British gunboats on Belgian Yser river?

[Felix C]

Found this photo on Ebay. Any additional information is welcome please on how many, armament, service. 

 

 

Edited 26 April , 2023 by Felix C

[aconnolly]

Felix - no idea of accuracy of this statement but from : 

Title: The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of 12)
       The War Begins, Invasion of Belgium, Battle of the Marne. Editor: Francis J. Reynolds, Allen L. Churchill, and Francis Trevelyan
Miller  Release Date: April 19, 2006  [eBook #18213]

"Three British barges equipped with naval machine guns
entered the River Yser in order to cooperate in the fighting. These
boats took the two villages Lombaertzyde and St. Georges."

[horatio2]

I assume that the operations were those associated with the Belgian Army’s attempt to hold the line to the east o f the River Yser, just to the south of Nieuport, in mid-late October 1914.

If these are, indeed, RN machine gun parties in the three “gun boats” or “barges” they would have qualified for the RN issue of the 1914 Star. One officer and 31 men of machine gun parties landed from the monitors HM Ships SEVERN, MERSEY and HUMBER on 20 October 1914 did so qualify. Also qualifying for the Star were six naval ratings based for “Special Service" at Nieuport but, except for one leading boatman, they were all petty officer signalmen or telegraphists, clearly a shore comms party, and they can be discounted. My first assumption was, therefore, that the image depicts men of the machine gun parties landed from the monitors.

The operations of the MG party are noted in the WW1 Naval History :- 

[Oct. 20, 1914 – BELGIAN OUTPOSTS LOST] 

“So threatening was the German pressure on the Nieuport front that the Belgians had begged for a machine-gun detachment to work with them ashore. Twenty men [sic. 31 per 1914 Star Roll] from the monitors, under Lieutenant Wise, R.N., of the Severn, were therefore landed early in the morning. The Germans were attacking Lombartzyde from Westende, and were also working round it from the direction of Slype down the Canal. To check this movement Lieutenant Wise was requested to occupy Bamburg Farm, and with his detachment he proceeded straight across the fields towards it. Before he could arrive the Germans had forestalled him. In vain the troops in the neighboring trenches shouted a warning. It was not understood; the detachment continued to advance in the open till it was fifty yards from the Farm, when the Germans suddenly opened fire. Lieutenant Wise was killed almost instantly, and in a few minutes the detachment was destroyed. (The Times Correspondent, October 20. Five men were reported wounded and six missing.)

The loss of the Farm decided the fate of Lombartzyde. From the new German position its streets could be enfiladed. The Belgians who were holding it had to retire on the supports that were sent forward, and message after message reached the [RN] squadron [lying just off-shore] urging an increase of fire. The ships closed in to half a mile and the shooting was reported good, but by 5.0 p.m. all ammunition had been expended, and the Belgians began an orderly retirement on Nieuport, which the Germans did not venture to follow.” 

I suppose it is possible that some of Lt Wise’s party manned the “gun boats” in the image but I have found nothing to support this. The gunboats employment in support of the actions around Lombartzyde and Bamburg Farm is problematic, those locations lying about a mile east of the Yser, not close to the canal/river complex. The identity of those ‘gunboats/barges’ remains unknown. The extract posted by @aconnolly does not ring true - unless someone has better evidence.

 

[Felix C]

Thanks Gentlemen. Always appreciate.

[michaeldr]

An interesting photograph, but very difficult to authenticate the typed note on the back 
(which may have been made by the American agency, rather than the photographer himself [?])
Are those British RN uniforms?
Is that a 6-pounder gun? 

[Felix C]

[Felix C]

Not sure if the photo just posted above is relevant to the one in the OP. Searched for Yser gunboat.

[horatio2]

It is certaimly not a MG-armed boat but most likely a gun 's crew of a destroyer in the off-shore bombardment squadron.

[KizmeRD]

Have just been re-reading  Keble Chatterton’s book ‘The Auxiliary Patrol’, and at the back of the book in Appendix II there is the story of three Thorneycroft built motor boats sent to the French and Belgium waterways - they proceeded to Dunkirk mid-December 1914, thence to Nieuport and remained in theatre up until the Spring of 1915 (after which they were relocated to the Dardanelles). The three motorboats were named as PENELOPE (MB No. 201), MARY ROSE III (MB No. 202) & DOROTHEA (MB No. 202) and were originally ordered for the Ottoman Navy. They were manned by members of the Motor Boat Reserve.

See photo of DOROTHEA below…

See also http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/tfs/index.php/Cresswell_John_Eyres

MB

Edited 28 April , 2023 by KizmeRD

[horatio2]

Good find @KizmeRD.

Their arrival on station in December 1914 explains why their crews do not appear on the 1914 Star Roll (cut-off date 22 November).

Chatterton does not give any detail on their employment at Nieuport and they do not get a mention in the RN Official History.

