Luckiest man alive, in WW1, following explosion of

[Guest Pete Wood]

In a few months time, it will be the 90th anniversary of the tragic explosion onboard the Princess Irene, a minelayer moored on the Medway.

On the 27th May 1915 a massive explosion literally blew the Princess Irene into smithereens. The blast killed 278 officers and men onboard (including some 76 civilian workers). Two other civilians were also killed, on land, from the effects of the explosion which sent huge chunks of metal a distance of three miles or more in all directions.

Just one survivor, badly burnt, was found. His name was Stoker David Percy Wills, who was covered in thick black oil and barely alive, among the wreckage in the harbour of Port Victoria, on the Isle of Grain (Kent).

I am deeply grateful to Tony and his wife, Sally (nee Wills), who contacted me about her Grandfather David, the sole survivor of this catastrophe. Tony has been researching the story of the Princess Irene, and the effects it had on the Wills family - as David never received any compensation for his horrific injuries, and his subsequent early death.

Here, published on the web for the first time, are two exclusive pictures.

The first is of the Princess Irene, shot within an hour of the explosion. It was the last photo of the ship to be taken before the explosion, moored at Saltpan Reach......

[broken link removed]

[Guest Pete Wood]

This is a copy of the email I received from Tony, which he has kindly allowed me to reproduce, in honour of his wife's Grandfather. At the end is a picture of David Wills, taken in hospital in 1915, as he recovered from his injuries:

Many years ago when my wife first mentioned her grandfather was a soul survivor of a ship that was destroyed by an explosion I took little notice and just thought it was a long time ago and thought no more of it, but then

one day at one of the usual family gatherings the subject of the Princess

Irene came about.

It was then I found out that my father-in-law Mr Ronald

Wills was just five years of age when his father died and he knew very

little about his father or the tragedy that befell the Princess Irene. It

was then I decided to see what information I could find out about the event

that happened on the 27th May 1915, little did I know that I would become

enthralled with the subject of the Princess Irene but I 'd also embarked on

a journey of discovery. I would also like to write a book and of course

Princess Irene would play a major part but so many people are writing about

the same subject that I thought it would be nice not just to write about the

Irene but also the life of the man who survived the tragic event (David

Percy Wills).

Over the years that I've researched the Princess Irene I have met with some

marvellous people such as the man and his family who have dived on the

wreck, and at the port authorities request removed part of the wreckage as

it was causing a hazard to shipping. I have also been a guest of the

curator of the Chatham museum where both my father-in-law and myself held

part of the wreckage including the letter "E" from a name plate. An old lady

who I managed to trace from old newspaper cuttings has presented my

father-in-law with a shield that her husband had made from wreckage found on

the beach at Sheerness, we also have a plaque that was presented to my

father-in-law from the Medway port authorities and we had also tried to have

David Wills' name placed on the memorial at Sheerness but as you can imagine

because he survived this can't be done.

David Percy Wills had nine children, my father-in-law Ron being the youngest

is now the only one left and is now 73 years of age so in a way he is also a

soul survivor. Ron had a sister Irene obviously named after the ship but at

the age of nine she was killed in an accident with a coal lorry in the

Blackwall Tunnel, this also made her a place in the history books as she was

the first civillian to be killed in the Blackwall Tunnel.

David Percy Wills relived the horror of that day for the rest of his life after

the explosion that killed so many and was never awarded any form of pension

or compensation from the navy, so this is why I would like to write a book

about David Percy Wills and what happened to his life after this terrible

tragedy and the family he left behind who are so proud of him that hardly a

day goes past without his name being mentioned.

[bkristof]

I don't find the proper words...

marvelous stuff... unique!

[stiletto_33853]

Pete,

Great stuff, I remember reading an account of the explosion, written by a Rifle Brigade Officer, who was at Sheerness when this happened.

Please thank Tony and Sally for allowing you to put this on the forum.

Andy

[Jonathan Saunders]

Pete,

As you know the IRENE is one of those ships close to my heart - this is great stuff.

Have you seen the file on the IRENE at TNA/PRO? The file contained some photos, which Mick Mills (Michael) has digitally, one of which was taken seconds after the explosion.

Jon

[Guest Pete Wood]

Jon, I haven't seen that PRO file - but I was aware of the photo.

Sally's Father has an original/authorised copy of that photo, believed to have been taken from the same ship as the first photo above, which he was going to send me later this week.

Here is a really poor quality version of it.....

[Guest Pete Wood]

Great stuff, I remember reading an account of the explosion, written by a Rifle Brigade Officer, who was at Sheerness when this happened.

Andy, I believe this is the account of which you speak - written by WG Moore in 'Early Bird' which is here in blue. The rest of the text, in green, is a description, written by Martin Easdown (Jon, I've sent him copies of everything for his next book) in 'A Glint In The Sky.' My thanks to Martin for allowing me to reproduce this.

