smith, of the Royal Garrison, serving in the 136th Siege Battery, was born in 1880 in Dublin, Ireland to Philip and Ann Smith, ms Ryan. He died of tuberculosis, at home in Queensferry on 25.12.1917 aged 37. He is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 861 and was awarded the Victory and British War Medals. You can read more in the "Memorials" 1917 page.
Captain Herbert Laurence Edwards, of the Royal Navy, serving on HMS Calypso, was killed in action on 17.11.1917, aged 40. He was born on 25.1.1877 in Mauritius, and enlisted on 15.1.1891. Herbert is buried in Commonwealth Grave Ref: 444, Queensferry Cemetery. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, Victory and British War Medals. You can read more about Captain Herbert Laurence Edwards History, below.
With kind permission from Mike McDowall, Queensferry History Group.
"Captain Edwards is remembered on a gravestone in Queensferry Cemetery within the ‘Commonwealth War Graves’ area that commemorates 185 naval personnel. He is the only Captain and therefore most senior of the fifteen officers, which includes three Lieutenant-Commanders, nine Lieutenants and two Sub-Lieutenants.
Herbert Laurence was born in Port Louis, Mauritius, on 25th January 1877, the son of Charles F Edwards, Register General of Mauritius, and his wife Mary Wales. (Charles had been born in Bedfordshire, but his wife, who was 29 years younger than him, was born ‘at sea’).
Herbert had two elder brothers, John and William who had also been born in Mauritius. By 1881 their father had retired and the family had returned to live at Westfield Villa, Outram Road, Portsea, Hampshire.
Herbert followed his elder brother John (who in 1891, age 19, was a midshipman on the corvette HMS Volage) and just before his 14th birthday, passed the entrance exam for a cadetship on HMS Britannia at Dartmouth. As a sub-lieutenant he served aboard the battle-cruisers HMS Rodney and Undaunted and the corvette ‘Active’. He was promoted to Lieutenant in July 1897 and between then and 1908 served aboard a succession of cruisers, mostly of the Home Fleet, notably HMS Diadem and her sister ships Andromeda and Europa.
In June 1901, while serving aboard the cruiser HMS Galatea, he married Eleanore Barnewall O’Hea from Dublin, in Marlebone, London. She had attended Portsmouth High School for Girls. Eleanore was from a prominent Irish family, and it is interesting to note that Herbert’s service record has her surname as ‘White’.
In June 1909 while aboard the battleship ‘Cornwallis’ he was promoted to Commander. His service record shows that he was considered an ‘exceptional navigator’ with comments that included ‘implicit trust in him’, ‘iron nerve’ and ‘have a very high opinion of him’.
Further appointments included HMS Shannon and the battlecruisers ‘Indomitable’ and ‘Indefatigable’.
When the First World War started he was serving aboard HMS Lion, Vice-Admiral Beatty’s flagship. He was almost certainly present at the first battle of Helogoland in August 1914. He was at the battle of Dogger Bank which took place on 24th January 1915 (the day before his 38th birthday). After naval intelligence reported an intended raid on the British fishing fleet by the German High Seas Fleet. HMS Lion sailed from Rosyth with ‘Tiger’ and ‘Princess Royal’, HMS New Zealand and Indomitable of the second cruiser squadron and four ships of the first light cruiser squadron. They were joined by three light cruisers and 35 destroyers from Harwich.
During the battle HMS Lion was hit 14 times and was so badly damaged that she had to be towed back to port by Indomitable. The commanding officer of Lion reported that Commander Edwards “steered the ship with great coolness and forethought, keeping an accurate reckoning during the whole action in very difficult conditions owing to the large amount of water that entered the conning tower.”
In June 1915 Admiral Beatty endorsed his promotion to Captain and from December of that year until May 1917 he appears to have been based in Devonport as the King’s Harbourmaster for Plymouth Sound. He therefore missed the battle of Jutland in June 1916 when Beatty once again took HMS Lion to sea.
However, on 24th May he took command of HMS Calypso (D61), a new C-class light cruiser, launched on Tyneside in January 1917. Commissioning was completed on 21st June and she joined the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron under Rear-Admiral
Edwyn S Alexander-Sinclair CB MVO based at Rosyth. November 1917 HMS Calypso along with her sister ship HMS Caledon were part of the force that intercepted German minesweepers and their escorts attempting to clear the British minefield off Heligoland Bight. During the battle Calypso’s bridge took a direct hit killing ten crew including Captain Edwards and causing an accidental firing of a ready torpedo. Both Caledon and HMS Cardiff suffered damage and casualties in the engagement.
Captain Herbert Laurence Edwards was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the Victory and British War Medals. It was either the ship’s company or perhaps Admiral Beatty himself who arranged for the commemorative cross to be erected.
© Queensferry History Group 2015