Auction Catalogue

2 July 2003

Starting at 10:00 AM

.

Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Grand Connaught Rooms  61 - 65 Great Queen St  London  WC2B 5DA

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Lot

№ 1046

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2 July 2003

Hammer Price:
£580

Four: Chief Petty Officer T. Banks, Royal Navy, who survived the famous collision of the battleships H.M.S. Victoria and H.M.S. Camperdown in 1893, the torpedoing of H.M.S. Niger in 1914 and some point-blank encounters at Jutland in H.M.S. Castor in 1916

1914-15 Star (160910 C.P.O., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (160910 C.P.O., R.N.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., E.VII.R. (160910 P.O. 1 Cl., H.M.S. Orion) minor contact marks and edge bruising, very fine (4) £300-400


Thomas Banks was born at Fawley, Hampshire in August 1875 and entered the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class in June 1891. Joining the ship’s company of the battleship H.M.S. Victoria in April 1893, as a Boy 1st Class, he was among those to survive her loss, through collision with the Camperdown in August of the same year.



A Famous Naval Disaster:
The Collision of H.M.S. Victoria and H.M.S. Camperdown


On 22 June 1893, Admiral Sir George Tryon put to sea with a squadron of 13 ships from an anchorage off Beirut, bound for the coast off Tripoli. The vessels steamed in two columns, H.M.S.
Victoria, his flagship, leading one, and Rear-Admiral Markham, in H.M.S. Camperdown, heading the other. At about 2 p.m., Admiral Tryon sent for his Flag Captain and Staff Commander, telling them of his intention to invert the two columns of ships at six cables distance, a suggestion that alerted the latter to the possible danger of a collision. Very tactfully, for the Admiral was not in the habit of being questioned, his Staff Commander suggested a distance of eight cables as more appropriate. The Admiral responded in the affirmative. Minutes later, however, he hoisted a signal which stated that the fleet was to form a column of divisions line ahead, ‘with columns disposed abeam to port, columns to be six cables apart’. Once more, ever so tactfully, via the Flag Lieutenant, the Staff Commander asked for confirmation of the signal but the former returned with his tail between his legs: the Admiral was to have his own way. By way of confirmation, Tryon now hoisted another signal: ‘Second division alter course in succession, sixteen points (180 degrees) to starboard preserving the order of the fleet. First division alter course in succession, sixteen points to port preserving the order of the Fleet’. Almost alone the Staff Commander had dared to question the Admiral’s orders, but now the fearful implications were recognised by all. Rear-Admiral Markham, aboard the Camperdown, was stunned. Accordingly he signalled the Victoria, ‘Do you wish evolution to be performed as indicated by the signal?’ but back came the Admiral’s terse reply, ‘What are you waiting for?’ - short of a court-martial for disobeying orders, Markham was now powerless to act.

Thus the
Camperdown and Victoria, both steaming at just over eight knots, commenced the fatal manoeuvre and within minutes the former had struck the Victoria on her starboard bow. The order to close watertight doors and to make ready the collision mat had already been given when disaster appeared inevitable but the volume of water rushing into the Victoria was too great to be stemmed: the initial impact forced her 70 feet through the water and left a gaping hole 12 feet wide at upper deck level and 18 feet wide below the waterline.

Admiral Tryon ordered Captain Bourke below decks to inspect the damage and at the same time signalled to the other ships who were preparing to lower lifeboats: ‘Negate sending boats, but hold them in readiness’. In fact, Bourke’s inspection was pointless - the
Victoria had little chance of floating for more than a few minutes; and any lifeboats would probably be sucked down with her. An attempt was made to reach land but, as the steam pressure fell and the helm would not respond, preparations were made to abandon ship.

Prisoners were brought up from the cells and the sick bays emptied. In the latter was Commander Jellicoe who, despite his weakness through fever, was to survive and become First Sea Lord during the Great War. On the bridge, Admiral Tryon muttered to the Staff Commander and the Flag Lieutenant, “It’s all my doing, it’s all my fault.” He then added in a shaky voice, “I think she’s going down.” “Yes, sir,” replied the Staff Commander, “I think she is.”

The
Victoria’s bows were now well down and she was heeling to starboard. An Officer ordered the sailors who had bravely held their stations to jump, 17-year old Boy 1st Class Banks among them, but many made their way over the quarterdeck and down the sloping stern, where they were cut to pieces by the still rotating propellers. Soon afterwards she turned completely over and sank with the Admiral, 22 Officers and 336 men still aboard. The entire episode had taken little more than ten minutes.

The Staff Commander had been trapped in the stays and awning guys of the
Victoria but eventually disentangled himself and rose to the surface. He had been the last man to see the Admiral alive and later said:

“He went down and was seen by no-one again; and I never expected to see him as I am sure he, being a short-breathed man, could not have kept the water out of his lungs as long as I was able to, and I could not have done so a second or so longer. He was perfectly calm and collected to the last, and died as he had lived, a brave man.”

Rescue boats quickly gathered around the scene and managed to pick-up about 290 men; the
Camperdown was temporarily repaired and sailed for Malta. It was here, one month later, that the surviving Officers of H.M.S. Victoria were tried by Court Martial for the loss of their ship. The court heard evidence from 17-27 July 1893 and its findings absolved the prisoners of any blame. In fact, the disaster was solely attributed to the actions of Admiral Tryon.


The Torpedoing of H.M.S. Niger

Awarded his L.S. & G.C. Medal in August 1908, Banks was serving as an Acting Chief Petty Officer aboard the torpedo gunboat
Niger, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander A. P. Moore, R.N., on the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914. Shortly afterwards, at about noon on 11 November, he again nearly became a victim of the sea, when the Niger was torpedoed off Deal pier. Luckily, however, there was sufficient time to evacuate her crew to the Deal and Kingsdown lifeboats before she slipped beneath the waves.


H.M.S. Castor at Jutland

In November 1915, Banks joined the light cruiser
Castor, and was present in her in the following year at the Battle of Jutland. And, as evidenced by the following extracts taken from a fellow crew member’s narrative, the Castor witnessed her fair share of the action, her men no doubt being suitably inspired by the Chester sailing close across her bows ‘with four big holes in her along the main deck, and her ship’s company cheering through the holes as she passed’, “Boy” Cornwall, V.C., possibly among them:

‘ Soon after dark we saw three ships loom up to starboard, and as we challenged they switched on searchlights and opened fire. They fired only at us, being apparently unable to see our destroyers, which were painted black. We were hit direct four times; one shell hit the forecastle just under the bridge and, bursting inside, made a hole about 5 feet in diameter, and the splinters from it wounded a large number of men in the fore ammunition lobby; one shell went right through the fore mess deck and burst outside the disengaged side of the ship; one hit the motor barge, a brand new boat which had only done one trip with Captain (D.), bursting in her and setting her on fire; another shell hit the disengaged side of the fore-bridge and wiped out everybody in the way of signalmen, messengers, etc., who had gathered there, with the exception of one man. This man had a miraculous escape, the 4-inch shell bursting practically between his legs, but all the force of the explosion must have gone on in the direction in which the shell was travelling, for it blew a large hole in the deck of the bridge, and through which this man fell. He landed on another man who had been killed by that same shell, but he himself was practically unhurt. Besides these direct hits, the ship was covered with splinter dents from shells which burst on hitting the water short, and several men at the midship guns were laid out by them. We fired a torpedo at the leading Hun, and the two after 6-inch guns, which were not being directly fired at, were making good practice at the enemy. But the Germans soon altered course away, thereby avoiding the torpedo we had fired, and we did the same, missing collision with one of the second half-flotilla boats by inches only ... Two or three times during the night we saw heavy firing some 2 or 3 miles ahead, but we were not able to ascertain who it was. Suddenly a German destroyer appeared quite close, steaming slowly. We tried to ram and got within a few yards of her, but she was too quick and avoided us. However, we fired several shots into her at point-blank range, but it was impossible to tell if she sank. That was the last we saw of the enemy, and we then set about trying to regain touch with our own battle fleet, as it was still possible that the action might be renewed at daybreak, but it was 9 o’clock in the morning before we found them.’

The same narrative states that the
Castor sustained casualties of 16 killed and about 40 wounded. Banks served aboard her for the remainder of the War and was demobilised in August 1919. He was subsequently employed by H.M. Coast Guard.

Sold with the recipient’s original R.N. and H.M. Coast Guard Certificates of Service, together with Gunnery and Torpedo History Sheet.