Browsing through some of the service records I had on family members especially through the records that had survived, I realised I needed to write down some of what had occurred to them during their time of service. When looking through the locations some people served, I found there were some interesting events, which had occurred and there is always a story to tell. I will provide the basic information behind his service for this blog
James Patterson Bell was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne in 1888 to John William Bell and Jane, although his service record has him being born in 1891. I don’t know if this was a mistake in the records, but I did find other information about him an aunty had written some time ago in her autobiography. James would join the British Navy in 1912 and would serve with the navy for 12 years
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What I thought was an unremarkable service until I scratched the surface and fell down the rabbit hole. The first location James had written down was on HMS Victory II.[1] Not easy to find but was apparently a land based training establishment that moved from Portsmouth to Crystal Palace in South London and back again at the end of World War 1. The next move was to HMS Fisgard in September 1912. Fisgard seemed similar to Victory II as it was a training area for engineers amongst others.[2] James spent one day on HMS Royal Arthur before returning to Fisgard, and then onto Southampton. I thought at first Southampton was a location like a county, but this was a light cruiser that had been commissioned in 1910.[3]
On the 27 of March 1913, James would be assigned to the ship HMS Irresistible and would remain on the ship until the 18 March 1915. This is where the service becomes interesting and an interesting period during the First World War. HMS Irresistible was one of the navy ships involved during the Dardanelles campaign. The goal was to enter Constantinople but turned disastrous. The campaign would later lead to the landing at Gallipoli. On the 18th of March there was a battle between the allies and the Ottoman Empire in the strait. HMS Irresistible would encounter a mine and the crew would be evacuated. The ship would later sink.[4] From the 19th of March 1915, the day after the sinking of the Irresistible, James was now serving on HMS Europa I that also took park during the campaign. James would serve in Europa until late 1917, where he would be transferred to Victory II on land. The next ship would be the HMS Caledon from September 1918 to October 1919. James would have been onboard during the second battle of Heligoland Bight, a battle between British and German ships. During the battle the vessel was struck by a shell that failed to explode. Five people on the ship perished and one was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously.[5]
In October 1919 he would be transferred to Frisgard and lastly to the Osborne in January 1920, where he would be discharged in March 2020. Osborne was actually a training academy that would be closed down in 1921. James would return to Newcastle upon Tyne with his wife Margaret, whom he had married in 1914.
Sources
James Patterson Bell, Service Record, Service number M4699
Payne, Jim The Royal Navy and Yapton Stokers, West Sussex Country Council, http://www2.westsussex.gov.uk/learning-resources/LR/the_royal_navy_and_yaptons_stokers1f3d.pdf?docid=df63d7c9-fcbf-4c2d-89a4-845751a41aa2&version=-1, p. 2, Accessed 27/04/2021.
‘HMS Fisgard’, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Fisgard_(shore_establishment), Accessed 27/04/2021.
‘HMS Southampton’, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Southampton_(1912), Accessed 27/04/2021.
‘Naval Operations in the Dardanelles campaign’, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_operations_in_the_Dardanelles_campaign, Accessed 27/04/2021.
‘HMS Caledon’, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Caledon_(D53), Accessed 27/04/2021.
[1]Jim Payne, The Royal Navy and Yapton Stokers, West Sussex Country Council, http://www2.westsussex.gov.uk/learning-resources/LR/the_royal_navy_and_yaptons_stokers1f3d.pdf?docid=df63d7c9-fcbf-4c2d-89a4-845751a41aa2&version=-1, p. 2. Accessed 27/04/2021
[2] HMS Fisgard, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Fisgard_(shore_establishment), Accessed 27/04/2021
[3] ‘HMS Southampton’, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Southampton_(1912), Accessed 27/04/2021
[4] ‘Naval Operations in the Dardanelles campaign’, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_operations_in_the_Dardanelles_campaign, Accessed 27/04/2021
[5]‘HMS Caledon’, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Caledon_(D53), Accessed 27/04/2021
