H.M.S. Pembroke

[dibeale]

I am trying to help a work colleague trace her family. I have just got her grandmother's death certificate and it says that she was the widow of William John Field, Chief Petty Officer Telegraphist RN. I looked on the CWGC site and have found William. He died on 13th March 1919 on HMS Pembroke.

My question is I can't find out what happened to the Pembroke. Can anyone tell me about this ship and what happened in 1919.

[sjustice]

Hi Diane,

I can't help you with the curcumstances but I can tell you that HMS Pembroke was not a ship at all.

I had this snippet of information saved for some reason I can't remember:

HMS Pembroke was the shore base at Chatham Royal Dockyard, Kent. Those who died while serving there are buried in the woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham. HMS Pembroke is now the Medway Campus of the University of Greenwich.

There will be other Pals with a wider knowledge who can add to this.

Kind Regards,

SMJ

[lalli1418]

SMJ,

That 'snippet' about HMS Pembroke helps me out too - one of the CWGC headstones in Sunderland Cemetery commemorates M Hall, Trimmer, of RNR HMS Pembroke who died 21st September 1918. Presumably he would have been injured at Chatham and came home, and subsequently died of his injuries.

Lorraine

[sotonmate]

DianeB

Click on search on this page and enter HMS PEMBROOKE (we know it is mis-spelt but you will find a long thread about casualties,quite a few to 'flu around the time of your subject's death).

Best wishes

Sotonmate

[per ardua per mare per terram]

HMS Pembroke also included the naval hospital in Chatham.

[per ardua per mare per terram]

Diane, his service register is free to download at Kew or the Family Record Centre or £3.50 online. That will give the list he served on from when he joined the Navy in 1901.

Name Field, William John

Official Number: 213956

Place of Birth: Boston, Lincolnshire

Date of Birth: 08 October 1885

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...p;resultcount=2

[per ardua per mare per terram]

Lorraine, Hall was in the Trawler Section. Copies of his service cards are on microfilm at Kew BT377/7 (these are in service number order), the originals are at the Fleet Air Arm Museum.

[historydavid]

Hello Diane, this was taken from the Admiralty death record for your man:

FIELD, WILLIAM J., C.P.O. TELEGRAPHIST, 213956, PEMBROKE, 13-Mar-19, ILLNESS.

In March 1919 the great influenza pandemic was still raging, so that was probably the cause of his death.

It isn't correct to say that HMS Pembroke wasn't a ship. HMS Pembroke was the name given to both a ship and a shore base. Under the Naval Discipline regulations all naval personnel had to be assigned to a vessel, whether they were actively serving, in cells or in hospital

In March 1919 the ship HMS Pembroke was a composite screw sloop of 1,140 tons, which had started out as HMS Nymphe, changing to HMS Wildfire in 1906 and again to HMS Gannet in 1916.

Best wishes

David

[per ardua per mare per terram]

Lorraine

Hall was discharged before his death and died of Arterial Sclerosis.