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Petty Offcr. Charles Jennings
Royal Navy HMS Minotaur
from:Alderney, Channel Islands.
In 1901, Charles Jennings was living in Alderney with his family, on the night of the 31st March, 1901, according to the Channel Island census which was done that night. He was aged 16 years. In the same year Charles Jennings started his naval training on the 9th August 1901. The first training ship Charles started his navy training with, was the Boscawen, the second training ship is unreadable on his service record. The third training ship was Minotaur. On the 7th February 1903 Charles began his 12 years service which he signed up for. Charles remained on HMS Minotaur Charles as an ordinary seaman.
The Duke of Wellington was launched in 1852, and was the flagship of Sir Charles Napier, manning one hundred and thirty one guns. She served in the Portsmouth Dockyard Reserve as a depot ship and was finally sold in 1904. From 8th march 1903 to 15th June 1903 Charles was on HMS Duke of Wellington. From 16th June 1905 to 22nd April 1905, Charles was on HMS Leviathan. Charles went from ordinary seaman to able seaman on the 1st January 1905. From 23rd April 1905 to 9th September 1905, Charles was on HMS Brilliant. From 10th September 1905 to 19th September 1905, he was on HMS Victory I. From 20th September 1905 to 3rd February 1908 Charles was on HMS Jupiter. HMS Jupiter which was a Royal Naval battleship of the Majestic Class. She joined the Commissioned Reserve at Portsmouth in August 1905 and became part of the Home Fleet in 1908.
From 4th February 1908 to 12th February1908, he served on Victory I and from 13th February 1908 to 5th September 1908, on Mercury. The Mercury was built at Pembroke dockyard. Laid down 16th March 1876, Launched 18th April 1878, commissioned into the Royal Navy September 1879. Became a submarine tender in 1905 and between 1914-18, served as a hulk at Chatham, finally sold and scrapped in 1919. Charles served on Excellent from 6th September 1908 to 21 November 1908. Excellent was originally built as the Queen Charlotte at Deptford Dockyard in May 1810 and was a 1st rate ship of the line, 190 feet [57.9 mts.] long by 53 1/2 feet [16.3 mts.] wide. In December 1859, the Queen Charlotte was renamed Excellent when she took over the function from the original Excellent of being the Royal Navy's gunnery training ship, permanently moored in Portsmouth.
Until the establishment of Excellent the Royal Navy did not have any formal system of teaching gunners on its ships the science of gunnery and much was left to individual captains to train their own gun crews. The men who came to Excellent were to be taught: the names of the different parts of a gun and carriage, the disport in terms of lineal magnitude and in degrees how taken, what constitutes point blank and what line of metal range, wind age - the errors and the loss of force attending it, the importance of preserving shot from rust, the theory of the most material effects of different charges of powder applied to practice with a single shot, also with a plurality of balls, showing how these affect accuracy, penetration and splinters, to judge the condition of gunpowder by inspection, to ascertain its quality by the ordinary tests and trials, as well as by actual proof."
Charles served on Victory I from 22nd November 1908 to 20th April 1909 and from 21st April 1909 to 8th May 1910 was on HMS Forte. It is thought that the wreck of a ship of the line near the wreck of the "Princess Irene" is "HMS Forte" a captured French Frigate that was called "La Forte" and renamed in to the Royal Navy. Towards the end of the ninetieth century the frigate was reduced to a coal hulk at Sheerness and was alongside the "Princess Irene" when she blew up. A replica figurehead of "Forte" stands in the Broadway Sheerness and the wreck has recently been moved to within a quarter of a mile of Burntwick Island and is marked by an isolated danger buoy. On the 9th May 1910 it says leave breaking, Charles returned on the 24th May 1910 and there are two further dates (1) from 25th may 1910 to 1st November 1910 and (2) from 9th November to 11th April 1911 but ditto marks under the same ships name HMS Forte. From 12th April 1911 to 7th May 1911 Charles was on HMS Vindictive. From 8th May 1911 to 9th June 1911, he served on Victory I and from 10th June 1911, on HMS Imperious with no to date but it says in the service record P26575/21. Then he returned to the Imperious again but as leading seaman, from 20th February, 1912 to 17th April,1912. The HMS Imperious, Royal Navy armoured cruiser was built at Portsmouth Dockyard and launched on 18th December 1883. She served as flagship to the China Station 1889-1894 and moved to the Pacific Station 1896 -1899. She became a destroyer depot ship at Portland in 1905 and was renamed HMS Sapphire but reverted to HMS Imperious again in 1909. She was finally scrapped on 24th September 1914.
