Auction Catalogue

23 March 2022

Starting at 10:00 AM

.

Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Live Online Auction

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Lot

№ 579

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23 March 2022

Hammer Price:
£90

Memorial Plaque (Philip John Lancelot Skinner) in card envelope, good very fine £60-£80

Philip John Lancelot Skinner was serving as a Sub-Lieutenant in H.M.S. Formidable when she was struck by torpedoes from the German submarine U-24 in the English Channel whilst on training exercise on 1 January 1915. The first torpedo struck the Starboard side of Formidable at about 2.20am with a second hitting at around 3:05am. The light cruisers Topaze, and Diamond that had been part of the exercise alongside Formidable attempted to rescue men from the stricken vessel but heavy seas hampered the effort. Formidable began to sink at 4:45am with a loss of 35 officers and 512 men. Skinner was amongst those killed, and is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial.