Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Portsmouth Naval Memorial | Hampshire | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.135 | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Son of Felicie de Kalisz and the late Samuel Sheldon Stephens; husband of Elizabeth Stephens, of Montreal. Franklyn Stephens was born about 1877 in West Derby, England. He married Mabel Louise Hind in 1909 at Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. They had one child: Joyce Mary Stephens born 1914 in Portsmouth, England (married in 1940 to Horace S. Bendall)Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: HMS Good Hope |
Class and type: Drake-class armoured cruiser Tons burthen: 14,100 tons Length: 529.5 ft (161.4 m) overall 515 ft (157 m) at waterline Beam: 71 ft (22 m) Draught: 28 ft (8.5 m) maximum Propulsion: 43 coal-fired Belleville boilers providing steam for two 4-cylinder triple expansion steam engines, twin screws. 30,000 ihp Speed: 23 knots (43 km/h) maximum Range: 7,000 nautical miles at 14 knots (26 km/h) Complement: 900 Armament: 2 x BL 9.2-inch (233.7 mm) guns in single turrets 16 x BL 6-inch (152.4 mm) Mk VII guns in casemates along hull 12 x 12 pounder guns 3 x 3 pounder guns Two 18-in (457mm) submerged torpedo tubes. Director fire control fitted in 1905-1906. Armour: 11.5 ft wide 6 inch belt amidships thinning to 3 in at bow 6 in barbettes 6 in turrets 12 in conning tower |
| Action : Coronel |
The Battle of Coronel took place on 1 November 1914 off the coast of central Chile near the city of Coronel. German Kaiserliche Marine forces led by Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee met and defeated a Royal Navy squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock. Although Spee had an easy victory, destroying two enemy armoured cruisers for just three men injured, the engagement also cost him half his supply of ammunition, which it was impossible to replace.
Shock at the British losses led to an immediate reaction and the sending of more ships which in turn destroyed Spee and his squadron at the Battle of the Falkland Islands. Two British armoured cruisers, HMS Monmouth and HMS Good Hope were sunk with the loss of nearly 1600 men.
HMS Monmouth participated in the Battle of Coronel off the coast of Chile on 1 November 1914. Outmatched and with an inexperienced crew, she was quickly overwhelmed, being unable to use many of her guns due to the stormy weather. Early in the battle, a 21 cm (8.2 inch) shell from SMS Gneisenau penetrated the armour of the forward 6 inch gun turret, destroying it and causing a massive fire on the forecastle. More serious hits followed, and she soon could no longer hold her place in the line of battle. When it was clear that Monmouth was out of action, Gneisenau shifted fire to HMS Good Hope. A short while later, drifting and on fire, Monmouth was attacked by the newly arrived light cruiser SMS Nurnberg which fired seventy-five 10.5 cm (4.1 inch) shells at close range.
H.M.S. Good Hope was sunk along with HMS Monmouth by the German armoured cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau under Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee with the loss of her entire complement of 900 hands. She was an armoured cruiser manned by a crew of reservists and cadets and was the flag ship of Rear Admiral Sir Christopher Craddock commanding a squadron of ageing ships. There were no survivors.
Monmouth and Good Hope both sank with a combined loss of 1,570 lives. There was no survivor from either ship. In total 33 Freemasons lost their lives at the Battle of Coronel. A Memorial to Rear Admiral Sir Christopher Craddock is to be found in York Minster.
Detail :
Franklyn F STEPHENS, Boatswain, HMS Good Hope.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Royal Standard No. 398 E.C. | Montreal & Halifax |
| Joined : | United Service No. 1428 E.C. | Hampshire & IOW |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
10th October 1905 | 17th October 1905 | 24th October 1905 |
Joined United Service Lodge No. 1428 on 26th February 1907.
He was Initiated, Passed and Raised in 1905 at Royal Standard Lodge. He became of member of United Service Lodge No 1428 EC in 1907.
(He is not named at the Halifax Masonic Hall memorial plaque)
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley