This photograph appeared in the edition of the Norwich Mercury dated Saturday May 4 1918 along with the caption:
LEADING SEAMAN DANIEL ALLAN BOWTHORPE,
Fourth son of Mr. and Mrs. David Bowthorpe, 34, Wingfield Road, Norwich, one of the volunteers on the Vindictive, which played so gallant a part in the attack on the Zeebrugge Mole. He was severely wounded in the fighting and taken to Dover, where he died. He was brought to Norwich and buried on Tuesday.
The article referred to was:-
LOCAL MEN ON THE VINDICTIVE.
Among the Zeebrugge heroes to lose their lives was Leading Seaman Daniel Allan Bowthorpe, one of the volunteers in the great raid. Twenty-two years of age, and the fourth son of Mr. and Mrs. David Bowthorpe, of 34, Wingfield Road, Norwich, he died in a Dover hospital from wounds received in action.
The funeral took place at the Cemetery, Norwich, on Tuesday, when every mark of sympathy was shown by a large crowd. The service was conducted by the Rev. John Green (Vicar of St. Luke’s) and honour was paid to one who had given seven years for the service and made the supreme sacrifice for his country. The body was borne to the burial ground on a gun carriage. The coffin was covered with the Union Jack, and laid upon it was the deceased’s cap. Lance-Corp. Dixon, Lance-Corpl. Dunham, Private Reader, Private Baine, Private Boine, and Private McKein, with Sergt. Goodswain, from the Depot, Norfolk Regiment, acted as bearers, and at the conclusion of the service Bugler-Corpl. Codman sounded the “Last Post.”
The mourners included the father and mother, Mrs Taylor (sister), Mr. and Mrs. Lubbock (sister and brother-in-law), Mrs. Howard (sister), Mr. and Mrs. Labroke, (sister and brother-in-law), Private J. Bowthorpe and Private S. Bowthorpe (brothers), Mr. and Mrs. Bowthorpe (brother and sister-in-law), Misses G. and M. Bowthorpe (sisters), Miss Labbrooke, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall (aunt and uncle), Miss Hare and Mr. Lubbock. There were also present Able Seamen Smart, Troot, and Hawes, and Ordinary Seaman Landimore, on leave from their ships. There was a large number of wreaths from relatives and friends and parents of several Norwich seaman away on service.
Able Seaman Hawes was in the Zeebrugge fight with the deceased, and other local “Vindictive” men who took part in the engagement were:
Stoker (1st Class) Fredk Thompson of Poplar, formerly of Brandon
Stoker Fosdick of Norwich
Stoker Sharp, of Sheringham and
Chief Stoker Seago, of Lowestoft
Lieut. Young, M.P. for Norwich, as we mentioned last week, took part in the landing and suffered a serious wound, necessitating amputation of his arm.
Name: BOWTHORPE, DANIEL ALLAN
Rank:………………. Leading Seaman
Service:…………… Royal Navy
Unit Text:…………. H.M.S. "Vindictive"
Age:………………. 22
Date of Death:…… 24/04/1918
Service No:………. J/18711
www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2803060/bowthorpe,-da...
The Royal Naval Service records for J18711 Daniel Allan Bowthorpe, born Norwich, 23rd September 1896, are held at the National Archive under reference ADM 188/684/18711
The file begins in 1913.
discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D6870796
The WW1 Naval Casualties database records that Leading Seaman J.18711. (Ch.) Daniel Allan Bowthorpe, Royal Navy, was Killed or died as a direct result of enemy action on the 24th April 1918 whilst serving aboard HMS Vindictive. Daniel was born Norwich on the 23rd September 1896. The next of kin informed of his death was his mother, Martha, of 34 Wingfield Road, “Aylesham” Road, Norwich. [Should be Aylsham Road]
No obvious Civil Probate for this man.
No match on Picture Norfolk, the County Archive.
23rd September 1896 – Birth………..
(Source National Archive catalogue entry for his Naval Service records and the WW1 Naval Casualties database).
The birth of a Daniel “Allam” Bowthorpe was registered with the Civil Authorities in the Norwich District in the October to December quarter, (Q4), of 1896.
1901 Census of England and Wales
The 4 year old Daniel is recorded on the 1901 Census at 34 Wingfield Road, Norwich. This was the household of his parents, David, (aged 41 and a Baker from Norwich), and Martha, (aged 40 and from Norwich). Their other children are:-
Arthur……….aged 19.…. born London Westminster….. Shoemaker
Elizabeth…...aged 18.…. born London, Westminster…... Box Maker
Florence……aged 16.…. born Norwich…… Box Maker
Maud………..aged 14.….born Norwich
Ethel………..aged 10.….born Norwich
Thomas…….aged 7.…..born Norwich
Sidney……...aged 2.……born Norwich
Gertrude……aged u/1.….born Norwich
And in their 2up/2down terrace house they also has a boarder Ellen Munday, aged 19 and a Boot Trimmer from Norwich !
1911 Census of England and Wales
The Bowthorpe family were still living at 34 Wingfield Road. Parents “Jabez”, (52, Journeyman Baker) and Martha, (51), have been married for 31 years and have had 15 children, of which 11 were then still alive.
Still single and living at home were Maud, (23, Shoe Machinist), Ethel, (21, Shoe Machinist), Daniel, (15, Printer), Sidney, (12), Gertrude, (10) and May, (8). All of them were born Norwich.
Seamans Service Record………….
Daniel Allan Bowthorpe, born Norwich Norwich on the 23rd September 1896 and previously employed as a Printers Feeder, joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Sailor on the 25th July 1912. On reaching his 18th birthday on the 23rd September 1914 he signed up for another 12 years. At that point he was recorded as 5 feet 5 and a half inches tall, with Dark Brown hair, Hazel eyes and a Fresh complexion.
Ship\Station……Rank…..……………..From……….To
Ganges…………Boy II………………..25/07/1912…01/11/1912
Ganges II………Boy II………………..02/11/1912
Ganges II………Boy I………………...10/02/1913….10/12/1913
Gibraltar……….Boy I…………………11/02/1913…..02/12/1913
Vivid I…………Boy I…………………03/12/1913…..31/12/1913
Essex…………..Boy I…………………01/01/1914
Essex…………..Ordinary Seaman…….23/09/1914
Essex………….Able Seaman…………09/04/1915….21/04/1916
Pembroke(Hindustan)…Able Seaman…01/05/1916
Essex………….Able Seaman………….02/05/1916…23/08/1916.
Pembroke I……Able Seaman…………24/08/1916…03/11/1916
Courageous…..Able Seaman………….04/11/1916
Courageous.….Leading Seaman………01/03/1918…01/03/1918
Pembroke 1…..Leading Seaman………02/03/1918…23/04/1918
It is then noted that he died of wounds on the 24th April 1918 received in action off the coast of Belgium.
Victoria Cross were awarded to some of the units that took, with ballots then taking place to see who then got them. His record is noted that he was included in the ballot for the V.C. granted for operations against Zeebrugge dated 22 – 23 April 1918.
A War Gratuity was paid to his next of kin. His conduct throughtout his naval career was rated ‘Very Good’.
HMS Essex…………………………….
(Daniel joined this ship on the 1st January 1914 and stayed with her until the 23rd August 1916, with one small break – possibly when he served as apart of a prize cew)
Essex rejoined the 4th Cruiser Squadron in January 1914 with Commander Hugh Tweedie in command.
After visiting Madeira and Jamaica, the ship arrived in Veracruz, Mexico, on 9 February to relieve her sister ship, Suffolk, and protect British interests during the ongoing Mexican Revolution. Two weeks later, she visited Galveston, Texas, before heading for Tampico, Mexico where she arrived on 11 March. Essex only spent a few days there before returning to Veracruz on 13 March. She was in Tampico when Mexican soldiers briefly detained American sailors buying gasoline for their ship on 9 April (the Tampico Affair) and returned to Veracruz ten days later, two days before the Americans began landing there on 21 April. They were not satisfied by the Mexican apologies and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson ordered the city occupied in retribution and to forestall a major arms delivery to Victoriano Huerta's forces. The Mexicans resisted and stray bullets hit Essex the next day, wounding one man who was shot in both feet. Tweedie, escorted by two ratings, was sent to take dispatches for the British Minister in Mexico City on the 26th and returned two days later. Rear-Admiral Christopher Craddock inspected the ship and her crew on 5–6 May. Essex sailed for Tampico on 10 May before leaving Mexican waters on the 14th. A month later, the ship was in Quebec City when she was visited by the Canadian Minister of Marine and Fisheries on 16 June. The following month, Essex ferried the Governor General of Canada, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, to Newfoundland and Labrador before returning to Quebec City on 20 July.
World War I
When Craddock received the preliminary war warning on 27 July, he ordered Essex to join her sister Lancaster in Bermuda, which she reached three days later. The ship was ordered to patrol the area north and northwest to protect British shipping and destroy any German commerce raiders. As the Germans appeared to be concentrating their efforts in the Caribbean, Craddock ordered Essex south to reinforce his forces there in early September. On 7 September, she captured the tender, SS Bethania, for the armed merchant cruiser SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, en route from Halifax to Jamaica. The ship continued to patrol the sealanes from the Caribbean Sea to Canadian waters until the end of February 1915, when she escorted a troop convoy from Halifax to Queenstown, Ireland. Essex then sailed to Barrow-in-Furness where she began a refit that lasted until 29 April. Now assigned to the 7th Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet, she spent the next several weeks in Avonmouth or Scapa Flow before being transferred to Cruiser Force and began patrolling the area between the Azores, Madeira, Cape Verde and Gibraltar on 8 June. Rear-Admiral Archibald Moore, commander of the 9th Cruiser Squadron, hoisted his flag aboard the ship on 4 September and pulled it down on the 29th. Essex began a brief refit at Gibraltar on 1 October that lasted until the 26th and then resumed patrolling the Central Atlantic. She captured a German merchantman, SS Telde, on 3 May 1916 in the Canary Islands. The ship resumed patrolling until her arrival in Devonport on 17 August; Essex was paid off days later.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Essex_(1901)
See also
www.naval-history.net/OWShips-WW1-05-HMS_Essex.htm
HMS Courageous………………………..
(Daniel joined this ship on the 4th November 1916 and stayed with her until the 1st March 1918)
Courageous was laid down on 26 March 1915, launched on 5 February 1916 and completed on 4 November. During her sea trials later that month, she sustained structural damage while running at full speed in a rough head sea; the exact cause is uncertain. The forecastle deck was deeply buckled in three places between the breakwater and the forward turret. The side plating was visibly buckled between the forecastle and upper decks. Water had entered the submerged torpedo room and rivets had sheared in the angle irons securing the deck armour in place.
Upon commissioning, Courageous was assigned to the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Grand Fleet. She became flagship of the 1st Cruiser Squadron near the end of 1916 when that unit was re-formed after most of its ships had been sunk at the Battle of Jutland in May. The ship was temporarily fitted as a minelayer in April 1917 by the addition of mine rails on her quarterdeck that could hold over 200 mines, but never laid any mines. In mid-1917, she received half a dozen torpedo mounts, each with two tubes: one mount on each side of the mainmast on the upper deck and two mounts on each side of the rear turret on the quarterdeck.
Second Battle of Heligoland Bight
Throughout 1917 the Admiralty was becoming more concerned about German efforts to sweep paths through the British-laid minefields intended to restrict the actions of the High Seas Fleet and German submarines. A preliminary raid on German minesweeping forces on 31 October by light forces destroyed ten small ships. Based on intelligence reports, the Admiralty allocated the 1st Cruiser Squadron on 17 November 1917, with cover provided by the reinforced 1st Battlecruiser Squadron and distant cover by the battleships of the 1st Battle Squadron, to destroy the minesweepers and their light cruiser escorts.[18]
The German ships—four light cruisers of II Scouting Force, eight destroyers, three divisions of minesweepers, eight Sperrbrechers (cork-filled trawlers) and two other trawlers to mark the swept route—were spotted at 7:30 am. Courageous and the light cruiser Cardiff opened fire with their forward guns seven minutes later. The Germans responded by laying an effective smoke screen. The British continued in pursuit, but lost track of most of the smaller ships in the smoke and concentrated fire on the light cruisers. Courageous fired 92 fifteen-inch shells and 180 four-inch shells during the battle, and the only damage she received was from her own muzzle blast. One fifteen-inch shell hit a gun shield of the light cruiser SMS Pillau but did not affect her speed. At 9:30 the 1st Cruiser Squadron broke off their pursuit so that they would not enter a minefield marked on their maps; the ships turned south, playing no further role in the battle.
After the battle, the mine fittings on Courageous were removed, and she spent the rest of the war intermittently patrolling the North Sea.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Courageous_(50)
On the day……………………………….
On 23 April a second attempt was made, in conjunction with a raid on the neighbouring harbour of Ostend. The raid began with a diversion against the mile-long Zeebrugge mole. The attack was led by an old cruiser, Vindictive, with two Mersey ferries, Daffodil and Iris II. The three ships were accompanied by two old submarines, which were filled with explosives to blow up the viaduct connecting the mole to the shore. Vindictive was to land a force of 200 sailors and a battalion of Royal Marines at the entrance to the Bruges Canal, to destroy German gun positions. At the time of the landing the wind changed and the smokescreen to cover the ship was blown offshore. The marines immediately came under heavy fire and suffered many casualties. Vindictive was spotted by German gun positions and forced to land in the wrong location, resulting in the loss of the marines' heavy gun support. Eventually the submarine HMS C3 commanded by Lt. R. D. Sandford, destroyed the viaduct with an explosion. Sandford was awarded the Victoria Cross for this action.
