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Auction: 23113 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 369

Three: Able Seaman C. Bowden, Royal Navy, who was serving on H.M.S. Maenad at the Battle of Jutland

1914-15 Star (202985, C. Bowden, A.B. R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (202985 C. Bowden. A.B.R.N.), very fine (3)

Charles Bowden was born at Bath on 1 March 1881 and was a carter when he joined the Royal Navy in March 1899 as Boy 2nd Class. He served throughout the Great War including service on Maenad.

The following eye-witness account of Maenad's part in the Battle of Jutland commences at the moment she turned to deliver her first torpedo attack:

'At about 2.15 a.m., we turned, and everyone was at a pretty high tension waiting to sight the Germans as they appeared out of the haze. At 2.20 we sighted them and attacked. As soon as the attack started, one lost all sense of excitement, because things were happening. The Germans opened a fairly heavy fire on all of us, and right at the beginning hit the Onslaught, which was quite close to us. We fired one torpedo at a German battleship of the Konig class about 4,000 yards off, but I do not know whether we hit. One torpedo from the Flotilla certainly found a mark. The whole attack lasted about five minutes, by which time we had passed this division of German ships and lost sight of them.

After the attack our Captain [Champion], having only had time to fire one torpedo, decided to attack again, so he turned and left the Flotilla, increased to full speed and off we went after the Germans. It did not take long to find them and at 2.28 - only eight minutes after the first attack - we sighted them again and fired two torpedoes. During this and the previous attack there had been nothing for the guns' crews to do, and, as they were very keen, I opened fire with the after gun at a German battleship; rather a ridiculous thing to fire against their armour with 4-inch shells, but it gave us a lot of satisfaction, particularly as the gun-layer swore he saw some shell explode on their superstructure. I'm afraid, however, that this firing rather disconcerted the captain, as he thought it was our ship being hit aft instead of our firing. Just before we turned away and lost sight of the Germans, we had the satisfaction of seeing one of our torpedoes take effect on one of the Germans, and a most splendid explosion resulted, sending a flame well up her masthead. At the time we, of course, thought she would sink, but unfortunately, we found out later that they got back to harbour' (The Fighting at Jutland, refers).

He was discharged to shore on 1 April 1922 and paid a war gratuity; sold together with copy service papers.


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Sold for
£70

Starting price
£40