From 18th April, 1912 to 24th March 1912, Charles is on HMS Spartiate and from 25th March 1912, he served on HMS Minotaur as a leading seaman. HMS Minotaur served at the China Station between 1910 and 1914 when Charles was serving on it. The war happened because of the following incident.
On June 28, 1914 a Serbian terrorist named Gavrilo Principe, assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand. The Archduke's assassination triggered the outbreak of World War 1. On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Because of Austria-Hungary's alliance with Germany, Serbia sought help from Russia. In 1914 Russia vowed to stand behind Serbia, but first Russia gained support from France. Germany declared war on Russia on Aug. 1, 1914, in response to Russia’s mobilization. Two days later Germany declared war on France. The German Army swept into Belgium on its way to France. The invasion of Belgium caused Britain to declare war on Germany on Aug. 4 1914. After the outbreak of world war one, HMS Minotaur escorted Australian troop ships during November 1914. She returned back to Britain for a refit in December 1914.
Charles’ service with the navy should have been completed on 7th February 1915 but he reenlisted and remained on HMS Minotaur from 1st September to 1915 to 29th January1919 as a Petty Officer.
From 30th January 1919 to 12th July 1919 he served on HMS Cumberland as a PO. HMS Cumberland was a 9800 ton armoured cruiser launched in 1902. She was re-commissioned in 1917 and was used to escort Transatlantic convoys from Nova Scotia and New York to the United Kingdom, a duty which occupied her until the end of the First World War. Built London and Glasgow, Glasgow, laid down February 1901, completed December 1904. 5th Cruiser Squadron Atlantic September 1914 Cameroons, captured 10 German merchant ships. January 1915 6th Cruiser Squadron Grand Fleet. 1915 West Indies and North America Station. In 1921 she was sold and from 6th March 1920 to 15th September 1921 he was on HMS Antrim as Petty Officer.
HMS Antrim started her service with the 1st Cruiser Squadron in the Channel Fleet but moved to the 2nd Cruiser Squadron in March 1907. In September the next year, HMS Antrim joined the Atlantic Fleet and then served with the Home Fleet in the 3rd Division at Nore in April 1909. In December 1912 she became flagship to the Rear-Admiral in the 3rd Cruiser Squadron before joining The Grand Fleet in August 1914 and capturing a German merchant ship that same month. She survived a u-boat attack on 9th October and two years later in June she was sent to Archangel before being sent to the American and West Indies Station. HMS Antrim was put into reserve at the Nore in 1919, but was refitted as a wireless and Asdic trials ship and recommissioned in March 1920. She was then used as a Cadet Training Ship in 1922 before being sold for breaking in December 1922.
From the 16th September 1921 to 15th July 1922, Charles was on HMS Renown as PO HMS Renown served with the Grand Fleet in the North Sea during the remaining two years of World War I. In 1920-21, following a refit, she carried the Prince of Wales on a voyage to Australia and America. Sold for Scrap 1948. From 16th July 1922 to 3rd January 1923, Charles was on HMS Victory I as PO. From 4th January 1923 to 21st November 1923 Charles was on board HMS Barham as a PO until 22nd November 1923 when he became a CPO until 12th May 1924. She was commissioned on 25th August 1915. With a weight of 27,500 tons and planned with a top speed of 25 knots. She served in The Grand Fleet during WWI, and at The Battle of Jutland on 31st May 1916 was flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Hugh Evan-Thomas, commanding the Fifth Battle Squadron. In the battle she received six hits and fired 337 15-Inch rounds. In 1916, two of Barhams 6" guns were removed and two 3"/20 Mk I guns added. At Jutland she fired 337 shells and took 5 hits in return. In 1918 she was given aircraft platforms on B and X turrets. From 1920 to 1924 she was part of the Atlantic Fleet, and by 1926 the 3" guns were removed and replaced by four 4" Mk V AA guns she was Torpedoed and sunk on the 25 November 1941 From the 13th May 1924 to 10th June 1924, Charles was back on HMS Victory as CPO. From the 11th June 1924 to 11th March 1925, he was on his last ship. It is very difficult to read the hand writing it looks like HMS Vernon.
