Simon Furnell Posted 16 October , 2003 Share Posted 16 October , 2003 Evening all. I recently went back to one of my local churchyards,to look up a man from the R.M.L.I. that i had spotted,quite some time ago. He was PO/18488 Private James Fredrick Ayres,and he died on the 31.1.19. He was a local man,from Donnington,near Newbury,Berks. His ship/base is named as H.M.S St Vincent. Does anyone out there know which type H.M.S St Vincent was,land base or vessel? His date of death was the thing that really caught my eye. There was a VAD in the local area,no more than a mile and a half from his front door,so i do wonder if he may have died of wounds. Many thanks,in advance. Regards. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmac Posted 16 October , 2003 Share Posted 16 October , 2003 St Vincent was a St Vincent class dreadnought completed in May 1910 at Portsmouth. 10 x 12", 18 x 4" guns. Complement 800+. Speed 21 knots. Displacement c. 21,000 tons. 1914 1st Battle Squadron, Grand Fleet. 1916 Jutland 1917 4th Battle Squadron 1919 Turret Drill Ship 1919 Sold 1921 Scrapped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 16 October , 2003 Share Posted 16 October , 2003 After the demise of the ship the name, HMS St Vincent, was used from 1927 to 1969 for Forton Barracks, Gosport, Hants - a Boys' Training Establishment. The name was again revived 1983-92 for the WRNS Accommodation at Queens Gate Terrace, London and yet again 1992-98 for the Whitehall Communications Centre. You can't keep a good name down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Furnell Posted 19 October , 2003 Author Share Posted 19 October , 2003 Many thanks for the information,Bmac and Terry. Fancy a boy from a little,landlocked,village,ending up on a major battleship. One to follow up,i think. Many thanks again. Regards. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Saunders Posted 19 October , 2003 Share Posted 19 October , 2003 Simon, If you want to know wat St Vincent looked like there are several photos of her sister ship, HMS Vanguard under Battles and Campaigns (look for July 1917) on the following link: http://www.gwpda.org/naval/n0000000.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 21 October , 2003 Share Posted 21 October , 2003 Fancy a boy from a little,landlocked,village,ending up on a major battleship. Not as rare as we might think, Simon. One of my memorials remembers 19 year old Stanley Grummitt, killed when HM Trawler Thomas Cornwall collided with another vessel on 29/10/18. And Cheadle Hulme doesnt even have a decent fishmongers let alone a tradition of sea-faring. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Furnell Posted 22 October , 2003 Author Share Posted 22 October , 2003 Hello John. That is one of the reasons why Private Ayres interests me. My dads uncle,and my godfather,was a Royal Marine gunner on H.M.S Howe, a quite,large,British battleship,with 16 inch guns,in the Pacific during WW2. His village is about 11 miles further in-land from Private Ayres's village of Donnington,Southampton being our nearest port. Yet we are all seaside addicts in our family. I once knew an ex-Royal Marine from WW2,who later worked on special ops in Yugoslavia,and his home address was Cowley,Oxfordshire. Very dry feet!! All the best. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penfold Posted 13 February , 2020 Share Posted 13 February , 2020 He was on the ship at the Battle of Jutland. https://www.jutlandcrewlists.org/st-vincent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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