Slingo Posted 5 May , 2019 Share Posted 5 May , 2019 Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, A cousin of my great grandma, also related to Hugh Alexander Littleton, DSO ( his sister married Hugh's brother ), RNVR , commander of ML 526/ Zeebrugge Raid, served on PEMBROKE I in 1917. Otto Algernon Knight, born 1891 was in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. The form shows under "Date and period of Engagements" : 10 January 1917 Hostilities ( what does that mean - a skirmish , low level encounter ?) HMS Pembroke was an older vessel, formerly known as HMS Trent / a coastal defence gun boat, Medina - class - type. The form does not give any military rank - where will I find out his rank ? Does anyone know the service record of HMS Pembroke I ( why is it called No. I in the form ? ). Thanks for your kind help in advance. kind regards Gunther Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaJane Posted 5 May , 2019 Share Posted 5 May , 2019 (edited) In brief, PEMBROKE I was a shore establishment ("stone frigate"), one of several similar accounting bases (other numbered Pembrokes) which dealt with the administrative side of men borne on the motor launches. Edited 5 May , 2019 by seaJane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiegeGunner Posted 6 May , 2019 Share Posted 6 May , 2019 'Hostilities' means for the duration of the war from the date of enlistment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horatio2 Posted 6 May , 2019 Share Posted 6 May , 2019 (edited) 9 hours ago, Slingo said: Otto Algernon Knight, born 1891 was in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He actually served as an Ordinary Seaman (Ord) in the Royal Navy, Official No. J.65088. The notation "FORMERLY RNVR Y.4555" at the top of his record indicates that he was recruited at an earlier date and was placed in the RNVR 'Y' branch until he was called forward to start his RN engagement on 10 January 1917. During this earlier notional RNVR time he would have continued his civilian employment. There are no records for RNVR 'Y' branch. He qualified for Victory and British War medals but he never claimed them. He would have undergone initial training in the barracks at Chatham (HMS PEMBROKE), returning there for discharge invalided after his service in HMS PATROL. The former HMS TRENT was the Nominal Ship when re-named PEMBROKE. Shore establishments were not commissioned so had to have a actual ship in commission to which (nominally) officers and men were appointed and drafted so as to be subject to the Naval Discipline Act. Siege Gunner has explained "Hostilities". Normally a man enlisting as a seaman (with a 'J' prefix Official No.) would join on a 12-year Continuous Service (CS) engagement. However, during WW1 the RN allowed men to enlist for the duration of the war. Their 'Engagement" box was annotated "Hostilities" rather than "12 Years". Edited 6 May , 2019 by horatio2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slingo Posted 6 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 6 May , 2019 Dear Ladies and gentlemen, Thank you very much for your kind help. Now I better understand how things were then. My 4th cousin she will be delighted, too. herzliche Grüße, Slingo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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