The attempt to sink three old cruisers, to block the flow of traffic in and out of the Port of Bruges-Zeebrugge failed. The failure of the attack on the Zeebrugge mole resulted in the Germans concentrating their fire on the three blocking ships, HMS Thetis, Intrepid and Iphigenia, which were filled with concrete. Thetis did not make it to the canal entrance, after it hit an obstruction and was scuttled prematurely. The two other ships were sunk at the narrowest point of the canal. The submarines C1 under Lieutenant A. C. Newbold and C3 under Sandford were old, each with a volunteer crew of one other officer and four ratings. They had five tons of amatol packed into their fore-ends and were to be driven into the viaduct and then blown up, to prevent reinforcement of the German garrison on the mole. The crews were to abandon their submarines shortly before the collision with the viaduct, leaving the submarines to steer themselves automatically. During the passage from Dover, C1 parted with its tow and arrived too late to take part in the operation.Sandford, in command of C3, elected to steer his ship into the viaduct manually instead of depending on the automatic system.
Of the 1,700 men involved in the operation, S. F. Wise recorded in 1981 that 300 were wounded and more than 200 killed. Kendall gave figures of 227 dead and 356 wounded. The destroyer, HMS North Star was sunk. Among the dead was Wing Commander Frank Brock, the man who devised and commanded the smoke screen. Most of the casualties were buried in England either because they died of their wounds en route or because the survivors recovered their bodies to repatriate them. The Zeebrugge plot of St James's Cemetery, Dover has nine unidentified men and fifty named men who died on 23 April 1918 but most fatalities were returned to their families for local burials.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeebrugge_Raid
HMS Vindictive…………
Early in 1918 she was fitted out for the Zeebrugge Raid. Most of her guns were replaced by howitzers, flame-throwers and mortars. On 23 April 1918 she was in fierce action at Zeebrugge when she went alongside the mole, and her upperworks were badly damaged by gunfire, her Captain, Alfred Carpenter was awarded a Victoria Cross for his actions during the raid. This event was famously painted by Charles de Lacy, the painting hangs in the Britannia Royal Naval College. In addition to her usual complement, she embarked Royal Marine gunners to man the supplementary armament, and a larger raiding party. This comprised two of the three infantry companies of the 4th Battalion, Royal Marine Light Infantry, (their third company was embarked on the Iris), along with two "companies" of seamen raiders commanded by Lieutenant Commander Bryan Fullerton Adams and Lieutenant Arthur Chamberlain ("A" & "B" seamen Companies) respectively.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Vindictive_(1897)
Diversionary Operation on Zeebrugge Mole
The raid on Zeebrugge harbour began at one minute after midnight on 23 April with the diversionary operation to land a force of Royal Marines at the mile-long Zeebrugge Mole. The men landing on the Mole formed a storming force and a demolition force to destroy the German gun batteries, seaplane station and defences on it. They were carried to the Mole by the old cruiser “Vindictive” and two Mersey River passenger ferries, the “Daffodil” and “Iris II”. The primary duty of the “Daffodil” was to push “Vindictive” up against the Mole, then pull alongside the Mole herself and her Marine force would disembark onto the Mole. The Acting Captain of the “Vindictive” was Commander Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter, RN.
As events unfolded the “Vindictive” was already under fire as she arrived and there were casualties to many of the leading Marines and commanders of this storming operation. The smoke screen was less effective than planned because the wind changed direction half an hour before the arrival of “Vindictive” at the Mole. “Daffodil” had to continue pushing “Vindictive” against the Mole and her Marines had to disembark via the bow onto “Vindictive” and then onto the Mole. “Iris II” could not land her Marines directly onto the Mole either, and great bravery and casualties were suffered by the men trying to secure her to the Mole. She attempted to go alongside “Vindictive” instead but only a few men managed to get onto “Vindictive” before she was withdrawn. Many casualties were suffered by the crews manning the guns on “Vindictive”.
www.greatwar.co.uk/battles/yser/zeebrugge-ostend-raid.htm
see also
www.mckenzie.uk.com/book/export/html/5
www.naval-history.net/WW1Battle1804ZeebruggeOstend.htm
Mildly photoshopped to minimise impact of damage present on the original image.