HMS Seagull with German Sailors on board. Occassion? Help wanted, please!

[GreyC]

Hi,

I got this photo of HMS Seagull. She was a Sharpshooter-class torpedo gunboat of the British Royal Navy and built at Chatham Dockyard from 1888–1891. She was converted to a minesweeper in 1908–1909 and continued these duties during the First World War. Seagull was sunk in a collision with SS Corribb in the Firth of Clyde on 30 September 1918. On the photo you can see part of the British crew in seemingly friendly co-existance with members of different units of the German Navy, among them artillerists, minesweeper and at least one of a larger vessel. As there are also civilians on the photo, it seems that the photo was taken during peacetime, probably during a visit of HMS Seagull to a German port or during the visit of German vessels somewhere in Britain, though this seems less likely due to the mix of units the German sailors represent.

Can anybody of you identify the occassion at which this photo was taken?

Thank you!

GreyC

[PRC]

Not an area where I claim any expertise, but having researched a few men on local memorials who died in small boat actions, and having sailed the North Sea, I have always been a bit amazed at the open bridge design of such British Navy craft in the Great War. So what caught my eye was the enclosed bridge. A quick check online for images of both the Seagull and the other five members of her class still in use by the outbreak of the Great War and I couldn't find any showing an enclosed bridge - but may simply have been looking in the wrong places, and of course many of the pictures are undated. I quick look at sources like Wiki for Seagull, Skipjack and Sharpshooter gives no hint of a remodelling to include an enclosed bridge.

 

Hopefully someone with a lot more knowledge will come along shortly, as I would like to know too :-)

 

Cheers,

Peter

[GreyC]

Hi Peter,

thank you for your contribution. Maybe it has got something to do with its conversion to a minesweeper... Let´s hope someone here knows and is willing to share...

GreyC

[michaeldr]

9 hours ago, GreyC said:

HMS Seagull. She was a Sharpshooter-class torpedo gunboat of the British Royal Navy and built at Chatham Dockyard from 1888–1891.

There is a photograph of Seagull on this page http://www.navypedia.org/ships/uk/brit_dd_sharpshooter.htm 

scroll down to foot of page

 

[GreyC]

Thank you!

The bridge seems to have been altered, as it looks different in comparison to my photo.

GreyC

[KizmeRD]

Could be a visit by German sailors to Portsmouth during the period of the Fleet Review for the Coronation of George V in June 1911???

 

[charlie2]

Hi GreyC

Can you read any of the German cap-tallies? I think I can make out 2 different ones, one of which looks to start with S.M.S.

 

Charlie

[GreyC]

Hi Charlie,

As I stated in my first post, at least one is from a naval artillery unit (note the Kaiserpreis patch on the arm), one seems to be from a minesweeping-flottila and I, too, think, that one of them serves on a ship with SMS prefix. However the photo is not sharp enough to decipher the rest. Most of them seem to wear the cap-tallies of Matrosen_Artillerieabt. But this is more a guess based on the length and spacing of the cap-tallies.

Sorry not to be of more help.

GreyC