First World War: Then and Now

Chatham Dockyard, Background

Chatham Dockyard was active between 1547 and 1984 and built many fine ships for the Royal Navy. Perhaps the best known of these, H.M.S. Victory was launched in 1765. Another Chatham built ship HMS Temeraire has gained fame as the subject of Britain’s favourite painting. It shows being towed out of the Medway to the breaker by a steam tug in 1838, and  is often seen as an allegory for the end of sail and the power of the new industrial age of steam. The 55 mile tow out of the Medway and up the Thames, then the biggest tow attempted by steam power on the river, demonstrated to the Admiralty the power and usefulness of steam tugs with which they had been experimenting since the 1820s.

The build up to war

Admiral of The Fleet John “Jackie” Fisher has been seen by many as the greatest Admiral since Nelson and he was much loved by his men. He always pursued innovation and in his younger years he was Gunnery Lieutenant of HMS Warrior the first all iron battleship. He was promoted Admiral of the Fleet in 1904 and presided over the greatest reorganisation and reform of The Royal Navy since Nelson’s day. Once in post, he removed 150 old and outdated ships from active service and set about creating a modern fleet. He was responsible for the construction of HMS Dreadnought the first all big gun battleship and he also urged the development of submarines. He championed the use of turbines and a change over from coal to oil firing for fighting ships. He believed that “On the British Fleet rests the British Empire” and that his aim was “efficiency of the fleet and its instant readiness for war”. He had each ship and shore unit including dockyards; develop a “War Book” which set down the requirements that needed to be put in place prior to war and actions for  each section in case of war. All this relied on the great Naval Dockyards to work to maximum capacity. One of the oldest and largest Royal Dockyards was Chatham.

Jackie Fisher retired in 1911 having reached the age of 70. On his retirement he warned and predicted the start of a war with Germany when the Germans finished building the Kiel Canal which was due to be completed in May 1914. In the same year as Fisher’s retirement Winston Churchill was appointed First Sea Lord of the Admiralty. He admired Fisher, was often in his company and pursued Fisher’s ethos of naval modernisation. In 1912 Churchill was responsible for the policy of building two British battleships to every one Germany built, which became known as “ two keels for one”, ( later 60% more than Germany). To support each Battleship smaller craft such as cruisers, destroyers, submarines and tugs were also required. Britain was in a naval arms race with Germany which put great pressure on the naval dockyards to build and service the fast growing fleet. In March 1912 this pressure on the dockyards increased when a treaty was signed with France whereby Britain guaranteed to protect both the British and French Channel ports in exchange for France protecting the Mediterranean.  This treaty was a contributory factor in Britain being drawn into the First World War. Churchill ordered the Battleships of the Mediterranean Fleet which had been maintained at Gibraltar and Malta home to protect the North Sea and counter the growing threat from Germany. He reorganised them into three main fleets composed of eight battle squadrons of eight ships each.

As part of the Fisher strategy which Churchill pursued, the Royal Dockyards were brought up to speed. Chatham, although 13 miles inland past the smaller dockyard at Sheerness and up a fast flowing and muddy River Medway, was a very extensive dockyard with nine dry docks, four of which let directly onto the river and five of which opened into one of the three of the impounded wet docks or basins. The three basins were strung out in a line bisecting a bend in the river with locks at one and later both ends. No 1 Basin of 21 acres was the “ Repair” Basin where engines and boilers could be supplied by the Factory and Boiler shops sited on the South side. No 2 Basin, the “Factory Basin also 21 acres was where fitting out of ships was undertaken. No 3 Basin was of 27 acres let onto the two river locks and had a small craft repair facility, torpedo depot and was dominated by  large coal heaps where Terrier, Tyke, the other tugs and coal fired vessels refuelled. It was also the coal supply for the extensive private standard gauge railway that was run by the Dockyard. This railway replaced an earlier 18” gauge system.  There were also slipways for building new vessels. Being upriver the largest ships could not reach Chatham, Cruiser size vessels being the maximum size that could be accommodated.

