To the Glory of God & in loving memory of
ARTHUR CLARE ATKINS, Sergt. Gunlayer
1st. Class Royal Marine Artillery, who lost
his life in the sinking of H.M.S. Indefatigable
in the battle of Jutland May 31st. 1916, aged 34 years.
"Bee up and doynce"
RMA/8852 Sergeant Arthur Clare Atkins, Royal Marine Artillery, HMS Indefatigable.
Arthur was born on 12th. March 1882 at Hertfordshire, the eldest son of Joseph, a decorator and sign writer, and Henrietta Atkins, nee Hobbey.
Arthur was educated in the Hay Mills area of Birmingham.
On 12th. June 1900 at Birmingham, Arthur enlisted into the Royal Navy. He served on the ships Bulward, King Edward VII, Good Hope, Black Prince, Britannia and finally Indefitgable.
On 21st. December 1905 Arthur married Olive, the second daughter of Frederick Claxton, the proprietor of the Swan Inn at Garboldisham, Norfolk.
In and around 1901 Olive had been a domestic servant for a family named Nichols. The head of the family may have been a Royal Marine officer who served in Italy and Malta, where Olive met Arthur. They had one son, Arthur Frederick, born on 25th. November 1906.
Arthur was a gunnery instructor and turret layer aboard the Indefatigable class battlecruiser HMS Indefatigable when she was involved in the Battle of Jutland on 31st. May 1916.
Around 16:00 hrs., Indefatigable was hit around her rear turret by 2 or 3 shells from the German battlecruiser Von der Tann. She fell out of formation to starboard and started sinking towards the stern and listing to port. Her magazines exploded at 16:03 hrs. after more hits, one on the forecastle and another on the forward turret. Smoke and flames gushed from the forward part of the ship and large pieces were thrown 200 feet (61 m) into the air. It has been thought that the most likely cause of her loss was an explosion in 'X' magazine that blew out her bottom and severed the steering control shafts, followed by the explosion of her forward magazines from the second volley.
More recent archaeological evidence shows that Indefatigable was blown in half within the opening minutes of the engagement with Von der Tann, which fired only 52 x 28 cm (11 in.) shells at Indefatigable before the fore part of the ship also exploded.
Of her crew of 1,019, only three survived. While still in the water, two survivors, Able Seaman Frederick Arthur Gordon Elliott and Leading Signalman Charles Farmer, found Indefatigable's captain, C.F. Sowerby, who was badly wounded. Elliott and Farmer were later rescued by the German torpedo boat S16, but by then Sowerby had died of his injuries. A third survivor, Signalman John Bowyer, was picked up by another unknown German ship. He was incorrectly reported as a crew member from the Admiralty M-class destroyer HMS Nestor in The Times on 24th. June 1916.
An extract from The Official History, 'Naval Operations' by Sir Julian S. Corbett in 1923 states,
'The duel between Indefatigable and the Von der Tan had been growing in intensity till, a few minutes after 4.0, the British ship was suddenly hit in a burst of flames and smoke. A salvo of three shots had fallen on her upper deck and must have penetrated to a magazine. She staggered out of line, sinking by the stern when another salvo struck her, a second terrible explosion rent her, she turned over and in a moment all trace of her was gone.'
Arthur was killer in action, aged 34, on Wednesday 31st. May 1916. He has no known grave and is commemorated on Panel 21 of the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Portsmouth, Hampshire.
At the time of Arthur's death Olive and Arthur Jr. were living at 10 Westfield Road, Eastney, Portsmouth.
The name of Arthur Clare Atkins was not originally listed on Garboldisham's war memorial. In 2014 the parish council had the memorial cleaned for the 100th. anniversary of the start of World War One, and when the memorial was re-consecrated Arthur's name had been added.
This memorial is in the church of St. John the Baptist at Garboldisham, Norfolk.
At the time of Olive Atkins death on 5th. June 1962 she was living at 1 Council Houses, Garboldisham.
