Name
William Harland
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
23/04/1918
33
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Stoker 1st Class
303027
Royal Navy
H.M.S. "North Star"
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
1914 /15 Star, British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL
29.
United Kingdom
Headstone Inscription
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
St Mark’s Church Plaque, Colney Heath
Pre War
Son of Mr. and Mrs. James Harland and born in Sittingbourne, Kent and lived in 23 George Street, Sittingbourne, Kent (1891) and Malcomb Place, Sittingbourne, Kent (1901).
From the 1891 census it would appear that William (6) had four brothers and two sisters, and he was one of the youngest members of the family and they were living at 23 George Street, Sittingbourne, Kent.
37 Malcomb Place, Sittingbourne, Kent (1901)
In 1901 William (15) was still living with his parents and four brothers now at 37 Malcomb Place, Sittingbourne, Kent. It would appear that both his sisters, Audrey and Martha, had left home. It is Audrey that provides the connection to Colney Heath, as on 25th May 1901, she married Edward Henry Cook in St Mark’s Church, which is recorded in the registers of the time. He was working as a brickfield labourer prior to enlisting.
His service record show that he signed up as a Stoker on 9th February 1903; it also indicates that during his naval service, in the main, he was of “very good” character. William Harland, was recorded as 5ft 5in tall and of fair complexion with light hair and blue eyes.
The ships he served in (before the war) were:
- HMS Pembroke – Shore barracks based at Chatham Dock
- HMS Pembroke II – Royal Naval Air Station, based at Eastchurch
- HMS Jupiter – Majestic class pre-dreadnought battleship
- HMS Vindictive – Arrogant class protected cruiser
- HMS Blenheim – First class protected cruiser
- HMS Shannon – Minotaur class armoured cruiser
- HMS Yarmouth – Town class light cruiser
Wartime Service
After the war started the service record details all the ships that William served on and the period of service.
- HMS Eclipse – William served on this ship (a protected cruiser converted to a minelayer) during the first year of WW1
- HMS Apollo – Second class protected cruiser
- HMS Lucifer - Destroyer
- HMS North Star
His final service was on HMS North Star (M-Class destroyer) and in summary the naval war diaries of the time record the following:
On the morning of 23rd April 1918 the Royal Navy launched a raid on the Belgium port of Zeebrugge, which was used as a submarine and light shipping base by the German Navy. The two key objectives of the Zeebrugge raid were to:
“Scuttle three old cruisers each packed with concrete and mines in the neck of the canal leading to the harbour of Zeebrugge, and using the cruiser Vindictive and two ferry boats Iris and Daffodil, attack the great half-moon Mole, which guarded the Zeebrugge canal, land troops upon it, destroy what stores, guns, and Germans they could find, and generally create a diversion while the block ships ran in and sank themselves in their appointed places.”
Fortunately the conditions were near perfect with the night being overcast and with only a slight wind. In addition, and to avoid any detection from the on shore searchlights, the flotilla also laid down a smoke screen. Unfortunately the wind changed direction and blowing from the south west and swept away the cover of the smoke screen. Star shells then lit up the night sky, shortly followed by gun fire, machine gun fire and shells from the batteries along the Mole.
Under this enemy fire, The Vindictive, and her two support boats managed to get alongside the Mole, offload her troops and engaged the German troops. British troops on the Mole managed to destroy several machine gun emplacements and supply buildings. The three block ships, guided by rockets illuminating the lighthouse at the end of the Mole, managed to manoeuvre themselves into position, so that when scuttled they would block the canal at the entrance to Zeebrugge Harbour.
In the meantime the destroyers: North Star, Phoebe and Warwick, which guarded the Vindictive from action by enemy destroyers while she lay besides the Mole, had their share in the battle.
The North Star, lost her way in the smoke and emerged to the light of star shells, and was subsequently sunk. The German communiqué that stated that only a few members of the crew could be saved by them. This is not particularly accurate in this instance, as the Phoebe approached under a heavy fire in time to rescue nearly all. Unfortunately this did not include William.
William is remembered with honour on Chatham Naval Memorial.
Acknowledgments
Graham Clark – World War One – The Fallen of London Colney, Grace Clark, Jonty Wild
