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

SOLD AT AUCTION ITEM :NAVAL JOURNAL - FIRST WORLD WAR and RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR

From time to time I find some really interesting and relevant item described online that relate to to to the Allied intervention in the Baltic  and especially HMS Dragon but due to lack of time I will often save details of the page for later.

In some cases diaries and journals have come up for auction which I would love to take a peek at.....problem is that I only find out about these items after the sale (not that I could afford to bid!) and now I find that I can no longer find the original entry using google!

I have tried the Imperial War Museum which has some diaries and audio tapes in which seamen describe their experiences but not this one.

"journal kept throughout the Great War and during the subsequent Russian Civil War, from 21 July 1914 to 3 January 1920, recording service on board the Acheron Class destroyer HMS Amphion, serving with the 3rd Division of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla, from 31 July 1914, and participating in the Battle of Heligoland Bight on 38 August; transferring with the rest of the crew of the Ferret to the M Class destroyer HMS Nepean on 5 April 1916, serving on her until the end of the war; transferring to the D Class cruiser HMS Dragon on 8 October 1918 ("with 2 Russian Officers & one British") and recording the Dragon'sservice in the Baltic during the civil war, arriving at Riga on 13 October 1919, where they "Found German General & his troops who had been guarding Riga had turned Bolshevists & were attacking Rig"...Sat 8th Nov. Received signal from C in C to hold Riga & Libau at all costs. Mon 10th Nov. We opened fire on Cement Factory occupied by Germans at 6.30 a.m. At 2.45 we started to fire at an armoured train which was shelling the town of Riga. The Germans were using Gas shells & were killing many of the civil population. At 8.30 we again started to bombard the Cement Factory while the Letts surrounded it & at 10.0 PM they took it at the point of the bayonet..."), the journal ending with the Dragon's return to Sheerness on 3 January 1920, some 150 pages, in a notebook, canvas-backed naval chart wrappers, postcard of the Dragon pasted over opening text, minor staining and signs of wear, 4to, 1914-1920 

Sold for £576 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

OOH LA LA!! UK-France Military co-operation 2010

I noticed that the papers today are full of dramatic headlines and articles about plans for Anglo-French co-operation on military matters.

Of course, many people like me who have a personal interest in the British Navy's role in the Latvian War of Independence know that the concept of Anglo-French co-operation is not new even if previously it was on a much smaller scale.

My Great-Grandfather John Stephen Stroud and 8 other seamen (some of them boys aged 17) where killed when their ship HMS Dragon, which was sent to help defend Riga was shelled by Russio-German forces under the command of Bermondt Avalov during October 1919 .

HMS Dragon was  under the command of Commodore  Jean Joseph Brisson of the French Navy and he in turn had orders from the British Admiral Sir Walter Henry Cowan.

The London Gazette of Tuesday 6th of April 1920 contains a record of  the action at Riga:

"Owing to the situation in the Gulf of Finland and the necessity of supporting the advnce of the Estonians on the left flank of the Russian Army, I was unable to leave those waters myself and so requested Commodore Brisson, the French Senior Naval Officer, who had by then proceeded to Riga , to take charge of the operations there, and to open fire on all positions within range on the left bank of the Dvina River, at the expiration of the time given in my ultimatum to Prince Avaloff Bermont , who was ostensibly in command of the troops occupying those positions and attacking Riga.

This Commodore Brisson most faithfully and effectively did at noon on the 15th October, apparently much to the surprise of Bermont, who had , in reply to my ultimatum, stated that he was friendly to the Allies and was only resisting Bolshevism, and disowned all connection with the Germans, and whose forces were in position and in little shelter, in some places less than one thousand yards from ours and the French ships"

Remembrance Ceremonies take place  in Riga and flowers are laid at memorials on land and at sea to remember those who lost their lives during this time and to also reflect on the contribution of the British and French Navy  in helping  Latvia to achieve its Independence.

