"Early in the First World War, Hawke, commanded by Capt.Hugh P.E.T. Williams, was engaged in various operations in the North Sea. On 15 October 1914 Hawke, sailing with her sister ship Theseus, was torpedoed by German submarine U-9. The submarine's first torpedo missed Theseus but hit Hawke, igniting a magazine and causing a tremendous explosion which ripped much of the ship apart. Hawke sank in a few minutes with the loss of her captain, 26 officers and 497 men; only 70 of her 594 crew survived."[1]
Henry Gilham, from Chislet, joined the Navy in 1906, and served for five years. At the outbreak of war in 1914, Henry was immediately called up and joined the crew of HMS Hawke as a stoker. In October of 1914, a German submarine sank Hawke in the North Sea, with the loss of 525 souls, including Henry.[2]
Recorded on the Chatham Naval Memorial
Name Rank Service Number Date of Death Age Regiment / Service Service Country Grave / Memorial Reference Cemetery / Memorial Name
GILHAM, HENRY Stoker 1st Class SS/102992 15/10/1914 30 Royal Navy United Kingdom 5. CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL
World War 1 - Casualty Lists of the Royal Navy and Dominion Navies
Researched & compiled by Don Kindell
1st - 31st OCTOBER 1914 in date, ship/unit & name order
Thursday, 15 October 1914
Hawke, old cruiser, torpedoed and sunk by U.9 in North Sea (Survivor list included)
...
GILHAM, Henry, Stoker 1c (RFR B 7611), 102992 (Ch)
World War 1 - Casualty Lists of the Royal Navy and Dominion Navies
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