So my great uncle (my granddad’s older brother) was killed in the first world war when his ship HMS Prize was sunk by German U-Boat U-48 on August 14th 1917.
What can we find out about this event? First of all, is it usual to know so many facts? To actually know which ship sank the Prize? Time to get searching.
Google is a good place to start. I typed in “HMS Prize” and Wikipedia tells me that HMS Prize was a “Q” Ship.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Prize
On to find out what a “Q” Ship is/was.
This site is useful
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-ship
“A typical Q-ship might resemble a tramp steamer sailing alone in an area where a U-boat was reported to be operating. By seeming to be a suitable target for the U-boat's deck gun, a Q-ship might encourage the U-boat captain to make a surface attack rather than use one of his limited number of torpedoes. The Q-ships' cargoes were light wood (balsa or cork) or wooden caskets, and even if torpedoed they would remain afloat, encouraging the U-boat to surface and sink them with a deck gun. The crew might even pretend to "abandon ship". Once the U-boat was vulnerable, the Q-ship's panels would drop to reveal the deck guns, which would immediately open fire. At the same time, the White Ensign (Royal Navy flag) would be raised. With the element of surprise, a U-boat could be quickly overwhelmed.”
It mentions HMS Prize
“Lieutenant-Commander William Edward Sanders VC, DSO, a New Zealander commanding HMS Prize, was awarded the Victoria Cross for an action on 30 April 1917 with U-93, which was severely damaged. Sanders waited, while his ship sustained heavy shellfire, until the submarine was within 80 yards, whereupon he hoisted the White Ensign and the Prize opened fire. The submarine appeared to sink and he claimed a victory. However, the badly damaged submarine managed to struggle back to port. With his ship accurately described by the survivors of U-93, Sanders and his crewmen were all killed in action when they attempted a surprise attack on U-43 on 14 August 1917.”
This site has even more information plus some pictures
http://qships.freeservers.com/U93meetsPrize.htm
And this site tells us a bit about the commanding officer
http://warart.archives.govt.nz/node/282
What is certain is that the German U-boats had been alerted to HMS Prize and her tactics, and were not to be fooled a second time. On August 14th 1917 she was sunk by U-48 and my great-uncle was killed.
My great-grandmother Elizabeth Henrietta Trevaskis Clemo died a few months later in the County Asylum in Bodmin. Did the death of her eldest son cause her to die of a broken heart? Her own mother was a Prussian. Did she have divided loyalties? Both the King of England (George the Fifth) and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany could claim Queen Victoria as their grandmother, so links between the countries were very strong.
I doubt if I’ll ever find out the truth. But it may explain why Elizabeth H T Clemo died in an Asylum all those years ago.
PS. Another thought occurred to me. I've not been able to find any record of Reginald Charles's baptism. There are plenty of reasons why it isn't recorded- for instance, they may have been Methodists rather than Anglicans. The article I found that put me on to his death on HMS Prize said that he was 22 in August 1917. His parents were married in May 1895. Was she pregnant when they were married? Could this be the reason they moved away? Because of the shame brought on the family?
Remember that these were Victorians, and morality and acceptable behaviour were far different back then. Just a thought....
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