237404 Stkr. Frederick Thomas Charlton Royal Navy HMS Romola from:Holloway, London Fred Charlton, my grandfather, was born 20th of October 1899. He joined the Navy in late 1915 or early 1916 after advice from his elder brother Alfred who was serving in the Army on the Somme (he died 1st July 1916).
He lied about his age in order to join so avoiding the call up to the army.
He was a stoker on the HMS Romola I believe stationed at Southend as with many others. He didn't talk much about the war, only saying they spent most of their time chasing shadows around the North Sea.
I do know that at the end of the war he was stationed at Scapa Flow and was either part of the the group that escorted the German fleet to Scapa or at Scapa when they arrived - he commented that he was shocked by the poor state of the German ships. He was also present when the Germans scuttled their fleet in 1919 saying it was one of the saddest things he ever saw.
I would be very happy to learn more of the Romola's activities during the war
At the time the Romola was a very modern ship and those who served in her must have felt they were at the forefront of the future.
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