Colour Sergeant
Benjamin George JOYCE
Navy
Died: 3rd February 1915 - Age: 39

Commemorated:

1. Memorial:Chatham Naval Memorial13 Kent
2. Book:The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918Pg.127
3. Memorial:The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour59B GQS
    

Awards & Titles:

 

Family :

Husband of Marian Lydia Joyce, of 468, Katherine Rd., Forest Gate, London.

Service Life:

Campaigns:

Unit / Ship / Est.: HMS Clan McNaughton 

Mike: Daring deeds of merchant seamen in the great war - Wheeler, Harold F. B 1918 The Clan McNaughton, an armed merchant cruiser of 4985 tons, was probably lost owing to bad weather. She went down with all hands, numbering 280 officers and men. Despite the most careful search, all that remained was wreckage, and even that was not positively identified as having belonged to the missing ship. She was a pre-war merchant ship, which was requisitioned in November 1914 when she returned to her home port of Tilbury. She was then hastily converted into something she was never intended to be - a warship, which would have included mounting guns up on deck - well above her normal centre of gravity. A hotch potch crew was then cobbled together for her: Career RN officers, although her engineer officers had all been Merchant Navy, some career RN Ratings, but many of the rest of her crew were reservists including some men from Newfoundland, one or two RN pensioners, plus no less than 50 boys straight out of the training shore base at Shotley, H.M.S. Ganges. All in all, a motley bunch who would have been completely unfamiliar with the ship and how she sailed. http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t51606.html She sailed for patrol duties in the North Atlantic a few days before Christmas 1914, but had to put into Liverpool on the way, seemingly for some problem to be sorted but I have never been able to find out what it was. She returned to Liverpool certainly once, perhaps twice before her loss in February 1915. She was in radio contact at about 6 a.m. on the morning of 3 February 1915 and reported terrible weather conditions. Nothing further was ever heard of her. Some floating wreckage was found about fortnight later in the approximate area of her last known position but it could not be identified as having come from her. The truth is that no one knows for certain what did happen to her. The mine theory was put forward as a possible cause of the loss. But, if you think about it, surely the odds must be seriously stacked against a ship encountering a drifting mine out in the Atlantic Ocean? Personally speaking, I believe that the real cause of her loss was a combination of three factors: An Atlantic gale, she had been converted into something she had never been designed to be with those guns quite possibly making her top heavy in such weather, and real mixture of a crew, who had only limited experience of the ship and how she sailed. There were some 37 RMLI on board of a crew of 277 which also included 20 officers and 220 RN, RNR, Newfoundland RNR, and MMR ratings. The RMLI were on the ship as boarding crew.

Action : Naval Campaign 

Naval Campaign is defined as to include all sea operations where attrition rates are in ones and twos and which do not fall within specific naval battles such as Jutland, Coronel, Falklands etc. This includes Merchant Navy losses.

Detail :

Two Freemasons, Colour Sergeant Benjamin George JOYCE R.M.L.I and Engine Room Artificer William SCOTT died together on the Clan McNaughton, an armed merchant cruiser of 4985 tons, which was probably lost owing to bad weather. No U-Boat claimed to have attacked the ship. She went down with all hands of the coast of Ireland, numbering 277 officers and men. She was a pre-war merchant ship, which was requisitioned in November 1914 when she returned to her home port of Tilbury. She was then hastily converted into something she was never intended to be - a warship, which would have included mounting guns up on deck - well above her normal centre of gravity. A crew was then cobbled together for her: Career RN officers, although her engineer officers had all been Merchant Navy, some career RN Ratings, but many of the rest of her crew were reservists including some men from Newfoundland, one or two RN pensioners, plus no less than 50 boys straight out of the training shore base at Shotley, H.M.S. Ganges. All in all, a motley bunch who would have been completely unfamiliar with the ship and how she sailed. She sailed for patrol duties in the North Atlantic a few days before Christmas 1914, and returned to Liverpool certainly once, perhaps twice before her loss in February 1915. She was in radio contact at about 6 a.m. on the morning of 3 February 1915 and reported terrible weather conditions. Nothing further was ever heard of her. Some floating wreckage was found about fortnight later in the approximate area of her last known position but it could not be identified as having come from her.

The truth is that no one knows for certain what did happen to her. It is possible that the ship struck a mine, but the accepted opinion is that the real cause of her loss was a combination of three factors: A raging Atlantic gale, her conversion possibly making her top heavy in such weather, and real mixture of a crew, who had only limited experience of the ship and how she sailed. There were some 37 RMLI on board of a crew of 277 which also included 20 officers and 220 RN, RNR, Newfoundland RNR, and MMR ratings. The RMLI were on the ship as boarding crew. Daring deeds of merchant seamen in the great war - Wheeler, Harold F. B 1918 http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t51606.html

Masonic :

TypeLodge Name and No.Province/District :
Mother : Beacon Court No. 1967 E.C.East Kent
Joined : Per Mare per Terram No. 3609 E.C. East Kent

Initiated
Passed
Raised
24th April 1905
21st June 1905
26th July 1905
 

He was an initiate of the Beacon Lodge No. 1967 at Gillingham. He was a Sergeant of the Royal Marines Light Infantry. He resigned from this lodge within a year in March 1906. He then joined Per Mare Per Terram Lodge 13th June, 1912.

Source :

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Last Updated: 2020-06-06 08:37:21