Chief Stoker Harry Stephens No. 171293

[Phil The Badger]

Hello folks,

 

I'm in the process of tracing my family tree and have recently discovered that my great-grandfather Harry Stephens was in the Royal Navy, No. 171293, from 1893 until demobilised in 1919 and then again from 1921 until his death in 1922.

 

He served on a number of ships from 1893, including as Chief Stoker on HMS Eurylas from 30th July 1914 - 9th August 1917.

 

I am looking for any information that I have been unable to decipher from the records I obtained from the National Archives which I have attempted to transfer into a text file and a PDF.

 

I hope that somebody might find this interesting and that there may be somebody on hear that can enlighten me on any mistakes I have made and what his life as a stoker might have been like.

 

I would also dearly like to know more about the action HMS Eurylas saw at Cape Helles.

 

My mother, his granddaughter was always told by her mother that he died of a shrapnel wound caused by the ship he was aboard being torpedoed. From what little I can find on google it would appear that none of the ships he served on suffered a torpedo hit. So this could be completely false. Harry Stephens wife Mable, my great-grandmother, said little if anything about Harry's experiences in the Navy and in her last years was deeply traumatised by any loud bangs, thunder, etc. believing that this was the fire from ships offshore.

 

I would be deeply indebted to anyone that can help or would enjoy reading my great-grandfather's service history.

 

With best regards,

 

Phil.

 

Harry Stephens Royal Navy Service Record.txt 

 

 

Harry Stephens Royal Navy Service Record.pdf

[Phil The Badger]

Please excuse my spelling of HMS Euryalus in the previous post - it's been a long day in front of a screen!

[ARABIS]

Welcome to the Forum Phil.

Supr., is Superior which refers to his ability in his rating, i.e., his skill at his job.

RMG is Recommended for Medal & Gratuity. This refers to the Royal Naval Long Service & Good Conduct Medal. If after 12 years of annual character of not less than VG [Very Good] then the medal & gratuity was awarded when 15 years was reached, provided that the VG had been kept up.

 

Yes for Seal & Ceres.

 

Sub Ratings.

T.M. Trained Man. Not J.M.

S.M. Stoker Mechanic.

Dr. Possibly Diver.

 

The unreadable before Pembroke 25/4/21 is Joined R.F.R. [Royal Fleet Reserve] 20 Jan 15. Ch. A. 2?31 which his RFR Official Number. Ch., for Chatham & A for Class A [Men in receipt of a life pension from the Royal Navy].

 

ARABIS.

[Phil The Badger]

Oh thank you so much! For the kind welcome and all the information.

 

I have felt a total mix of emotions today learning more about a man whose blood runs in my veins. 

 

What would (Seal) stand for do you think?

 

I will make the necessary alterations to my document.

 

Many thanks once again,

 

Phil.

[ARABIS]

Glad to help a little with the hard work you have already done.

 

Seal was a destroyer which was a tender to Actaeon and Boadicea II. This means he actually served in Seal which was administered by the depot ships Actaeon at Sheerness & Boadicea II at Holyhead for the dates shown in his service record.

 

ARABIS.

 

[Phil The Badger]

That makes sense now, thank you.

 

So I presume that would have been: "H.M.S. Seal was one of twenty-four "B" class destroyers built for the Royal Navy — a "30 knotter". " http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/H.M.S._Seal_(1897)

 

I phoned my mum a little while ago and read her your kind response to my first post and she was gobsmacked with the information.

 

She said that her mother (Harry's daughter) referred to her father as being a skilled and capable man. 

 

Best regards,

 

Phil.

[ARABIS]

2 hours ago, Phil The Badger said:

That makes sense now, thank you.

 

So I presume that would have been: "H.M.S. Seal was one of twenty-four "B" class destroyers built for the Royal Navy — a "30 knotter". " http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/H.M.S._Seal_(1897)

 

I phoned my mum a little while ago and read her your kind response to my first post and she was gobsmacked with the information.

 

She said that her mother (Harry's daughter) referred to her father as being a skilled and capable man. 

 

Best regards,

 

Phil.

 

Yes Phil, that's the HMS Seal he served in.

[Lawryleslie]

That’s one impressive Service Record. As a matter of interest I spent 34 years in the Royal Navy and also served on HMS Bulwark in 1973-74 and HMS Antelope 1979-82 including the Falklands conflict. Your Great Grandfather and I have something in common.

 

One thing that does intrigue me is his promotion directly from Leading Stoker to Acting Chief Stoker thus completely skipping the rank of Stoker Petty Officer 🤔 Also I’m not sure there was a rank of Ldg Stoker 2Cl or second class. The class 2  only referred to the basic rank of Stoker. One explanation is that it is Ldg Stoker LCL meaning Local. This would mean he was given the rank locally on board his ship to fill a temporary vacancy. However it is unlikely he would have held the local rank for three years on possibly 5 or 6 different ships and establishments. I’m sure there are experts on early Naval ratings system who can explain these conundrums.

 

In the " Character" column he is described as VG obviously Very Good. Later on in his records, in this column from June 09, he is also given an "Ability" assessment of SAT, VG, or SUPR (Satisfactory, Very Good or Superior).  Later RN ratings service records included separate columns for Character and Ability Assessment. This system of assessment was still used when I left the RN in 2003 except 2 other levels of ability assessment of MOD (Moderate) and EXCP (Exceptional) were used.

Edited 14 February , 2018 by Lawryleslie

[Phil The Badger]

Thank you for the information Lawryleslie - your input and expertise is very gratefully received. 

 

There is so much intrigue with his side of the family, which includes a child his wife had that nobody knows anything about yet is detailed on the 1911 Census.....

 

It has been such a pleasure to connect with Harry, on some levels, and to get an insight into the man, his character and his profession. 

 

I've been reading and researching his ships involvement with Cape Helles and I have been astonished about the level of information still available including his ships role and position during the landings.

 

Best regards,

 

Phil.