One of the key requirements was efficient dockyards with a fleet of powerful and efficient naval tugs. These were run by the Admiralty Yard Craft Service.

The yard service tug fleet prior to the Jackie Fisher and Churchill reforms was aging. At that time often no particular class of vessels were run together in yard service and tugs were purchased as required, some of a standard class and some second hand from disparate private builders. The Admiralty seem to have grouped tugs into classes or types despite them not being exactly the same. 

Before the build up to The First World War Chatham had a compliment of three paddle tugs and one screw tug:

• H.M. Tug  Advince, 1899, 700 tons , 1250ihp. Dromedary class, built by London & Glasgow. 

• H.M. Tug Carron of 1880, (bought 1883), 450 tons, 500ihp.Ex Mont Etna ex Flying Eagle, built by Chambers, Dumbarton.

• H.M.Tug Perseverance 1883 (ex Meteor renamed after the launch of Destroyer HMS Meteor), 530 tonnes, 850 ihp.Aetna type built by Laird. 

In 1905 this was augmented by a twin screw tug.,

• H.M.Tug Prudent, 1905, 325 tons, 620ihp.

New Tugs Needed For The Impending War.

With war looming and under the direction of Churchill the British Navy and their dockyards were put on a high state of readiness. There was a need for more tugs at Chatham to speed the docking and undocking of the expected ships returning from battle to repair, restore and rearm. Plus extra demands for tugs were being placed on the AYCS by an enhanced new building program which was in full swing at Chatham. The yard specialising, but not exclusively, in the building of submarines.

What Chatham Dockyard lacked was small tugs to work handily around the basins with as large a horsepower engine as could be accommodated in a small hull of about 75ft. This was probably identified in the War Book planning exercises. Unlike the larger tugs which would be expected to range further out to sea to pick up tows,  basin tugs were not required to have overnight living accommodation aboard, just a galley for hot drinks and food and a forward cabin to escape from inclement weather when not underway. Crews would be housed ashore in barracks or go to their local homes at the end of their watch aboard.

As a result of the build up to war two new tugs were sought at short notice for Chatham Dockyard.

The June 1913 edition, ( corrected to 18 May 1913)  of The Navy List, the monthly return of Royal Naval ships and officers show that two new tugs arrived together  at Chatham to be added to The Navy and Chatham’s compliment. The Navy List simply describes them as; 

• Terrier. Tug.   Chatham.                                

• Tyke. Tug. Chatham.

The British Warships 1914-1919 by Dittmar and Colledge says;

Terrier, small berthing tug. 95 tons. Purchased 3.13, believed flew blue ensign. Sold 1948.

Tyke, small berthing tug, 95 tons. Purchased 1.12, believed flew blue ensign. Sold 1947.

Fifty Years of Naval Tugs by Hannan says,

Terrier Class. 

75’6”x18’3”, draught 9’6” engines steam compound, IHP 300, Speed 10 knots, single screw.

Terrier     1913. Alexander  Hall, Aberdeen based Chatham as basin tug. 15.3.48 sold J.P.Knight.  

Tyke         1911. Montrose SY, based Chatham as Basin Tug.( July 1947 for disposal).

(The later source has transposed the year of build and builders name) 

H.M.Tug Terrier, laid down at Montrose Shipbuilding Company in 1912 as Viking to the orders of Mr Gerdes-Hansen and Co of London. Mr Gerdes-Hansen was a Danish Shipping Agent with offices in the City of London. Viking sailed on delivery voyage to the Thames in March 1913 and appears in the Navy List at Chatham Dockyard after 18th May 1913.

H.M.Tug Tyke, built 1/1912  by Alexander Hall & Co Aberdeen as Tyke for J.S. Scott,11 High Street, Hull. Appears in The Navy List at Chatham Dockyard after 18th May 1913. (Tyke is a Scottish and Northern English dialect word meaning a small terrier type dog).

