1,459 sailors died in ‘live bait patrol’

With the help of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records, Rotary member Colin Jennings has been able to list all of the 81 men and one woman on the memorial, who died in the Great War, on the Rotary Club website.

His colleague, John Howard, has been trying to find out more about these servicemen and women and their experiences during the war. The research was consulting the war diaries of the battalions with which they served, but also using historical records and information supplied by family members.

Over the coming months, the Gazette & Herald will be publishing details of the local war victims to mark the 100th anniversary since their deaths.

The record of one local sailor reads as follows: G W Sollitt QM RN, George William Sollitt, Remembered with Honour, Chatham Naval Memorial. In Memory of Able Seaman – QM 164973, (RFR/CH/B/3544). HMS Aboukir, Royal Navy, who died on September 22, 1914.

HMS Aboukir was one of a group of Cressy-class cruisers which had rapidly become obsolete due to advances in naval architecture in the years leading up to the First World War. At the outbreak of the war, these ships were mostly staffed by reserve sailors. HMS Aboukir was one of four ships that made up Rear Admiral Henry H Campbell’s 7th Cruiser Squadron.

Shortly after the outbreak of the war, Aboukir and her sister ships – Bacchante, Euryalus, Hogue and Cressy were assigned to patrol the Broad Fourteens, off the coast of Holland, so named because of the shallow depth of 14 fathoms (84ft). Their task was to support of a force of destroyers and submarines based at Harwich, blocking the Eastern end of the English Channel from German warships attempting to attack the supply route between England and France.

Senior officers were opposed to using Cressy-class cruisers on the grounds that these ships were vulnerable to attack from Germany’s more modern surface ships, and advised the Admiralty accordingly. This patrol was nicknamed “the live bait patrol”. Nonetheless, the Admiralty ignored this advice.

At about 6am on September 22, the three cruisers (the flagship Baccante had had to return to harbour to refuel) were steaming at 10 knots (12mph; 19 km/h) in line ahead. They were spotted by the German submarine U-9, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Otto Weddigen.

Weddigen ordered his submarine to submerge and closed the range to the unsuspecting British ships. He fired a single torpedo at Aboukir. The torpedo broke her back, and she sank within 20 minutes with the loss of 527 men.

The captains of Cressy and Hogue thought Aboukir had struck a mine and came forward to assist her. They stood by and began to pick up survivors.

At this point, Weddigen fired two torpedoes into Hogue, mortally wounding that ship. As Hogue sank, the captain of Cressy realised the squadron was being attacked by a submarine, and tried to flee. However, Weddigen fired two more torpedoes into Cressy, and sank her as well.

The entire battle had lasted less than two hours, and cost the British three warships, 62 officers and 1,397 ratings. This incident established the U-boat as a major weapon in the conduct of naval warfare.

Otto Weddingen went on to sink the British Cruiser HMS Hawker in October 1914, he changed command to U29, and in February of 1915 and sank four merchant ships. He died on March 18, 1915, when U29 was rammed and sliced in half by HMS Dreadnought.

Anyone who is able to help with the project can phone Karen Darley at the Gazette on 01653 695600 or email karen.darley@gazetteherald.co.uk. For more information, visit rotary-ribi.org