PO Rupert William Matthews d. 30/5/1915

[Will O'Brien]

CWGC Info

Name: MATTHEWS, RUPERT WILLIAM

Initials: R W

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Petty Officer

Regiment: Royal Navy

Unit Text: H.M.S. "Victory"

Age: 30

Date of Death: 30/05/1915

Service No: 210094

Additional information: Son of Thomas and the late Caroline Matthews; husband of Mrs. F. Matthews, of 733, Hamilton St., Vancouver, British Columbia.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: In South-East corner

Cemetery: FELPHAM (ST. MARY) CHURCHYARD

[Terry Denham]

PO Matthews died of illness and his CWGC headstone bears the Personal Inscription "Thy will be done".

He was born in Barton Cliff, Hampshire.

[Will O'Brien]

Rupert Matthews appears to have been a pre war sailor..................I have found him on the 1901 census as being a person on vessel

Rupert W. Matthews aged 16 & born Barton Cliff, Hampshire.

Aboard HMS St Vincent positioned at Portsmouth at the time of the census.

His profession/rank is listed as Boy First Class

Does anyone know whether HMS St Vincent was a ship or training establishment?

[delta]

HMS ST Vincent later became a shore establishment

[michaeldr]

Does anyone know whether HMS St Vincent was a ship or training establishment?

Will,

According to this in 1901 she was both, i.e. a floating training establishment

"HMS St Vincent built at Plymouth Dockyard and launched 11th March 1815 as a first rate 120 gun ship of the line of the Nelson Class. She served as flagship at Portsmouth and served in 1840 in the Mediterranean and Channel. She was used as a training ship for 25 years until finally being sold in 1906. As part of the Royal Navy ship of the line the armament consisted of thirty-two 32 pdrs on the gundeck, thirty-four 24 pdrs on middle deck, thirty-four 18 pdrs on upper deck and on the quarter deck six twelve pdrs and ten 32 pdr carrs, and on the forecastle two 32 pdrs carrs."

Regards

Michael D.R.

[DirtyDick]

There was a floating St Vincent as well as a shore base; this was common practice and no doubt intended to confuse people! Most such vessels were used to provide cheap accommodation and rigging skills.

The shore establishment HMS St Vincent, Gosport, was, firstly, a barracks for the RMLI until about c.1923 (whenever the RMLI and RMA merged and both then went to Eastney); it then became junior/boy sailors' training establishment until c.1967. When the Navy left it became a comprehensive school and in the late '80s became a dedicated sixth form college. (I went there in the early-mid '90s.)

Many the original red-brick buildings were demolished when the Navy left, but the boundary wall, ornate gateway and many of the rear buildings remain and are well-used.

Apparently the floor of one of these buildings is deliberately cambered and thus is of architectural significance. I've heard that this was to prepare the boys for working on ships' deck in rough seas, but I cannot think how this would be useful preparation!

Richard

[Terry Denham]

There was a floating St Vincent as well as a shore base; this was common practice and no doubt intended to confuse people!

Until 1959 the Naval Discipline Act only applied to men borne on the books of a Royal Navy vessel. Therefore all shore bases were named after ships and each had a real ship attached as a 'depot ship' on whose books all men were nominally listed. Sometimes this was a large vessel and sometimes only a tender!

'St Vincent' was used as a name several times for different RN vessels/bases.

(1) Training/depot/flag ship (launched 1815) 1841-1906 - Portsmouth.

(2) Drill ship/Reserve fleet ship (launched 1908) 1919 Portsmouth

(3) Forton Barracks, Gosport - Training Establishment 1927-1969

(4) Queens Gate Terrace, London - WRNS accommodation 1985-1992

(5) Whitehall, London - Communications centre 1992-1998

During its time as a shore base pre-1959, its nominal depot ships were a number of RN launches!