Chunkeroo Posted 14 April , 2006 Share Posted 14 April , 2006 Hello I will admit I'm pretty ignorant about the Navy during WW1. I have been tracing soldiers from my village who took part in WW1 and I have come across Charles Pratley who joined the Navy in 1910. I have his service record which I downloaded from the National Archives, which shows he was on HMS Pyramus in 1915. I know he got married on Robben Island, S. Afica in 1917 and died in 1926 in Simonstown. Can any body tell me why he might be on Robben Island? Also why did his service seem to end in 1915 when the war was still on? Regards Clare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted 14 April , 2006 Share Posted 14 April , 2006 HMS Pyramus, Pelorous Class, Third Class Protected Cruiser. Built Palmer, Jarrow, laid down May 1896, completed 1900. These small cruisers where reasonably armed for their size, but they were never expected to serve with the battle fleet even when new. They spent their careers on overseas stations primarily for colonial 'police' type work. Length: 313ft 6in Beam: 36ft 6in Draught: 16ft Displacement: 2,135 tons load. Propulsion: 2 shaft TE engines, 5,000 hp, 18.5 knots Trials: 7,303 hp = 20.7 knots Armour: 0.25in gun shields, 2-1.5in decks Armament: 8 x 4in QF (8 x 1), 8 x 3 pounder QF (8 x 1), 2 x 18in TT Crew: 224. World War 1 Service: 1914 New Zealand. 1915 Persian Gulf and East Indies. 1915 Depot ship Mudros. 1920 sold for scrap. Cheers, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted 14 April , 2006 Share Posted 14 April , 2006 Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela was imprisioned. I'm not really sure what was going on there during the First World War. Cheers, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunkeroo Posted 14 April , 2006 Author Share Posted 14 April , 2006 Cheers Tim Gives me loads to go on with. I have found out Robben Island was a prison island, a bit like Alcatraz, but wondered if it used as a hospital during the war. I have contacted Robben Island museum but have not had a reply as yet. Clare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAAAEd Posted 14 April , 2006 Share Posted 14 April , 2006 Hello I will admit I'm pretty ignorant about the Navy during WW1. I have been tracing soldiers from my village who took part in WW1 and I have come across Charles Pratley who joined the Navy in 1910. I have his service record which I downloaded from the National Archives, which shows he was on HMS Pyramus in 1915. I know he got married on Robben Island, S. Afica in 1917 and died in 1926 in Simonstown. Can any body tell me why he might be on Robben Island? Also why did his service seem to end in 1915 when the war was still on? Regards Clare I seemed to recall Robben Island as being a prison or some such and the following confirms and also may give some clue as to your man's early death. http://www.freedom.co.za/history3.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunkeroo Posted 14 April , 2006 Author Share Posted 14 April , 2006 Hi Petrol Pigeon Thanks for the link. I have emailed from the site with my query. Hope I get some positive feedback. Clare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbluesboy Posted 14 April , 2006 Share Posted 14 April , 2006 Hi Clare.Simonstown was the Royal Naval Base Depot and dockyard used by th Royal Navy and is still used by the modern South African Navy as a naval base and home port.It was South Africa,s equivelant of Portsmouth or Plymouth. Seem to remember Robben Island was originally part of this base although what it was used for I do not exactly know.Its Royal Navy base was called HMS Afrikander.Regards Bob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunkeroo Posted 14 April , 2006 Author Share Posted 14 April , 2006 Cheers Bob Maybe I should check out Simonstown instead. Perhaps it was the bride who lived on Robben Island. Clare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbluesboy Posted 14 April , 2006 Share Posted 14 April , 2006 Hi Clare what Ships and bases was he at,is HMS Afrikander there? Bob. Cheers Bob Maybe I should check out Simonstown instead. Perhaps it was the bride who lived on Robben Island. Clare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunkeroo Posted 14 April , 2006 Author Share Posted 14 April , 2006 Hi Bob Last known ship was HMS Pyramus in 1915. That's the puzzle! I don't know what he did between then getting married in 1917 on Robben Island Clare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 14 April , 2006 Share Posted 14 April , 2006 can u post the service record in sections so that we can have a look? There might be some clues there which could help piece together the mystery for u. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunkeroo Posted 15 April , 2006 Author Share Posted 15 April , 2006 I have been fiddling about for ages trying to upload the document image but it's too big. As it's in pdf format the easiest thing would be for me to email it to you direct. You can contact me at claremayo@gmail.com. Or maybe you know how I can add it direct to the forum. Clare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 17 April , 2006 Share Posted 17 April , 2006 Clare, He was discharged from the Navy for incompetence (what a shame they didn’t apply the same rules to admirals or the army with generals). He must have been really bad to be dismissed from Pyramus in the early days of the Gallipoli campaign! He was not transferred or taken on by any other branches of the navy so I suspect that he was in South Africa as a civilian by the time of his marriage. He was probably discharged there, as Pyramus was serving in the Persian Gulf and East Indies in 1915. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunkeroo Posted 17 April , 2006 Author Share Posted 17 April , 2006 Cheers for that! Not sure whether the info was welcome or not! I am writing a book about the men from my village who took part in WW1. I came across Charles by accident. He seems to have been a bit of a black sheep according to his neice. He never came home again and not much was said about him in the family. Maybe I'll leave him out, in case I upset someone. Clare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christine liava'a Posted 17 April , 2006 Share Posted 17 April , 2006 Clare , Was he on the Pyramus in August 1914? If so, he took part in the invasion of Samoa by British (mainly NZ) forces. Christine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 17 April , 2006 Share Posted 17 April , 2006 HMS Pyramus3rd class cruiser. Stationed in New Zealand at the outbreak of war, he was aboard when the ship took part in the capture of Western Samoa, and when it escorted the ANZAC convoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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