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The Sinking of HMS Formidable (1St January 1915)

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The Sinking of HMS Formidable (1St January 1915) The Sinking of HMS Formidable (1st January 1915) The new year of 1915 immediately brought bad news for the British public, with the sinking of the old battleship Formidable off the Dorset coast. The Formidable was built at Portsmouth Dockyard and was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 10th October 1904. She underwent a major refit at Chatham in 1909, but by the time the First World War broke out she was obsolescent and relegated to home defence duties. On the last day of 1914 the Formidable was taking part in gunnery exercises off the Isle of Portland. Despite a warning of submarine activity in the area, she remained at sea overnight as the likelihood of a U-boat attack was considered to be minimal in the adverse weather conditions that were being experienced in the English Channel. Unfortunately, the bad weather did not deter the captain of the German submarine U24 from mounting an attack and shortly after 2 o'clock in the morning of 1st January 1915 a torpedo struck the Formidable on the port side. It was thought that the old battleship might be saved by steaming for the coast, but within 20 minutes she had taken on a 20° list to starboard. The Formidable's captain, Noel Loxley, gave the order to abandon ship, but the darkness and worsening weather conditions made the launching of the lifeboats a perilous task. At shortly after 3 o'clock, the Formidable was struck by a second torpedo, this time on the starboard side. There was now a very heavy swell, but the crew managed to get some of the lifeboats away and two light cruisers came alongside the stricken ship and rescued 80 men. A few minutes before 5 o'clock, the Formidable rolled over and sank, swamping many of the lifeboats that were in the water. Captain Loxley, who remained on the bridge with his Airedale Terrier "Bruce", calmly organised the evacuation of his ship until she finally foundered. Despite the rough seas, a Brixham trawler, the Provident, managed to pick up the men from one of Formidable's lifeboats before it sank, saving 71 members of the crew. A second lifeboat had put to sea with 70 men and 48 of these sailors were eventually rescued when the boat was spotted from the shore the following night, 22 hours after the sinking. The loss of life on the Formidable was 35 officers and 512 men from the ship's company of 780. The body of Captain Loxley's terrier was washed ashore and was later buried in a marked grave in Abbotsbury Gardens in Dorset. Photograph of Thomas Abner Kent, who lost his life on HMS Formidable. He was the son of Alice Kent of 55 Bailgate, Lincoln. Another Lincolnshire man who died on the Formidable was Ordinary Seaman Charles William Green of Theddlethorpe. There is a brief entry relating to his death in the parish log book: "6 Jan 1915. An official letter was received by Mrs Starmer - formerly Green - from the Admiralty to the effect that her son Charles Wm Green was presumed to have lost his life in the Battleship Formidable." Recruitment leaflet published shortly after the sinking of HMS Formidable. Document reference: 42 MLL 2/8. .
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