At Grain I saw the Princess Irene blow up, possibly the most spectacular event I have ever witnessed. The Princess Irene was a C.P.R. Liner converted for mine laying. She was chockfull of mines and was going out to sow there the next day. She was riding at anchor in Sheerness Harbour between our jetty and Port Victoria, only a few hundred yards out from the sea wall where I stood looking in her direction at the time. The whole thing was too awe-inspiring for me to appreciate the horror of it immediately. It started with stabs of flame spurting up from her deck from stem to stern, then a colossal roar, and everything was hurled into the air – a column of smoke then went up, up, up spreading out to a mushroom head at about 1,200 fret. Papers and light debris were picked up seven miles down-wind. The force of such an explosion seems to work in a parabolic curve and I was too close to get the full strength of the blast. I was blown on to my back but not stunned. The aeroplane hangar doors on the aerodrome behind me were all blown in and pieces of plate from the ship's side were found half a mile away in due marshes beyond the aerodrome. The oil storage tanks at Port Victoria were burst open and leaking as if they had been shelled. The Air Station launch, with its crew on board, was lying off our slipway so 1 hailed it and went with the Station Engineer Officer straight out to the scene of the disaster to see if we could pick up any survivors. We were the first launch there, but there was absolutely nothing to be found. There might never have been a ship there at all, save for the flotsam and oil. She had just disintegrated and sunk. As far as I know there were no survivors [that's not quite right, as we now know]. Some of the crew were lucky. They were crossing the harbour in their liberty boat from shore leave in Sheerness when she blew up. There were rumours, of course, that the explosion was due to foul play – a time bomb, the work of a German spy. Others said the mines were being very carelessly primed by inexperienced ratings. Who is to know, she took her secret with her.

Thousands of fragments of the ship and its contents, including the men aboard, littered the area for miles around. The Medway Towns were showered with pieces of furniture, naval caps, boiler suits, books and paper, even flesh, and a box of the ship's butter landed 6 miles inland from Rainham. A human head was found in a pond at Hartlip and another of a naval officer, complete with hat, was discovered at Grain. The body of a naval lieutenant was also found there with his gold rank stripes torn from his uniform and covering his face. Yet the saddest aspect of the disaster was the death of nine-year-old Ida Barden, who was killed by a piece of metal plate, which struck her in the head as she was playing in a garden at Grain. Labourer George Bradley (47) was also a casualty: he dropped dead in a field at Home Farm, Grain.

[stiletto_33853]

Pete,

Quite a eye witness account of the explosion,I will have to go through the books i have recently read as I am sure there was another account somewhere as that one does not ring any bells. The account I am thinking of does not go into such detail.

There is also a piece in the Local papers on this incident as there was some minor damage here as a result of the explosion (Sheerness is approx 7-8 miles away, virtually opposite us in the Thames Estuary).

Sheerness certainly had its fair share, what with HMS Bulwark, Princess Irene in WW1 and the Richard Montgomery in WW2 (Liberty ship) the wreck of which still contains tons of explosive and can be seen at low water.

Andy

[stiletto_33853]

Pete,

Found it thanks to a friend, its not as long as i thought but it is in the book Big Game, Boers & Boches by Lt. Col. V. Prescott Westcarr

"One day while watching recruits exercise near Queensborough I saw the liner, the Princess Irene, full fo mines, blow up at her moorings. It was a dreadful sight and some of her debris was picked up over seven miles away. Not a man on the ship survived."

Andy

[Guest]

the children David Percy Wills had were Anne Wills who was my mother her sisters Dolly ,Irene ,Eddie ,Florrie, Kate, and brothers George,  Dave ,Ron,

[Ricki Wenn]

My Gt Grandfather was William Rider, the stoker that pulled David Wills from the water.  I would love to get in touch with any family of David Wills. Ricki.wen

[DavidOwen]

10 hours ago, Ricki Wenn said:

My Gt Grandfather was William Rider, the stoker that pulled David Wills from the water.  I would love to get in touch with any family of David Wills. Ricki.wen

Welcome to the forum Ricki

I have removed your email to lessen the likelihood of it being scraped by spammers. Once you have made 2 posts you can access the forum private messaging system. Click on a user's name and select message (the envelope icon).

Regards

David

[Ricki Wenn]

On 03/08/2019 at 09:02, DavidOwen said:

Welcome to the forum Ricki

I have removed your email to lessen the likelihood of it being scraped by spammers. Once you have made 2 posts you can access the forum private messaging system. Click on a user's name and select message (the envelope icon).

Regards

David

Thanks David

 

do you have any contact details for David Wills family still?  
Ricki

[DavidOwen]

Ricki

 

I suggest you send a Private Message to Dennis (above).

 

Regards

 

David

[Ricki Wenn]

On 07/10/2019 at 07:47, DavidOwen said:

Ricki

 

I suggest you send a Private Message to Dennis (above).

 

Regards

 

David

 

I cant see anyone called Dennis, who are you referring too?

[DavidOwen]

 

9 hours ago, Ricki Wenn said:

 

I cant see anyone called Dennis, who are you referring too?

 

 

I suspect it was the member now named as "Guest" which unfortunately means they are no longer a member of the forum and now cannot be contacted.