Boy

Albert Edward Clark was my Grandfather's elder brother; an uncle my mother never knew.

In 1917, at the age of 17, Bert was stationed as a Boy Telegraphist on HMS Vanguard, a dreadnought battleship in the Royal Navy. On July 9th, while anchored at Scapa Flow, Vanguard suffered an accidental catastrophic explosion and sank almost immediately. Bert was among the 804 men killed, only two survived.

The Naval Memorial on the Hoe at Plymouth lists more than 23,000 British and Commonwealth sailors lost at sea during the world wars. Bert's name is amongst them, on Tablet 22 - attached to the landward side of the main memorial.

At the end of a busy conference day, a short walk down to the sea front to look for his name seemed the least I could do.

Many thanks to my sister @mrsrobert10 who has uncovered this piece of family history.