Harry TAYLOR

Tyneside Z/9804, Able Seaman. b. 1898, Clayton d. Sat. 6th October 1917 (aged 19).

A third Claytonian to die whilst serving in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (along with Robert Briggs and Stewart Robinson).

Harry was the second son of Byron and Martha Taylor of 49 Clayton Lane, Clayton, Bradford, West Yorkshire.

Harry had joined up in June 1916 at the tender age of 18, and after his training was posted aboard the minesweeping sloop the H.M.S. Begonia that had a crew of about 115. This vessel was completed on the 26th August 1915 but was subsequently refitted out in 1916 as a Q-Ship, just as Harry joined the crew. Q-Ships were designed to appear at first glance as unarmed merchant vessels but did actually contain many hidden armaments. This was just as much a form of protection for the ship while engaged on minesweeping duties, as for offensive purposes.

However, after about a year at sea Harry’s luck unfortunately ran out. Whilst on a routine patrol in the Atlantic, the Begonia came across a U-Boat which engaged them. The Begonia was no match for a U-Boat, as these early submarines were far better armed and equipped for battle than a small sloop, particularly having the use of torpedoes. The U-Boat, U151 under the command of Waldemar Kophamel launched a torpedo which badly damaged the doomed sloop, but the Begonia’s Captain was not to be deterred. In what was to his final act of military service he set a collision course with the submarine, and with what remaining engine capacity he had rammed U151. The Begonia sank quickly after this with a loss of all hands but this final gesture had been in vain, as although U151 itself was badly damaged it remained afloat and managed to limp back to its base for its repairs. Six weeks later it was re-launched with a new crew and captain and by the end of the war had notched up a total of 51 ships that it had sunk, including a loss of thousands of lives and well over 100,000 tonnes of Allied war materials.

Harry is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial.