Clifford Hirst

CLIFFORD HIRST

Ordinary Seaman J/31566, Royal Navy

Died 31st May 1916 aged 19

Lost at Sea Commemorated Portsmouth Naval Memorial

Son of Joseph and Edith Hirst

Lived Victoria Street, Heckmondwike

Clifford died during the Battle of Jutland , the greatest sea battle of WW1, fought between the main battle fleets of the Royal and German Navies. Ninety-nine German and 151 British ships took part; many of which were the largest and most formidable warships then afloat. The battle lasted around 36 hours, and both sides claimed a victory, of sorts.

Clifford’s father Joseph married Edith (née Tansley) on 16 December 1891. Born in Cleckheaton, Edith was living in Beeston, Leeds at the time of their marriage. Clifford was born in Heckmondwike on Friday 12 February 1897 and was baptised on 24 October 1897 at the George Street Independent Chapel, Heckmondwike.

In 1901 the family were living at 8 Battye Street, Heckmondwike. Joseph was an insurance agent; Edith was at home with daughter Alice; born 15 November 1892; Leonard Arthur, 7 and Clifford, 4. The only member of the family found so far on the 1911 Census is Alice, a carpet weaver, aged 18 and living at 16 Victoria Street, Heckmondwike, with her widower grandfather, William, 70 and her single aunt Elizabeth. William was an insurance agent with the Prudential.

Clifford enlisted in the Royal Navy on 12 February 1915, at Portsmouth. Before the war he worked as a Machinist, making bobbins for a carpet factory. He was described as 5 foot 6 inches tall with a 38 inch chest, brown hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. He was sent to HMS Vivid 1, a shore based training establishment in Devonport, specialising in signalling and telegraphy. His selection as a boy telegraphist suggests a good standard of education and literacy with an ability to learn Morse Code and the complexities of the Naval communication system. He joined HMS Invincible on 31 March 1915 as a Boy Telegraphist, rapidly progressed to Ordinary Telegraphist then to Telegraphist in June 1915. After a period with HMS Cyclops he re-joined HMS Invincible on 22 April 1916, five weeks before the Battle of Jutland.

Knowing that the German High Seas Fleet was about to leave their North German ports the British Grand Fleet put to sea from their base at Scapa Flow in the Orkneys at 22.30 on 30 May 1916 and headed east into the North Sea. HMS Invincible with Clifford aboard was normally based at Rosyth but had recently joined the fleet in Scapa Flow for gunnery practice.

In the early afternoon of Wednesday 31 May 1916 elements of the two fleets met and opened fire at a range of around 9000 yards. The battle took place about 60 to 75 miles off the coast of the Jutland Region of north-west Denmark, where the sounds of the battle could be heard in the villages near the sea. During the engagement two German ships fired three salvoes each at Invincible. Despite being damaged by Invincible’s shells, a broadside from SMS Derfflinger hit Invincible at 18:30 hours, a shell penetrated the front of 'Q' turret, blew off the roof and detonated the magazines, causing a catastrophic explosion which blew the ship in half. Invincible broke in two and sank in 90 seconds. The bow and stern pointed skywards, with the other ends of the ship resting on the seabed, before sinking completely 24 hours later. Clifford’s body was never recovered.

The largest warships at that time were the battleships – heavily armoured, with the largest guns, but they were slow and lacked manoeuvrability. Battlecruisers like Invincible, launched in 1909, were designed to be faster and more agile than the battleships, but had slightly smaller guns and thinner armour. The sinking of Invincible meant the loss of 1031 sailors with just 6 survivors. Two other battlecruisers sank during the battle – Indefatigable, 1019 killed (see Thomas Henry Blakeley) with 3 survivors and Queen Mary, 1266 killed and 3 survivors. All sank after sudden catastrophic explosions. Of the 6097 British sailors killed during the Battle 54% were on board these three battlecruisers. German naval losses totalled 2551. SMS Derfflinger, which had fired the fatal shells at Invincible, was one of the German battlecruisers which had shelled Whitby and Scarborough on 16 December 1914.

Clifford’s parents were living at 14 Victoria Street, Heckmondwike in 1921 and moved to Elm Grove, Mirfield sometime later. They were declared ‘ineligible‘ for any pension payment in respect of their loss.

No detailed Army service records can be found, but the family’s elder son Leonard Arthur was a soldier when he married Mabel Daniells at Battyeford Church on 4 June 1918. He gave his address as Bridge View, Pimperne, Dorset; his bride’s home was Field Head Farm, Mirfield.

Clifford Hirst was awarded the 1915 Star; the British War Medal; the Victory Medal and is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial as lost at sea. In Thyborøn, Jutland a Memorial Park for the Battle of Jutland is open for visitors at the Sea War Museum.

It is a great shame that the wrecks of the warships of both nations which sank at Jutland have been plundered for their high quality steel. The Protection of Military Remains Act was not passed until 1986 and was not extended to cover the Jutland area until 90 years after the Battle itself.{PL/AG-071}

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