Stoker 1st Class K/25656 Henry Howard

Family details:
Son of William and Emma Howard, of 78, Baxter's Lane, Sutton, St. Helens, Lancs.

Census details:
Born 17th October 1896. 1901 - 3 years old Henry is living at 5 Massey Street (off Baxters Lane) Sutton, St Helens with parents William (36), Emma (34) and five siblings: John (10), Arthur (9), Bessie (5), Maggie (1), Albert (4 Mths). 1911 - Sees 13 years old 'Scholar' Henry living at 78 Baxters Lane, Sutton, St Helens with parents William (46), Emma (44) and eight siblings: John (20), Arthur (19), Bessie (16), Maggie (12), Annie (8), Emily (5), Bertha (3), William (1).

Notes:
Killed or died as a direct result of enemy action - Body Not Recovered For Burial. [url=lmem.php?lmem=1]Remembered on All Saints War Memorial, Sutton, St Helens[/url] [popup=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jutland]Wiki - Battle of Jutland[/popup]

[pic]imgs/WW1_misc/HowardHenry_RN_1.jpg[/pic][caption]The St Helens Reporter - Courtesy Ste M[/caption] [pic]imgs/S1PWHYAOTV/HMS_Queen_Mary_zps18cb7ddb.jpg[/pic][caption]HMS Queen Mary[/caption] HMS Queen Mary was a battlecruiser of the Royal Navy. She weighed over 32,000 Tons and was armed with eight 13.5 inch Guns. She was similar to the Lion class, though she differed in details from her half-sisters. Upon commissioning, she joined the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron. On 28 August 1914, she took part in the 1st Battle of Heligoland Bight. She was under refit at the time of the Dogger Bank battle, so she did not take part in that engagement. Jutland. She was under the command of Captain Cecil I. Prowse at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916. Due to her more modern rangefinders, her gunnery was more accurate than the rest of the Royal Navy battlecruisers, and she was firing full broadsides. She had fired about 150 13.5 in shells, putting one of Derfflinger's turrets out of commission, then she switched fire and focused 4 hits on the SMS Seydlitz. The mighty Seydlitz hit back, first striking Queen Mary above the right gun on 'Q' turret; this gun was out of action, but the left gun kept firing. Shortly after, more 30.5 cm (12 inch) shells hit her forward near 'A' and 'B' turrets, and another hit 'Q' turret. The forward magazine exploded, the ship listed to port, and more explosions followed as the ship was sinking. The battlecruiser behind her, HMS Tiger, was showered with hot debris from the explosion. All but twenty-one of her 1,266 crew were lost (two of the survivors were picked up by German ships). Extract from the Official History; " Naval Operations" by Sir Julian S. Corbett. 1923 .....For Admiral Hipper was in action again. At 4.10, being then eleven miles away abaft the beam of the Lion, he inclined inwards a couple of points, and as Admiral Beatty simultaneously altered still more to port to press his van, he was able at 4.17 to re-open fire at extreme range. The Lion had not yet been able entirely to master the fire that was smothering her. To the Germans she must have been invisible, for the Derfflinger, mistaking the Princess Royal for the flagship, began firing on the next astern, which the Seydlitz was also engaging. Thus the Queen Mary, at from 15,800 to 14,500 yards, became the target of both these ships. For about five minutes she stood it gallantly. She was fighting splendidly. The Germans say full salvoes were coming from her with fabulous rapidity. Twice already she had been straddled by the Derfflinger, when at 4.26 a plunging salvo crashed upon her deck forward. In a moment there was a dazzling flash of red flame where the salvo fell, and then a much heavier explosion rent her amidships. Her bows plunged down, and as the Tiger and New Zealand raced by her to port and starboard, her propellers were still slowly revolving high in the air. In another moment, as her two consorts were smothered in a shower of black debris, there was nothing of her left but a dark pillar of smoke rising stemlike till it spread hundreds of feet high in the likeness of a vast palm tree. Two such successes were beyond anything the Germans had reason to expect. Admiral Scheer's plan had broken down, and yet they were gaining even more than he could have hoped for...... Her wreck was discovered in 1991 and rests partly upside-down, on sand, 60 metres down. Much equipment is scattered about the wreck. Queen Mary is designated as a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act. [center][pic2]imgs/S1PWHYAOTV/K25656_Henry_Howard_zpsc8ac12c2.jpg[/pic2][/center][caption]The panel on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial bearing the name of Stoker 1st Class Henry Howard [/caption]