Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Sheerness (Isle-Of-Sheppey) Cemetery | ||
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.121 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 4B GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Resident of Dover 1896.Education & Career :
Fitter (1896)
Chief Engine Room Artificer, RN (1910)
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: HMS Flirt |
Mike: The British Destroyer HMS Flirt, a small 380 Gross Tonne steel 30 Knotter built in 1897 by Palmers of Jarrow, Armed with 1 x 12 Pounder and 5 x 6 Pounder?s, plus 2 x Torpedo Tubes, she was powered by steam turbine with 3 boilers and 2 screws. The ship is very narrow with dimensions of only 65m length and only a very narrow 6.2m beam. The ship was sunk on the night of 27 October 1916 when the German Navy mounted a raid in the Dover straights against the ships of the awesome Dover Patrol who were maintaining the Dover Barrage (Minefield). 12 German Destroyers in 2 divisions of 6 broke into the barrage and sunk 7 of the attendant trawlers and drifters. HMS Flirt investigated this and though she sighted the enemy they mistook them for Allied Destroyers returning to Dover. Flirt stopped to rescue survivors of the drifters in the sea and put her searchlight on to do this. Meanwhile the Germans returned and a well aimed torpedo struck her amidships, she sunk immediately with a loss of most of the crew, the only survivors being those in the lifeboat picking up the other survivors. |
| Action : HMS Flirt, Sinking of |
British Navy, destroyer; 1900; Palmer & Co.; 335 tons; 210X 21x11; 5,700 i.h.p.; 30 knots; triple-expansion engines; Thorny croft boilers; one 12 pdr., five 6pdr., 2 T.T. On October 23rd, 1916, the Admiralty became aware that the German naval command was preparing a sortie by light forces which might have for its aim a raid upon the defences of the Straits of Dover. It was known that Capt. A. Michelsen, commanding the destroyer flotillas of the High Seas Fleet, was leading the 3rd and 9th flotillas, of 24 destroyers in all, down the Dutch coast toward Zeebrugge. Vice-Admiral Sir R. Bacon, commanding the Dover patrol, therefore disposed the forces under his command to meet the threatened attack, which came on the night of October 26th, in the area bounded by a line drawn from Dover to Calais on one side and from the Downs to Dunkirk on the other. The destroyer Flirt, a small and old ship commanded by Lt. R. Kellett, left Dover about 8 p.m. and two hours later, hearing gunfire in the direction of the line of drifters guarding the submarine barrage, made towards it. Here she found the drifter Wayeney II on fire, and at once lowered a boat to go to her assistance. At the same time a destroyer line came into sight, but gave no grounds for action as it was presumed to be French. Shortly afterwards these ships opened fire on the Flirt and sank her with every man on board, the boat's crew being the only survivors. The official complement of the Flirt was 80. The German flotillas, after damaging the destroyer Nubian and sinking one or two drifters, returned to their base without loss. See Kent History Forum
Detail :
Inscribed in the gravestone at Sheppey Cemetery : "Sacred to the Memory of Frederick W. Edwards R.N. Accidently drowned June 1st, 1916 Aged 42 years. "Grant him O Lord Eternal Rest". Lottie Victoria wife of above.
A naval medal of Fredericks came to auction in 2013 with the following notes:
"Frederick William Edwards was born in Dover on 9 December 1873. Entering the Royal Navy in April 1897 and attained the rate of Acting C.E.R.A. 1st Class in September 1914 and was promoted to Acting Artificer Engineer in September 1915. Awarded the L.S. & G.C. in 1912 on the sloop Cormorant. Served on Cormorant and T.B.93, October 1913-September 1915. As an officer, he served on the destroyer Flirt in the Dover Patrol. He was reported drowned on 1 June 1916. His body was recovered and buried in the Sheerness Cemetery. He was the husband of Lottie Victoria Edwards, of The Royal Hotel, Sheerness."
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Lodge of Peace and Harmony No. 199 E.C. | East Kent |
| Joined : | Inhabitants No. 153 E.C. | Gibraltar |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
3rd February 1896 | 2nd March 1896 | 6th April 1896 |
Joined Inhabitants Lodge No. 153, Gibraltar September 17th, 1910 from Lodge of Peace & Harmony No. 199, Dover, resigning from this former lodge in October 1908.
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