Lives of the First World War

31st May 1916 - 1st June 1916

On Harry's 18th birthday he eagerly signed on for a 12-year period of engagement with The Royal Navy. Holding the rating of an Ordinary Seaman, he had grown from a boy into the stature of a man, his record stating that he now stood 5ft 5in tall. In the January of 1916 Harry had worked hard to become an Able Seaman and within months he would see action on the high seas as a gunner at the Battle of Jutland. During the Great War, the Imperial German Naval strategy was one of luring the British Fleet out of their respective naval bases by bombarding North Sea coastal towns, such as Scarborough, and then by using a combination of submarines and surface boats to attack and destroy them. Britain's Navy was a mighty force to be reckoned with, which is why the Germans tried to use stealth to overcome it. The Royal Navy on the other hand pursued a strategy of engagement in an attempt to destroy the enemy Fleet, as well as keeping the Imperial German Navy away from Britain's own shipping lanes in case they should attempt to blockade Britain. In May 1916 the German High Seas Fleet was ordered to attack the British Grand Fleet, however British Naval Intelligence had broken the German code and was aware of its enemy's intentions. On the afternoon of the 31 May 1916 a combined force of 250 ships finally came together in an epic dual. There was a heavy haze with scuds of fog giving poor visibility on that fateful day as the two opposing Fleets finally manoeuvred their ships into approximately parallel lines of 15,000 nautical yard apart. The British big guns opened fire at 3.48 p.m. firing far over their German opponents due to adverse visibility, but with clearer visibility favouring the Germans they drew 'first blood' by hitting HMS Tiger within the first 12 minutes. The battle intensified and at 16.02 hrs the Germans hit HMS Indefatigable smashing her aft and detonating 'X' magazine aft, a second pounding of shells hit her 'A' turret forward and seconds later she was ripped apart by another magazine explosion this time sinking immediately with her crew of 1,019 officers and men leaving only two survivors. At 16.25 hrs the battle cruiser action again intensified with HMS Queen Mary becoming the target and being hit by a combined salvo from the German ships Derfflinger and Seydlitz. HMS Queen Mary disintegrated when both forward magazines exploded, sinking with all but nine of her 1,275 man crew lost. The battle was to rage on and at 18.30 hrs it was the German High Seas Fleet that were now to be hampered by poor visibility, as well as being in an unfavourable tactical position, just as the British Fleet Commander, John Jellico, had intended. Realising that he was heading in to a death trap, the German Vice-Admiral, Reinhard Scheer, ordered his fleet to turn and flee at 18.33 hrs. Under a pall of smoke and mist Scheer's forces succeeded in disengaging by an expertly executed 180 degree turn in unison, which was a well practised emergency manoeuvre of the German High Seas Fleet. Between 18.30 hrs, as the sun was setting on the western horizon, backlighting the German forces, and nightfall at about 20.30 hrs, the two huge fleets were to be twice more heavily engaged. The battle lasted well into the night and it was only due to a series of signalling errors that the German High Seas Fleet were able to escape under the cover of darkness. By 05.20 hrs the following morning the enemy Fleet was well on its way to being in its home port. Tactically the battle is considered to have been a draw, although the British lost 14 ships and 6,094 men and the Germans lost 11 ships and 2,551 men. However the Germans claimed it as a victory although they never again jeopardized their High Seas Fleet by allowing it to do battle with the British.

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