Stoker 2948T Joseph Dagnall

BMD details:
D.O.B 23 Jan 1885.

Family details:
Mother: Sarah, 92, Bank St, Clayton, Manchester

Census details:
1891 : Joseph 5 b St Helens scholar is living with his parents James & Sarah and siblings John 11, James 9, Mary 7, Thomas 4 and Sarah A 1 at Merton Bank Road, Parr. NB family transcribed as Degnan.

[pic]imgs/S1PWHYAOTV/HMS__majestic_zps67603f1a.jpg[/pic][caption]HMS Majestic[/caption] [pic]imgs/S1PWHYAOTV/majestic_Sinking_zps5aae5122.jpg[/pic][caption]HMS Majestic Sinking.[/caption] HMS Majestic was a 16,060t Pre-Dreadnought Battleship launched in 1895. She was armed with Four 12in guns, Twelve 6in quick firing guns, Sixteen 12pdr quick firing guns, Twelve 2pdr quick firing guns, Five 18in torpedo tubes, four submerged. The Majestic was the flagship of the Channel Fleet from 1895-1903. She then served with the Atlantic Fleet (1906) before entering the Commissioned Reserve. From May 1912 she was part of the 3rd Fleet, a reserve formation. WW1 Service. At the outbreak of the First World War, HMS Majestic was in the Devonport dockyard, but she was soon returned to active duty as part of the 7th Battle Squadron of the Channel Fleet. Even the Majestic did not remain with the squadron for long. Gallipoli. In early 1915 HMS Majestic was sent to the Dardenelles to form part of the big Anglo-French battleship squadron that was involved in naval attacks on the Turkish forts at the entrance to the straits. On 26 February, along with HMS Albion and HMS Triumph she made the first opposed entry of warships into the Dardanelles for a century as part of a combined operation that also saw marines land on the Gallipoli peninsula. For this attack howitzers were mounted on the roofs of the 12in gun turrets. The three battleships entered the Dardanelles at 8.00am. The Majestic's first target was a bridge over the Mendere River, which was damaged but not destroyed. By noon she was using her big guns against Fort Dardanos. During the day the ships moved further into the straits, and came under increasingly heavy fire from hidden Turkish howitzers. The Majestic was hit by one 6in howitzer shell below the water line, which caused a minor leak. At 4.00pm the operation battleships were withdrawn from the straits. The Majestic took part in the unsuccessful attempt to force the straits on 18 March 1915. She was then used to support the Anzac landings at Gaba Tepe at the start of the Gallipoli campaign. In the early phase of the Gallipoli campaign the battleships were able to provide valuable support to the troops. However, in May the German submarine U 21 reached the area, and the situation soon changed. On 25 May HMS Triumph was sunk by U 21. The remaining battleships withdrew overnight, then took extra precautions. On 27 May the Majestic took up a position close to shore, protected by submarine nets and surrounded by a fleet of transport ships unloading supplied. It was hoped that this position would allow her to keep firing while protecting her against the submarine, which it was half-believed had been rammed on the previous day. At 6.45am this optimisitic attitude was proved to be false. U 21 was spotted 400 yards from the ship. Moments later two torpedoes were fired through gaps in the lines of transports. Both hit the Majestic, and seven minutes she capsized. The loss of life was surprisingly low. It very quickly became clear that the ship was sinking, and the order to abandon ship was given. Of her crew of nearly 700, only 40 were lost, mostly in the initial explosion but some when they became entangled in the submarine nets. The loss of two battleships in three days had a serious impact on the Gallipoli campaign, seriously reducing the amount of support the navy could offer the army. The Official History of War, when describing the sinking, described the Majestic as the famous ship, the pride of the old Channel fleet, in whose design the whole thought and experience of the Victorian era had culminated. [pic]imgs/WW1_memorials/Joseph_Dagnall.jpg[/pic][caption]Plymouth War Memorial[/caption]