 

[KizmeRD]

The commanding officer of the gunboats (retired Rear Admiral Cresswell John Eyres DSO RN - serving as Captain RNR) was quite a remarkable character. After the canals of Flanders he became a beach-master at Gallipoli, then having once again been retired from the navy (albeit this time from the RNR), he went off to the War Office and (on the strength of having been a former Gunnery Officer) got himself appointed as a Major in the Royal Artillery, becoming CO of 155 (East Cheshire) Heavy Battery at Vimy Ridge (1917).

MB

Edited 27 April , 2023 by KizmeRD

[michaeldr]

9 hours ago, KizmeRD said:

The commanding officer of the gunboats (retired Rear Admiral Cresswell John Eyres DSO RN - serving as Captain RNR) was quite a remarkable character.

A remarkable character indeed! Thank you for pointing him out. There's a potted biography of him here https://www.noonans.co.uk/auctions/archive/past-catalogues/274/catalogue/229797/?keywords=Eyres&x=11&y=6 though I don't think that the weapon seen in the original opening post's photograph matches [quote ‘it was not long before he was firing at the Germans with a 4.7in. gun from barges in the Flanders canals’.]

[KizmeRD]

There is no way such small motor boats could mount and fire a 4.7” gun. The best they could mount would have been a 3pdr plus Maxims.

I came across a funny story involving Cresswell Eyres when onboard ship in Southampton Docks prior to his departure to the western front with the RGA. The King turned up unexpectedly and came aboard, causing quite a stir. However, after a busy day loading ship, Eyres had retired to his cabin and came up deck in soiled clothing, looking rather disheveled - unperturbed he saluted the King and the two men then proceeded to have a long and friendly conversation, both addressing each other on first name terms (much to the astonishment of his fellow army officers who were unaware that Eyres had previously been ADC to the King).

MB

[Felix C]

Thanks everyone. I am guessing these Thorneycroft armed launches were popular export items one reads of their use by the Ottomans in Mesopotamia. 

[KizmeRD]

11 hours ago, Felix C said:

Thanks everyone. I am guessing these Thorneycroft armed launches were popular export items one reads of their use by the Ottomans in Mesopotamia. 

As I understand it, the Ottoman navy placed orders in 1911 to J.I. Thornycroft, Woolston, first for 10 sixty-foot motorboats (Yard Nos 576-585: 31.5.1911) followed by a second order for 13 more (Yard Nos 598-610) and a follow-up order for one more (Yard No. 652: 15.6.1911). Not all entered service with the navy, a few got taken for use by Ministry of Interior). I presume that the PENELOPE, MARY ROSE & DOROTHEA (being the names of Cresswell Eyres’s daughters) must have been part of a later order that didn’t get delivered due to the war.

MB

Edited 28 April , 2023 by KizmeRD
Yard numbers added.

[horatio2]

Abit of a diversion from Belgium to the MEF but hopefully of interest.

6 hours ago, KizmeRD said:

I presume that the PENELOPE, MARY ROSE & DOROTHEA (being the names of Cresswell Eyres’s daughters) must have been part of a later order that didn’t get delivered due to the war.

Confirmed by CHATTRERTON's Appendix III (p.220):

"...DOROTHEA was destroyed by fire as early as July 1915 ... It is interesting and amusing to note that MARY ROSE and PENELOPE, which had been built on behalf of the Turkish Government, were actually employed, owing to the fortunes of war, against the Turks."

 PENELOPE (MB.201) and MARY ROSE (MB.202) are listed as having Admiralty Nos. 4327 and 4328 but for DOROTHEA (MB.203) an Admiralty No.is not recorded. However, no name is listed against Admiralty No. 4330 so that may have been DOROTHEA.

Naval-history.net records -  World War 1 at Sea - Royal Navy Vessels Lost and Damaged, Wednesday 21 July 1915:-

"DOROTHEA, naval motor boat, ex-high speed pleasure motor boat, 33grt, 60ft, 11kts, hired 1914, serving with Motor Boat Reserve as HM Motor Boat No 203, 2-3pdrs, also rifles/small arms, manned by RNVR crew, reached Mudros around now as deck cargo, due to serve with flotilla of six motor boats carrying out local patrol duties off Turkish coast including Smyrna (Izmir) area, Lt Henry Holloway RNVR in command. Probably destroyed before she went into action, taking on fuel, spillage and explosion, burnt out; no lives lost (+D/He/ap/dk; ADM.137/775)"

Also recorded in the 21 July log of HMS BEN-MY-CHREE at Iero Bay   -   https://www.naval-history.net/OWShips-WW1-04-HMS_Ben-my-Chree.htm

 

[KizmeRD]

Thanks for the additional information. These boats were sent to Dardanelles following WO request for motor boats for the MEF (MT 23/449/17). They had paraffin fuelled engines.

Coincidentally Capt. Cresswell Eyres RNR (now 1st RND) was also present at Gallipoli, arriving via Marseilles aboard SS Caledonia July 1915. Transferred on arrival to HMS EUROPA for duties as beach master.

MB