Captain J. S. Dick RN and the officers and men of HMS Vanguard (d. 1917)
/
Captain J. S. Dick RN and the officers and men of HMS Vanguard d. 1917
August 28, 1983
A window in the North Nave Aisle commemorates the casualties of HMS Vanguard during an accidental explosion at Scapa Flow in 1917.
The memorial window to the officers and men of H.M.S.Vanguard depicts the saints Christopher and Nicholas. At the apex of the window is a smaller light with a portrait of Nelson and the words H.M.S.Vanguard, Battle of the Nile 1798.
The window by Powell of Whitefriars (signed) was unveiled by Admiral Sir Doveton Sturdee K.C.M.G. at a service held on 5th February 1920.. The inscription reads:
'To the memory of Captain J.S. Dick RN and the officers and men of HMS Vanguard who lost their lives when that ship was destroyed on 9th July 1917 by an internal explosion at Scapa Flow. Erected by their relatives and the officers and men of the 4th Battle Squadron'.
West, inscription 'St Christopher'. Above, figure of the Saint carrying the child Christ across a river. Below, a scene of the saint with an old man, a hermit. East, inscription 'St Nicholas'. Above, figure of the saint in bishop's vestments, holding a ship and a crosier. Below, a scene of the vision of St Nicholas appearing to sailors in a storm.
The Vanguard, a battleship of the St. Vincent class, was ordered in 1908. She was at the battle of Jutland but only for 20 minutes because of low visibility. She fired 67 rounds, sank a destroyer, and hit, probably disabling, two German light cruisers. There were no casualties in the Vanguard and no shells landed on her.
But she destroyed herself a year later. While lying at anchor at Scapa Flow on July 9, 1917, one of her magazines overheated and blew up. Only 97 men were saved out of 724. The names of the Royal Marine casualties are recorded in the R.M. Book of Remembrance for the first World War.
From the notebooks ‘The Naval and Military Memorials of Rochester Cathedral’ (1979)
by Roy Trett, OBE, TD,
Rochester Cathedral Chapter Library
Read more about the disaster on HMS Vanguard at scapaflowwrecks.com
Seventy-two brilliant stained glass windows were installed by prominent glaziers Clayton & Bell during the 1870s and 1880s.
Rochester Cathedral features an exceptionally large collection of Colonial-era military memorials and artefacts. This series has begun to highlight the stories behind these collections and their place in our global heritage.