French Naval Ship Commemorates Captain Brison of the Freedom Battles Latvijas armijas 90. gadadienas mājas lapa

New York Times : "Allied ships shell Germans near Riga" 15-17 October 1919

An interesting read with many new details. The full article is available here

Memorial event for HMS "Dragon" on the eve of the Remembrance Day (17/11/2009)

I've recently noticed this on the British Embassy in Riga website. The website also contains  photographs of the ceremony itself.

"Today we salute and honour bravery. The bravery of those men who died in the defence of the freedom and integrity of an independent Latvia. Not only sons of Latvia but also foreign friends who made common cause with them - including from Britain and France. We remember them all." 

Deputy Head of Mission, Daniel Grzenda 

Thank you to Yury Melkonov for this photograph.

Mr Charles Edward Coles R.N. Gunner

Mr Charles Edward Coles R.N. Gunner was at his action station in after control when an enemy shell burst on deck in rear of No 5 Gun killing 9 men and severely wounding 1 officer and 3 men, also setting alight the charge which was just being loaded into gun. Mr Coles at once went to the spot and took prompt action personally removing the wounded clear of the burning cordite and extinguishing the burning clothing of the wounded men.

There are 2 others singled out for praise,  Lieutenant The Hon. Trevor Tempest Parker R.N. Gunnery Officer and Engineer Commander Walter Robert Fendick R.N. and the name  Lt. Comdr. Harvey and "The Senior Naval Officer" appears at the bottom of the page. 

Unfortunately,  I can no longer see the reference for this document.  

HMS Dragon log for Saturday 18th October 1919 at Riga

Occasionally, I see something in the records that seems out of place and quite unrelated to what I am looking for but is nevertheless quite fascinating as it gives an insight into life in the Navy at this time.

This entry in the log,  dated the 18th October 1919, appears to have been written only hours after the 9 men/ boys had been killed and as their bodies were being prepared for burial by other probably traumatised  young  seamen. Elsewhere, 4  wounded seamen were probably having their wounds tended  and  repairs were taking place on board the ship....I would imagine it was a scene of chaos!!!!!

"The following articles were found missing after H.R.H. The Prince of Wales and Staff disembarked from Dragon for "Renown". Towels,two. Sheets Linen, three. Pillows feather, one" 

well I wonder what happened to them and if they have ever been found or if they will ever just turn up on ebay.  I would imagine that the pillows would have been difficult to hide.......I've heard about towels going missing in hotels but...  

Next to this was another quite "random" entry 

" I had occasion on this day to reprimand ...(name indistinct) Gunner(?), W. Roberts, Shipwright and W.Skelton Gunner  for having during the month of September exceeded the amounts allowed by King's regulations for Warrant Officers Wine Bills" I had to read this a few times but I'm pretty sure that's what it says.

British Naval operations at Riga 13th-15th October 1919

Over the years I've tried  to understand the timeline of the British Naval action near Riga during October and especially in the days before HMS Dragon was shelled. 

13th October 1919 

"an ultimatum was forwarded by the British Admiral commanding in the Baltic to the Officer Commanding German Troops, whose Headquarters are at MITAU, ordering him to withdraw his troops from positions in the vicinity of DUNAMUND by noon on 15th October.
At about 2130 thirteen refugees were brought off to "PRINCESS MARGARET" IN "DRAGON"'s motor boat.
The situation was reported to be satisfactory.


14th October 1919


At about 1800 firing was observed to be in progress up the river beyond the Destroyers and flashes of heavy gunfire were observed in a South- Westery direction. Three more refugees were put on board at 2100.
Situation reported satisfactory. Lettish detachments reach Dvina Bridge this morning but were forced to retire. Lettish detachments reach KEKKAU area and are maintaining their position.


15th October 1919


The French Commodore's written orders for the bombardment were received on board at 1100 and, as the British Admiral's ultimatum had not been complied with, the Allied Flotilla, being still at anchor inside the entrance to the river, opened a brisk fire on German positions on the Western bank at 1114.

"PRINCESS MARGARET" shortened in to short stay and remained in positions, with steam on engines , ready to move if necessary.

