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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

HMS MAORI sunk (mined) off Belgian Coast


RaySearching

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Hi all

I have a local war memorial man "Peter Farrell" who is listed as serving on the HMS Maori when the ship was mined and sunk 7th May 1915

He is not commemorated by the Commonwealth graves commission

Having a look at Don Kindell's website here he is listed as (Stoker Peter Farrell RNR 4529s

It appears that the crew were taken as prisoners of war, At this point in time I am presuming that Peter Farrell died whilst in captivity

Can anybody provide any info regarding the fate of the crew who were taken into captivity, Where were the held ,released ect

If any of them died whilst in captivity would they still qualify for inclusion on the CWGC register ?

regards Ray

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Ray,

Here are some details on the sinking of HMS Maori, and her photo.

Regards,

LF

MAORI, destroyer, F-class, 1,030t, 1909, 2‑4in/2‑18in tt, 33kts, 68 crew (peacetime), Pennant No.H.16, 6th DF Dover Patrol, Lt-Cdr or Cdr Benjamin Barrow, with sister ship Crusader (Lt-Cdr Maxwell) reconnoitring Belgian coast between Hayst and Blankenberge, and laying marks in preparation for shoot by battleship Venerable. Conditions misty. At 1515 steaming SE at 18kts, low water, Maori mined under starboard quarter, believed hit by German shore-fire and sank around 1600, 2 miles NW of Weilingen LV, near Zeebrugge (He - 51.21.1N, 03.06.9E), crew got away in their boats, Crusader lowered a boat but retired because of the intense shore fire, and left her boat behind; no lives lost in Maori, 7 officers, 87 ratings reached shore to become POW's, Crusader's boat crew also taken prisoner

(ADM.156/145, ADM.1/8420/124)

post-63666-0-43178900-1388178328_thumb.j

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When HMS Arabis was sunk in February 1916, Stoker Jesse Field became a PoW. He died in captivity November 1917 at Halmstadt Hospital & was buried in Hamburg Cemetery. He is on the CWGC register.

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Just a thought. With his service Peter Farrell should be entitled to a WW1 medal trio. These were not issued until c. 1920. If you check the RNR medal rolls under the column "How Issued or disposed of" there will be S for Self if he was still alive then. If not, then there will be details of who they were sent to with an IC number. The last two numbers, for example /18 is the year when the Admiralty was informed of his death.

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L F thanks for the additional info and photo every bit helps

Arabis thanks for the reply's

where can I check the RNR medal rolls as you have suggested are they accessible online ?

It seems a bit strange taken into account the conditions in some of the POW camps that all 94 of the crew of the Maori and the 13 crew from the Crusader

survived imprisonment and were repatriated after the war ( although not impossible)

It is also possible that Peter Farrell survived the war was repatriated and died at home shortly afterwards

his name put forward by family members for inclusion on the war memorial

There is a record of a Peter Farrell who died locally in 1920

but as Peter Farrell is a fairly common name and there was a couple of them residing in the locality around the war years I cannot be sure if if this record relates to the Peter Farrell concerned

would his service record give me any clues and can it be accessed or purchased online ?

Regards Ray

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.................................It is also possible that Peter Farrell survived the war was repatriated and died at home shortly afterwards

his name put forward by family members for inclusion on the war memorial

There is a record of a Peter Farrell who died locally in 1920

but as Peter Farrell is a fairly common name and there was a couple of them residing in the locality around the war years I cannot be sure if if this record relates to the Peter Farrell concerned ..............

Regards Ray

The Peter Farrell whose death was registered in Middlesbrough in 1920 was aged 32.

Does this help to identify him?

CGM

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The RNR medal rolls should be available on Ancestry, I don't have access though. In the case of Arabis, of the three officers & twenty-five ratings captured, only two died in captivity. Have you checked the other PoWs from Maori & Crusader to see if any of them are on the CWGC register?

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Stoker 4529/S (RNR) Peter Farrell's medals were issued to his son and there's an annotation 'I.C. 967/1920' which indicates he died in 1920 or before.

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Thanks GCM ,Arabis and Camania

initially all I had to go on was the following entry

post-45309-0-83173900-1388324073_thumb.j

All the clues provided, His age, son received his medals, death date ect

point to Peter as the following chap

Peter Farrell was the son of Peter a general labourer born Ireland and Mary Farrell

On the 1901 census he can be found residing with his parents and siblings at 7 Dacre StreetMiddlesbrough a schoolboy aged 13

He married Catherine McLauglin in 1908

Peter his wife “Cathie” and children Peter and John Edward can be found on the 1911 census residing at 21 Dacre Street Middlesbrough Peter employed as a shipyard labourer

His wife Catherine died in 1913 leaving him a widower

His pension papers show that he enlisted in the 9th Bn Yorkshire Regiment on 2nd Sept 1914 (Pte 11591 )

His enlistment papers show that he was a widower with two children Peter and John his address given as 39 Suffield Street Middlesbrough and his age as 25 and that he has served two periods of imprisonment once for gambling and once for being drunk

Peter was discharged not likely to be an efficient soldier on 5th October 1914 having served only 34 days

He enlisted into the Navy and was serving on the H.M.S Maori when the ship was mined and sunk on the 7th May 1915 Peter was taken as a prisoner of war and released from captivity,

Some time after the end of the war he returned home and died at home in 1920 aged 32

I shall have a look in the local newspaper to see if there is an orbituary which may confirm that I have the right Peter Farrell

regards Ray

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I have a group photograph of POWs including a stoker captured onboard HMS Maori on 7th May 1915:

311742 Acting Leading Stoker Walter Jubilee Dyer, RN.

He was held at Giessen, Hesse and Hameln Camps and repatriated after the war.

Mark

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Mark

Thanks for the info on the Pow camps I am sure Peter Farrell's Pow camp records would have mirrored Dyre's

regards Ray

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  • 11 months later...
Guest mackinnon68

It seems a bit strange taken into account the conditions in some of the POW camps that all 94 of the crew of the Maori and the 13 crew from the Crusader

survived imprisonment and were repatriated after the war ( although not impossible)

At least one member of the crew of HMS Maori did not survive the POW camps.

Engine Room Artificer David Garrett died at the Lazarett of Soltau POW camp on 4th of May at 10.15 am age 34 after receiving a stabwound to his spinal chord at Langener Moor branchcamp. If I remember right, he was bayonetted by a German guard after refusing to work. There is quite a bit of correspondence between the German and the British governments about his death at the NA, but I haven't seen it (e. g. NA FO 383/273).

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  • 2 years later...

I read a story saying that the yard arm was the only thing above the water so someone swam back for the flag.

A family member of mine was a stoker on there. He was in Giessen but got repatriated in 1919.

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