100 year Anniversary UPDATE HMS Dragon Riga 17th October 1919

I've discovered my old blog from years ago and have decided to update this and continue to post as this October will be the 100 year anniversary of these events.

I'm not a historian or academic. This blog is for families of the servicemen involved. Much more information is available today than was available in the 1980's/ 1990's when I first became interested in these events as a result of my own interest in family history.

My Great Grandfather John Stephen Stroud (known as Steve to his family) was one of 9 seamen killed in action while on HMS Dragon when it was at Riga providing support to Latvia during their war of Independence. Their gun position took a direct hit from shells fired by Russio-German forces in Riga who were in occupation after the end of WW1.

These German forces ( many Freicorps) had been allowed to  stay in the Baltic under the terms of the Armistice but under the orders of  their Commander Major General Von der Goltz  they joined forces with those of Pavel Bermondt-Avalov's army rejecting all ultimatums given for them to leave and return to Germany clearly having their own plans for the Baltic states.

I hope that this blog will be of interest and I welcome contact from the families of those involved in the campaign.

There may be a few issues with old links and photographs which I will address over the next week or so.

Memorial event for HMS "Dragon"

Spotted today on the UK in Latvia website:

The wreath-laying ceremony at Bolderaja is an annual event that honours the sacrifice of 9 British and Irish sailors on board of HMS Dragon. HMS Dragon had provided artillery fire cover for defending Riga against the attacking army of General Avalov-Bermont in 1919, when the Republic of Latvia was just a year old and needed support to protect its independence.

Representatives of the Latvian Navy, Defence Ministry, Embassy of France and Embassy of the UK take part in the ceremony. This year it took place on Wednesday, 9 November.

Memorial event for HMS "Dragon"

For more information about HMS Dragon and the 9 seamen killed