Seaman W. J. T. Sizer, Royal Naval Reserve, who was killed in action when the cruiser H.M.S. Cressy Sept 1914

[Robuk88]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone could help me. I recently bought a set of medals to William John Thomas Sizer who was KIA September 1914 however the star is a 14-15 star rather than the ‘Mons’ star. What would the reason for this be? Thank you in advance.

 

William John Thomas Sizer was born in Deal, Kent, on 9 July 1884 and enrolled into the Royal Naval Reserve on 4 January 1908. Called up for War service on 2 August 1914, he served during the Great War with the cruiser H.M.S. Cressy, and was killed in action when the Cressy - along with her sister ships Aboukir and Hogue, part of the 7th Cruiser Squadron engaged in blockade and patrol duties - were all torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea by the German submarine U-9 on 22 September 1914. The Aboukir was the first to be hit, at 06:20; her captain thought that she had struck a mine and ordered the other two ships to close in order to transfer his wounded men. The Aboukir quickly began listing and capsized, sinking at 06:50. Having approached, stopped, and lowered her boats, Hogue was struck by two torpedoes at 06:55 as she was attempting to rescue the survivors. She capsized and sank within twenty minutes. Cressy meanwhile attempted to ram the submarine, but did not hit anything and resumed her rescue efforts until she too was torpedoed at 07:20. She too took on a heavy list and then capsized before sinking at 07:55. Total losses from the three ships were 62 officers and 1,397 men killed. Sizer is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial.

[KizmeRD]

The 1914 Star was issued to those who actually served in France or Belgium on the establishment of a unit landed for service on shore between 5 August and midnight 22/23 November 1914.

Sizer served at sea, so qualified instead for the 1914/15 Star.

MB

[Robuk88]

8 minutes ago, KizmeRD said:

The 1914 Star was issued to those who actually served in France or Belgium on the establishment of a unit landed for service on shore between 5 August and midnight 22/23 November 1914.

Sizer served at sea, so qualified instead for the 1914/15 Star.

MB

Thank you for this information. I never knew it didn’t apply to the Royal Navy at sea. Great to learn something new everyday.

[horatio2]

As a strange coincidence, one naval man who did qualify for the 1914 Star (and Clasp), as described by @KizmeRD, was:-

Private William SIZER RMLI who served with Portsmouth Battalion RND and was taken POW at the Defence of Antwerp. Possibly the father (Born 1864) of  William John Thomas (Born 1884)?

Edited 3 August , 2023 by horatio2

[Robuk88]

31 minutes ago, horatio2 said:

As a strange coincidence, one naval man who did qualify for the 1914 Star (and Clasp), as described by @KizmeRD, was:-

Private William SIZER RMLI who served with Portsmouth Battalion RND and was taken POW at the Defence of Antwerp. Possibly the father (Born 1864) of  William John Thomas (Born 1884)?

Wow I’ll have to try dig further into that. A coincidence indeed. Thank you for this.