Royal Navy Photos

These photos, contributed by Alister Greenway (A.S.Greenway@bton.ac.uk), were originally acquired by his grandfather, James Robert Halliday, who served in the Royal Navy from March 1915 until May 1919, and who passed away in 1956. Alister's great-grandfather, Goddard Halliday served from August 1883 ( age 15!) until April 1919.

The captions are as supplied by Mr. Greenway, with a few notes (in italics) added by William Schleihauf. The sources are listed at the end.

For performance, only "thumbnails" are shown below. Click on the images to get an enlargement (a mix of JPEG and GIF formats).

All photographs copyright Allistair Greenway and the GWPDA.

In Northern Waters

[photo01]HM King George V inspects officers of the Harwich Force

[photo02]HMS Carysfort

Caroline class light cruiser, launched September 1914, broken-up in 1931. Her sister HMS Caroline remains in Belfast, and is the last veteran of the Battle of Jutland still afloat! Note the spray being kicked-up in relatively moderate seas.

[photo03]HMS Centaur

Name ship of her class, launched 1916, broken-up 1934.

[photo04]HMS Centaur firing a salvo, June 1918

[photo31]HMS Curlew at speed

[photo05]HMS Curacoa

Ceres class, she was sunk 2 October 1942 in a collision with the famous liner Queen Mary.

[photo06]HMS Danae

"D" class cruiser, she saw service in World War 2, and for a time was loaned to the Polish Navy as Conrad. She was not broken up until 1948.

[photo07]HMS Undaunted

Arethusa class.

[photo08] Destroyers H.M.S Springbok and Skate

[photo09]An aeroplane picked up in the North Sea on the anniversary of the Battle of Jutland, by HMAS Sydney

[photo30]Airing bedding and hammocks

HMS Canterbury

Cambrian class: 3,750 tons displacement; originally armed with 4-6" guns and 6 21" torpedo tubes. She was launched 21 December 1915 and broken up in 1934.

[photo10]A postcard showing HMS Canterbury

[photo11]Waves breaking over the bows

[photo12]Going under the Firth of Forth bridge

[photo13]HMS Canterbury leading the cruisers on entering the Dardanelles and flying the silk Ensign presented by the people of Canterbury

[photo14]HMS Canterbury

[photo15]HMS Canterbury after we had received alterations in dock

[photo16]Part of the Ship's Company

[photo17]Boxing match on board

[photo18]The ship's band of HMS Canterbury

"In Turkish Waters"

[photo19]Yalta in winter, from a postcard bought 1919

[photo20]The right-hand side entering the Bosphorous

[photo21]The British fleet which was first going up the Dardanelles. Flagship HMS Superb, HMS Temeraire, HMS Lord Nelson, HMS Agamemnon.

[photo22] View of Constantinople going in to the Bosphorous, the left hand side

[photo32]Flagship HMS Superb at Constantinople

[photo33]British cruiser Liverpool, a Greek battleship and a French battleship.

[photo23]The Greek battlship Lemnos flying the flag of the Greek Admiral. Was bought from the American Government, the American name was Mississippi.

The Greek battleships Lemnos and Kilkis were two American pre-dreadnoughts, Mississippi and Idaho respectively (not as described above) serving in the Royal Hellenic Navy until sunk by the Luftwaffe at Salamis in April, 1941. That is a four-funnelled French warship in the background.

[photo24]The German cruiser Breslau. She was destroyed by our ships when they slipped out of the Dardanelles.

Technically under the Turkish flag from 1914 as Midilli, she was sunk at 09:10 on the 20th of January 1918 in the Aegean (position 40 deg 05N 26 deg 02E) after striking 5 mines (and not directly by RN vessels as described above). This was during a sortie with the Goeben.

[photo25]The Volya, a Russian battleship taken over by the Germans, but taken from the Germans by us. We sent a party on board to take charge till the fleet came. This photo was taken just as the British Ensign was hoisted for the first time. She is the finest ship in the Russian Navy. I have a gas mask taken from her.

Originally the Imperator Aleksandr III of the Imperatritsa Maria class of Russian dreadnoughts (24,000 tons, 12 12" guns, 21 knots) she was became the Volya after the 1917 revolution. Latter captured by White Russian forces, she became the General Alexeiev. It was under this name that she went to Bizerta carrying a large number of refugees and she was the last operational battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy, hauling her Ensign down finally on 29 October, 1924. She was scrapped between 1926 and 1937.

[photo26]The Goeben, now in British hands.

Like her consort Breslau, SMS Goeben was "purchased" by the Turkish Navy on 16 August 1914. She saw service action as the Yavuz Sultan Selim (albeit with a German crew) in the First World War, and managed to survive until 1971.

[photo27]The Italian battleship Roma.

Regina Elena class pre-dreadnought (14,000 tonnes, 2 12" 12 8" guns).

[photo28]Russian submarines at Sevastopol.

[photo29]The Allied Fleet at Sevastopol.

Probably HMS Superb in the foreground.

References Consulted

Colledge, J. J. Ships of the Royal Navy, 2 volumes
Greenhill Books, 1987 + 1989.

Elliott, Colin Maritime Heritage
Tops'l Books, 1991.

Groner, Erich German Warships 1815-1945, 2 volumes
Naval Institute Press, 1990 + 1991.

Jane, Fred T. (and others) Jane's Fighting Ships
Sampson Low Marston, various years (also reprinted- Arco Press).

Preston, Anthony Battleships of World War I
Galahad Books, 1972.

Reilly, John C. and Scheina, Robert American Battleships 1886-1923
Naval Institute Press, 1980.

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Last Updated: 29 November, 1997