Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Memorial Plaque (Ernest Chennell) in card envelope of issue, good very fine £70-£90

Ernest Chennell served during the Great War as a Stoker 1st Class, and was killed in action whilst serving on the armoured cruiser H.M.S. Aboukir, 22 September 1914. His name is commemorated on the Chatham Memorial.

The Aboukir, together with her sister ships the Hogue and Cressy, part of the 7th Cruiser Squadron, were engaged in blockade and patrol duties in the southern part of the North Sea. At 6.30 on 22 September 1914 the Aboukir was torpedoed by the U-9. Believing that the ship had struck a mine, the Hogue and Cressy stopped to rescue the survivors, oblivious of the danger lurking beneath the waves. Shortly afterwards torpedoes from the U-9 sent the Hogue and then the Cressy to the bottom. The loss of life in this disaster was heavy, with some 1,400 men being lost from the three ships.