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SKELTON - IN - CLEVELAND
IN HISTORY
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"WE WILL REMEMBER THEM"
K/586 Stoker 1st Class GEORGE WEBSTER
H.M.S. "Black Prince" Royal Navy
Died, age 28, on 31st May 1916
Son of Annie Webster, of 24 Green Rd, Skelton-in-Cleveland, Yorks and the late James Webster.
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He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.
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FAMILY:-
1901. George was 13, living at 24 Green Rd, Skelton in Cleveland and had been born there.
His father, James, aged 45, was an Ironstone Miner below ground. He had been born in Hutton Rudby, N Yorks.
His mother, Annie, aged 42, had been born in York. By 1911 she has had 7 children and all are living.
He had an elder brother, John, age 22, who was a Gardener and 4 sisters - Rose 16, Emily 10, Alice 6 and Marion 2.
1911. The family are still at 24 Green Rd. George has left home. Possibly in the Navy.
George William Cummins, Grandson, age 2, lives with them.
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WAR SITUATION:-
HMS Black Prince was a Cruiser and part of the British Fleet at the Battle of Jutland 31st May 1916.
It had already been in action from the start of the War, capturing a German Merchantman in the Red Sea in August 1914.
At Jutland, Black Prince briefly engaged the German battleship Rheinland at about 23:35 GMT, scoring two hits with 6-inch shells.
Separated from the rest of the British fleet, the Black Prince approached the German lines at approximately midnight.
She turned away from the German battleships, but it was too late.
The German battleship Thüringen fixed the Black Prince in her searchlights and opened fire.
Up to five other German ships, including battleships Nassau, Ostfriesland, and Friedrich der Grosse, joined in the bombardment, with return fire from Black Prince being ineffective.
Most of the German ships were between 750 and 1500 yards of the Black Prince — effectively point blank range for contemporary naval gunnery.
Black Prince was hit by at least twelve heavy shells and several smaller ones, sinking within 15 minutes.
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There were no survivors from Black Prince's crew, all 857 being killed.
HMS Black Prince.
MEMORIAL:-
George is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial which bears the names of some 10,000 Sailors of the First World War.
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