H.M. TUG TERRIER and Chatham Dockyard, the War Years 1914 / 1918

The tug crews were generally civilians of the A.Y.C.S., wearing civilian clothes such as a dark woollen suit and flat hats, or parts of naval type “No 8 working dress blues”. The officers also had uniform jackets and peaked caps, the cap badge being a crowned anchor with the anchor on its side. (See image of a later type below). Overalls were not standard issue to dockyard workers or tug crews, although later, women working in the yard were issued with them.

They were under a form of naval discipline as they answered to the Captain of The Dockyard, but their service on vessels during the First World War is not recorded in Royal Navy service records. AYCS crew were free to volunteer for active war service and some may have already been Royal Fleet Reservists and would have been called up at the outbreak of war. This changed when the Military Service Act was passed in 1916, every male between 18 and 41, (later 51), who was not a widower or a minister of religion was liable to be called up for military service. Unlike during WW2 when essential personnel had reserved occupation status, in World War 1 men were called up whatever their occupation. Anyone such as dockyard workers who did not wish to serve and thought their job was essential to the war effort had to appeal against call up and the case went to a tribunal. Two million men appealed and appeared before local tribunals which were presided over by local worthies such as the Mayor or lay Magistrates.  If it was found that their work was of national importance such as AYCS tug crews, they were exempted from call up. Of the 11000 dockyard workers at Chatham 22% went into active service by volunteering, being reservists or not contesting conscription.

Many of the vacant dockyard jobs were undertaken by women during the war years.  But unlike during World War II when women worked river barges and narrow boats women were not generally employed afloat on dockyard craft during World War One. The Suffragette movement had been very active before the war in the area and Chistabel and Sylvia Pankhurst had held a public rally in Gillingham town where many dockyard workers and tug crews lived. However on the outbreak of war the Pankhursts declared a truce on the fight for women’s voting rights and urged women to join the fight against Germany. Tug crews particularly those of H.M.T. Terrier and Tyke which were always based in the basins would have mixed with women at work for the first time, which they must have found strange. New wash rooms and toilets had to be found for women in the yard.   About 1000 women were employed during the war at Chatham Dockyard. 

The Dockyard workers day was 12 hours with a half day on Saturday and Sunday off duty. Shore side workers worked from 7 am to 7pm (7 to 12 on Saturday), tug crews worked to the tides but still on a 12 hour day.

With the urgent wartime work on hand there was a lot of overtime needed and this coupled with a war bonus often doubled the wages of dockyard workers and tug crews during the war years. Senior tug crew members as skilled workers could with bonuses be on about £4-10sh per week, ( about £450 per week, £23400 per year in today’s money) and take home most of this as income tax, at least earlier in the war was  low. This combined with many of the women of the same households working at the dockyard meant that many workers and tug crews households became much better off during the war years. 

When the war ended women were soon sacked as the men came home and work demands reduced. Also wage rates were quickly dropped to pre war levels and skilled men’s pay went down to pre war levels of about £2-18sh per week. This higher standard of living enjoyed during the war and workers expectation had a knock on effect after the war resulting in continuing demands for higher wages, the General Strike, the success of the Suffragette movement and the changing of Britain’s old order forever.  

AYCS crews were issued with On War Service badges to wear on civilian clothing when ashore to show why they were not in uniform and to avoid white feather abuse. Each badge was engraved with the holders name or number on the reverse to avoid misuse.

After the war there was much ill feeling amongst the AYCS men as many of them were not given the British War Medal or paid the Naval War Gratuity despite them working alongside RN men on the tugs. In 1920 questions were asked in Parliament about this matter but it was said that the Admiralty would not give the War Gratuity to AYCS men as they were on higher rates of pay than naval ratings. However, the Admiralty was considering awarding war service medals to the ACYS.  In the end they decided not to give dockyard tug crews that worked within the limits of the port British War Medals as detailed below.,

I am to acquaint you that the Board have had under consideration the question of the award of the British War Medal to Civilians who served under the Admiralty during the war and they have decided that 28 days actual service at sea which is necessary to qualify for the award of the Medal should mean a total of 672 hours served in a ship at sea outside the limits of the port.