"DRAGON" having received her orders proceeded to a position to the Westward of the river entrance with a view to enfilading the fortress of BOLDERAJA and commenced firing at 1135......

...at 1145 "CLEOPATRA" arrived , obtained Commodore's orders from "PRINCESS MARGARET"  and proceeded to bombard positions near "DRAGON"

At 1215 "WINDSOR" arrived , obtained Commodore's orders from "PRINCESS MARGARET" and proceeded into river to join Flotilla.

At 1307 the Allied Flotillas were observed to be moving up the river, firing on the Western bank as thet proceeded; Lettish troops at this time were crossing to the Western bank in tugs.

At 1347 " CLEOPATRA" commenced firing, in conjunction with "DRAGON", on enemy's communications in the direction of the MITAU road.  The enemy was not observed to return the fire of the Flotilla or Light Cruisers.......

At 1337 "ABDIEL" reported that Lettish troops had taken DUNAMUNDE Fortress and soon after they had occupied BOLDERAJA. Several fires were seen to break out on the Western bank and apparently ammunition dumps were exploded. The beacon at the entrance to the river is also observed to be on fire. This beacon is believed  to have been used by the enemy as an observation post. During the night it collapsed."

Reference ADM 137/1667

There are some questions/ comments  I have about this situation....

Who were the "refugees" ?

 How close were the ships to the "Western bank"? and how close to Riga would they have been.....  I get the impression the ships were quite close and would have been quite a target even at night. 

John Stephen Stroud 1881-1919

John Stephen Stroud,  my  Greatgrandfather,  was one of 9 seamen killed in action at Riga in Latvia  when their gun position took a direct strike from one of several shells fired by German and White  "Bermontian" forces under the leadership of  Pavel Bermondt-Avalov. 

Although I've been really interested in  this events for many years information was really hard to find at first   and I can well understand why the Naval campaign in the Baltic between 1918 and 1920 is often referred to as a "forgotten War" being overshadowed by the scale of events during World War One.

Gradually, information has became more readily available thanks to the internet and several books that have been published.  I can now  better understand the situation in the Baltic and why the signing of the Armistice did not signal the end of war conditions for the many so called "volunteers" who served in the Baltic during 1918-1920 and those like John and the other  15 Royal Naval Officers , 91 Ratings, 4 Royal Air Force Officers and 1 Airman killed in action. 

 I now have lots of small pieces of information from a variety of sources  and it's too much for  hmsdragon1919.co.uk 

I've therefore decided to set up this blog to complement the website. 

I'm hoping to post the little snippets of information that I have obtained in the hope that other families of the crew that were killed in action or families and descendants of crew who served during that period whether on Dragon or any of the other ships might want to get in touch and perhaps contribute their own stories.

Today is Remembrance Day and this is my contribution to ensure that the names of these boys and men are not forgotten.

Ship's Log for HMS Dragon 5th Day of August 1919 Conception Bay NF

3.35 Their Majesties the King & Queen & T.R.H. the Prince of Wales, Princess Mary, Prince Albert, Prince Harry & the Duke of Connaught came on board, inspected the Prince of Wales apartments& walked around the upper deck.

3.50 Their Majesties left ship

National Archives Ref ADM 53/40157

CANADIAN TOUR OF HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES

at 3 minutes into the pathe video there are 5-6 seconds of HMS Dragon sailing into New Brunswick with HRH the Prince of Wales ....blink and you will miss it!!! 

Hansard transcripts: HMS Dragon struck

 Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHY

"I at once bow to your ruling. May we have some details about the lamentable death of nine sailors on board His Majesty's ship "Dragon"? This vessel was fired upon by Bermondt's artillery, and we know that nine gallant men were killed, blown to pieces, and one officer and four men wounded. She was delayed in getting away from danger, and was deliberately fired upon by the Russians who were supposed to be helping. Is it a fact that His Majesty's ship "Dragon" had both anchors down, and the cables were not even on the slips, when fire was suddenly opened on her? ...."

Hansard HC Deb 10 December 1919 vol 122 cc1368-478