VANGUARD CREW PHOTOS
HMS Vanguard 9th July 1917
Searching for a photograph of every casualty killed aboard HMS Vanguard on the evening of July 9th 1917.
BACKGROUND
The project began once home from the Vanguard Centenary Commemoration events held in Kirkwall, Orkney in July 2017. Upon seeing the underwater images and surveying work of the wreckage displayed by Emily Turton and the Scapa 100 team, I came home overwhelmed, not wanting the commemoration to fade into a memory.
I decided to search for a photo of every man and boy killed aboard the Vanguard in her explosion and have them collectively kept in one place, putting the crew back together and creating a resource for the future.
The catalyst was a photograph of my Great Uncle Henry. I had two images of him - one in his uniform and the other photographed with another Royal Marine, of whom I had no idea who he was.
A year after the project started, I discovered the identity of Henry’s chum - his name was Walter Hattersley, also killed aboard the Vanguard.
An ongoing, work in progress project, the total amount of crew images currently found stands at 315 (out of 843) - over a third of the ship’s casualties.
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If you have a relative, or a photo of one of the crew, or have any further information, please do get in touch, to bring these men and their life stories back into the light.
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They are remembered always.
Wendy
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