The larger AYCS tugs assigned to Chatham Dockyard in 1914 must have ranged to sea to pick up their tows bound for the dockyard or disabled ships at sea. Some of the Chatham Dockyard AYCS crews were thus were able to claim The R.N. General Service Medals, as listed below.

H.M.Tug Advice. H.M.Dockyard Chatham.

• W.G.H.Quint, Master.

• A.G.Tann, Mate.

• D.Snow, Mate.

• H.Smail, 1st Engineer.

• Godsiff D.C., A.B.

• Nutter R.G. A.B.

• Saunders S. A.B.

• Colesworthy G.J. Chief Stoker.

• Tyler F. Ldg., Stoker.

• Saunders W. Stoker.

• Knight. Stoker.

 H.M.Tug Carron. H.M.Dockyard, Chatham.

• Oliver S. Acting Master.

• Lyle A.C. Acting Mate.

• Williams W. Est. Engine Fitter.

• Webster E.A.Skld., Labourer.

• Wren E.A. Skld., Labourer.

• Smead J. Leading Stoker.

• Hunt E.J. Stoker.

• Colesworth W. O.S.

 H.M.Tug Perseverance. H.M.Dockyard Chatham.

• Colesworthy E.B. Mate.

• Redding W. A.B.

• Cordier F. A.B.

• Hunter C. Stoker.

 H.M.Tug Prudent. H.M.Dockyard Chatham.

• Ralph W. Mate.

• Champ J. Not Known.

• Sage A. A.B.

• Langley A. A.B.

• Fletcher H. Stoker.

• Simler J. Stoker.

• Glover G. Skld Labourer.

 In addition one man is listed as receiving a medal on Chatham Yard Craft with no tugs name assigned, 

H.M.Dockyard Chatham.

• Vaughan G.   Mate.

 The Chatham Dockyard crews would to some extent be interchangeable and at times work on the larger tugs or smaller basin tugs so some of the men listed probably worked aboard H.M.TUG Terrier.

The fact that the larger dockyard tugs went to sea is illustrated by the following regarding salvage money;

NOTICE OF INTENDED DISTRIBUTION

OF NAVAL SALVAGE MONEY.

 "On Prize Business:—to the

Accountant-General of the Navy, Admiralty,

London, S.W. 1." Such applications (except

in the case of Commissioned Officers) should

be accompanied by Certificates of Service.

Salvage of s.s. " Marengo " by H.M. Tugs

'' Sandboy," " Perseverance," " Prudent''

and " Succour " between 15th and 17th September,

1917. 

Dockyard tug crews were regarded as Civil Servants and as such were awarded the Imperial Service Medal on retirement. During the whole of the war period there is only one award of the I.S.M. on retirement recorded from the AYCS at Chatham.

16/1/1917  Wickham, Walter William, Master of Yardcraft, Chatham Dockyard.

At Chatham they were under the command of The Kings Harbour Master, Chatham who in 1914 was Captain of the Dockyard, Captain Ernest Grafton. He answered to the Rear Admiral of Chatham Dockyard who in 1914 was Rear Admiral Charles E Anson.  

AYCS tugs flew a defaced blue ensign.  Superstructures were painted buff, except over boiler casings top which were black and decks were green. General Service tugs had buff funnels with blue rings near the top and black tops. Vessels of the AYCS on Ordinance duties had a red ring around the funnel and were fitted with spark arrestors on the funnel top. Vessels of the Victualing Dept., had a green ring around the funnel. Lifebelts were white with H.M. Tug or H.M.T. in gold or yellow on the top quarter and vessels name on the bottom quarter. 

Admiralty Yard Craft Service ranks were as follows, it should be noted that the AYCS was linked to The Admiralty Dredging Service and The Fleet Coaling Service.

• Boy[1]

• Ordinary Seaman[2]

• Dredger Deckhand

• Harbourman[3]

• Able Seaman/Dredger Fireman/Dredger Stoker/Dredger Ladderman

• Writer/Messenger[4]

• Stoker/Skilled Harbourman

• Coaling Master 2nd Class[5]/Leading Stoker/Dredger Engine Driver

• Chief Stoker/Leading Harbourman

• Mate[6]

• Coaling Master 1st Class[7]

• Engineer 3rd Class[8]

• Master 2nd Class[9]/Dredger Master[10]/Suction Dredger Navigator[10]/Engineer 2nd Class[8]

• Master 1st Class[11]

• Engineer 1st Class[12]

• Suction Dredger Master and Chief Engineer

By chance one Admiralty Yard Craft Service crew members has been recorded in civilian war records. 

 “Men of Grimsby, a Record of their War Service” which is held at Grimsby Library. It details.,

 Albert Victor Haughton, 7 Peaksfield Avenue Grimsby, 14AC/18/124Z-Marine Eng:- HMS Tug Terrier.              (Should be H.M. Tug Terrier).

Chatham Dockyard (Chats in navy slang), was one of three Naval Barracks and manning bases. The other two being Portsmouth (Pompey) and Plymouth (Guz). All Royal Navy men were assigned to one of the three bases.  They would return to these bases to be housed ashore if they were not assigned to a ship at that time or to a local manning base if their ship was “dead” and in dock for repair or refitting. Chatham’s shore barracks was H.M.S. Pembroke (what is called a stone frigate) and could house up to 5000 men. To keep everyone active each day in barracks men would be “told off” (naval term) for training or given duties that day. This would include work about the dockyard and manning tugs and yard craft as required if they were short of their regular civilian crew. 

These duties on Yard Craft would not be recorded on service records relating to a specific yard service vessel but just their assignment to a “stone frigate”. See below, my grandfather’s service record as an example. HMS Vivid was the shore barracks Plymouth, HMS Victory was the shore base at Portsmouth and  HMS Pembroke was Chatham where he served from April to June 1917 as his ship HMS Meteor may have been in for repair. 

The Royal Navy had 205 ships in the Chatham Division and Terrier and the Chatham tugs must have been busy shepherding the fleet in and out of the dockyard.

There was cheering in the dockyard and on the yard craft when it was announced on the 5th August 1914 that the first shot of the naval war had been fired by a Chatham Division ship HMS Lance. This  resulted in the sinking of the German Minelayer Konigin Luise in the North Sea.

However the grim reality of war made its impact felt on Chatham when three cruisers, HMS Hogue, HMS Aboukir and HMS Cressy were sunk in one morning by  U9 boat, with the loss of 1500 Chatham Division men.

Disaster struck the Medway on 26/11/14 when HMS Bulwalk exploded whilst at anchor in the river near Sheerness. The explosion was clearly heard in the dockyard at Chatham. It was thought that cordite had overheated when stored next to the boiler room bulkhead. 736 Chatham men were lost with only 12 survivors.

Six months later another Chatham Division ship exploded in the Medway, HMS Princess Irene a CPR Liner requisitioned by the Royal Navy as a minelayer exploded on 27 May 1915 whilst at anchor. Again the explosion was heard at Chatham, 13 miles away. 273 Officers and men and 76 dockyard workers were killed, only one man survived. Initially sabotage was suspected and a Chatham Dockyard worker was arrested but later cleared when it was found that the priming of mines had been carried out hurriedly by untrained men.

Another explosion rocked Chatham Dockyard at 11pm on the 4th September 1917 when Gotha bombers attached the dockyard. It was the first night raid by a Gotha bomber on Britain and was not expected, the Dockyard and Chatham town was fully lit and illuminated.  The Drill Hall which was overspill housing for sailors from HMS Pembroke was tightly packed and was hit by a 50kg bomb, 136 sailors died. Bombs also hit the town but missed the vital dockyard and its ships and tugs. The bombing became known at the time as The Chatham Massacre.

During World War 1 Chatham Dockyard launched 16 ships being three cruisers and twelve submarines. Terrier and Tyke would have attended these launches particularly those of the submarines were paddle tugs could not be used. 

Cruiser H.M.S. Arethusa was commissioned on 11th August 1914. She fought at the Battle of Heligoland Bight were she was damaged by German ships Stettin and Fraunenlob. She returned to Chatham for repair in the Basins and was then engaged in the Battle of Dogger Bank. In 1916 she hit a mine and broke her back. 

Light Cruisers H.M.S. Calliope and Conquest were launched in 1914. Calliope was damaged at the Battle of Jutland in 1915 and was not returned by Chatham Dockyard to duty until 1918. Conquest was hit by a German shell during an attack on the East Coast, 25 crew were killed.

Submarines, E12, E13, F1, G1, G2, G3, G5, R1, R2, R3 and R4 were all built at Chatham during the war.

E12 was successful in sinking 7 Turkish steamers and 30 sailing ships in the Sea of Marmora.

G2 sank U78 by torpedo in the North Sea in 1915.  

Many post battle repairs were undertaken including the creation of Tribal class destroyer Zubian from the damaged sections of Nubian and Zulu and the same class. Below is an image of Nubian which remarkably was brought into dry dock at Chatham still afloat after the forward end was blown off the ship having been hit by a torpedo off Dover on 27th October 1916. The photo is taken in one of the basin dry docks, Terrier and Tyke would have been the tugs to undertake  the tricky job of getting the hulk through the basins to dry dock.

Another difficult dead tow through the basins to No 8 dry dock was completed by Terrier and Tyke in June 1917 when H.M.S. Tartar was docked to repair bow damage caused by striking a mine. 

The two basin tugs Terrier and Tyke would have been worked hard during the war years as ships came into the basin for repair, restore and rearm.  The Basin Tugs role took over as bow tug to lead the ship into the lock as a ship neared the lock from the river. The ship generally being brought up river with one or more of the large paddle tugs lashed alongside. A method of tug work much favoured by the  navy who liked the paddle tugs ability to stop a tow quickly and rotate the tow easily using the disconnected paddle wheels. This method of working with a paddle tug alongside could not however be used when handling submarines.

Terrier or Tyke would lead the ship through the lock and then as required one would take up station to nudge ships through the bull noses between the three basins.

They would also be in attendance as vessels entered and left the dry docks some of which ran off the basins and some directly onto the River Medway.

Slipway launches were another call on the two small tugs services, particularly at the launch of submarines which as has been said were unsuitable to be handled by paddle tugs alongside due to the submarines vulnerable pressure hulls.  

Later Naval History

Terrier had a new boiler built at Chatham Dockyard and installed in 1935. Terrier and Tyke remained the faithful basin tugs at Chatham throughout the Second World War and until 1947/8.

After World War II many small TID ( Tug Invasion Deployment or Tug In Dock ) class tugs became available. A total of 182 of these tugs were built between 1943 and 1946, the TID’s became replacements for  Terrier and Tyke. Tyke was the first to go being put up for disposal in July 1947 followed by Terrier being sold to J.P.Knight’s on 15.3.1948. 

 TID’s recorded at Chatham Dockyard were.,

•  TID 97 from 1945 to 1962, 

• TID 83 from 1945 to 1958, 

• TID 61 from 1945 to 1958, 

• TID 52 from 1947 to 1963, 

• TID 107 from 1957 to 1968 

• TID 172 from 1959 to 1973. 

TID 97 came to grief in December 1962 when it was rolled over whilst berthing RFA Hebe in Chatham Basin.TID 174 is preserved at Maldon, Essex.

After Admiralty service many TID’s passed into private ownership. Sheerness Dockyard’s TID 100 became the tug Richard Abel at Liverpool and was reunited with follow Medway naval tug Kerne (Terrier). Tug Richard Abel, like most steamships, was gone by the 1960’s. .

Vessels from the First World War are rare structures and those still extant today are largely static museums.

However Kerne is a remarkable worldwide survivor. 

This humble Admiralty tug has become the last naval steamship from World War One, still operational and driven by its original machinery.    All the sailors and engineers that served in the First World War steamships are now gone but Kerne steams on as a fitting maritime tribute to the “the war to end all wars”. 

The full report, including all images and diagrams can be seen here