WW1 Book Plates

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The men of the Majestic being taken aboard the Triumphs picket boat. One edition. £10.00

German destroyers come to the rescue of the crew of the sinking German cruiser Hela torpedoed by the British Submarine E9. One edition. £10.00

The arrival at Harwich of the British submarine E9. One edition. £10.00

A British flotilla commanded by Captain Fox, sights a German flotilla steaming southwards. One edition. £10.00

British Destroyers, accompanied by the light cruiser Amphion, under the command of Captain C. H. Fox chasing the German mine laying ship Konigin Luise. One edition. £10.00

British Destroyers standing by the doomed cruiser Amphion to take off her crew. One edition. £10.00

The British submarine B11 leaving her parent ship to attempt the passage of the Dardanelles. One edition. £10.00

The B11 torpedoes the Turkish battleship Messoudieh. One edition. £10.00

The Canopus opening fire on Admiral Graf Von Spees Fleet from behind a tongue of land at the Falklands Islands. One edition. £10.00

The Gneisenaus desperate fight with the British battle cruisers Invincible and Inflexible. One edition. £10.00

Boats from the British ships picking up the survivors of the Gneisenau. One edition. £10.00

The mining of the Irresistible in the Dardanelles. One edition. £10.00

The Destroyer Wear returns to the Irresistible to take off her officers. One edition. £10.00

The First Fight Between Warships And Zeppelins. One edition. £10.00

Lieutenant-Commander A Gye Swings The Lapwing Round Across The Bows Of The Disabled Laertes. One edition. £10.00

The Disabled Laurel An Easy Target For The Enemy, Is Rescued By British Cruisers. One edition. £10.00

A Great Fire Breaks Out Aft Of The Greif. One edition. £10.00

A Tremendous Explosion Sends The Greif To The Bottom. One edition. £10.00

The German Battle Cruisers Derflinger, Seydlitz And Moltke, And The Battleship Blucher, The North Sea To Shell English Seaside Resorts. One edition. £10.00

The Lion, Sir David Beattys flagship, And Other Great Vessels Dashing After The flying Germans. One edition. £10.00

The Blucher Falls Behind. One edition. £10.00

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Text for the above items :

The men of the Majestic being taken aboard the Triumphs picket boat. Seeing that the Majestics boat was badly damaged, Lieutenant Commander Eric G Robinson with whom were Lieutenant A. C. Brooke Webb, of the Royal Naval Reserve and Midshipman John B Wooley, hurriedly steamed alongside to take off her crew. There was only one casualty, that of a mortally wounded man. Amidst a storm of whells from the shore batteries and forts, the Triumphs boat steamed off down stream, leaving the enemy to concentrate their fire on the drifting wreck of the Majestics boat. In a general signal, Vice Admiral De Robeck congratulated those who had had a hand in the daring exploit. Lieutenant Commander Robinson had previously been awarded the V.C. and for his services on this occasion was promoted to Commander. The D.S.O. was awarded to Lieutenant Godwin, and Lieutenant Brooke Webb and Midshipman Wooley were awarded the D.S.C. The crews of both boats received the D.S.M.

German destroyers come to the rescue of the crew of the sinking German cruiser Hela torpedoed by the British Submarine E9. Early on the morning of Sunday September 13th 1914, while cruising with another submarine. Lieutenant commander Max Kennedy Horton sighted a German cruiser Hela steaming out from Wilhelmshaven. As she came nearer, the two submarines dived right down. Presently the E9 came up again, and Lieutenant commander Horton took his bearings, and in quick succession gave the orders to dive and to release the two bow torpedoes. A muffled report and slight roll of the submarine told that one of the torpedoes had found its mark. The E9 promptly dived and waited below for fifteen minutes. On coming up again the Hela was seen with a heavy list to starboard, and a number of ships had arrived to take off the crew and hunt for her assailant.

The arrival at Harwich of the British submarine E9. Seeing that the enemys destroyers were searching for her the E9 dived again. But when a short interval, she came up a second time, the Hela had disappeared. Large numbers of German destroyers had however been sent out from Heligoland, and were now cruising round with every conceivable device for snaring and destroying submarines. But the E9 kept clear of them for many hours, and at length arrived safely at Harwich.

A British flotilla commanded by Captain Fox, sights a German flotilla steaming southwards. Accompanying the light cruiser Undaunted, which Captain Cecil Fox, who was in command of a flotilla, commanded were the destroyers Lance (Commander W de M Egerton) Lennox (Lieut Commander R Dane) Legion (Lieut-Commander Claud F Allsup) and Loyal (Lieut-Commander F Burges Watson) While steaming off the Dutch coast on October 17th 1914, the smoke of four vessels was seen to the north. Captain Fox at once ordered his vessels to clear for action and to give chase at full speed. On sighting them, the enemy turned and fled, and the British vessels dashed forward at over thirty miles an hour, washed from end to end by sea and spray.

British Destroyers, accompanied by the light cruiser Amphion, under the command of Captain C. H. Fox chasing the German mine laying ship Konigin Luise. Within a few hours of the outbreak of war a division of British destroyers, accompanied by the light cruiser Amphion, under the command of Captain C. H. Fox, slipped out from Harwich to begin searchlight the lower end of the North Sea. On falling in with a trawler they were told by the skipper that a suspicious looking vessel had been seen throwing things overboard. Steaming on at full speed, the four leading destroyers very soon sighted what appeared to be a Great Eastern Railway steamer making towards the Dutch coast. As they rushed forward, the steamer began to put on speed, and she was soon running for all she was worth. A warning shot was fired, summoning her to stop. But as she failed to do so, the 31-pounders of the destroyers opened fire.

British Destroyers standing by the doomed cruiser Amphion to take off her crew. Having sunk the Konigin Luise, the Amphion and her destroyers continued their search in the North Sea. In the early morning if August 6th 1914, after making a detour to avoid mines, they approached the spot where the minelayer had first been seen. About 6.30 a.m. the dull thud of a mine explosion was suddenly heard beneath the fore part of the cruiser. A great mass of water was thrown high into the air, and almost at once a sheet of flame enveloped the bridge, rendering the captain insensible. Every man whom had not bee killed or wounded rushed to his post, and by the time Captain Fox had recovered his senses the whole of the fore part of the ship was on fire. As the destroyers closed in on the doomed vessel to pick up the survivors, the men were lined up on deck calmly awaiting orders. Of the Amphions crew. 131 officers and en were lost, besides many of the Germans rescued from the Konigin Luise.

The British submarine B11 leaving her parent ship to attempt the passage of the Dardanelles. At three oclock on the morning of December 13th 1914, the B11, commanded by Lieutenant Norman Douglas Holbrook, left her parent ship to attempt the passage of the Dardenelles. She proceeded on the surface at first, but sank and lower on creeping along between the hostile shores. Dropping down to sixty feet she groped her way, and at length crept under five rows of submerged mines, which the Turks had laid for the defence of the Straits.

The B11 torpedoes the Turkish battleship Messoudieh. Having reached the middle of the Narrows just before noon, Lieutenant Holbrook brought his vessel cautiously to the surface. At the periscope projected above water torpedo craft were seen in the distance, and a Turkish battleship lay at anchor on the inner side of the minefield. The B11 dived on sighting the latter, and the men made ready to discharge torpedoes from the tubes in the bows. The submarine then slowly rose to the surface, so that Lieutenant Holbrook might again sight the battleship. Having got his craft into the line with the Messoudieh, he gave the order to release a torpedo. At the same moment the enemy detected the periscope, and ships and forts opened a heavy fire. But the B11 which was too quick for the enemy was soon grating along the bottom at a depth of only thirty feet.

The Canopus opening fire on Admiral Graf Von Spees Fleet from behind a tongue of land at the Falklands Islands. When the fleet of Admiral Graf von Spee was about six miles off the Falkland Islands, and was rushing unawares into a deadly trap, the Canopus opened fire at the leading ships with her 12-inch guns from behind a tongue of land, which concealed her position. The enemy thereupon altered their course, turning slightly away. Soon afterwards, when as it seemed, they had detected the tripod masts of the great British cruisers behind the hills, they suddenly made a half turn to starboard.

The Gneisenaus desperate fight with the British battle cruisers Invincible and Inflexible. When the Scharnhorst had been disposed of, there still remained the Gneisenau to contend with. Though her condition was almost as terrible as that of her sister ship, she continued a determined but ineffectual effort to fight the two battle cruisers Invincible and Inflexible. At half past five, when barely able to move, she headed towards the flagship, and it was thought that her guns had all been silenced. Admiral Sturdee at once gave the order for his ships to cease-fire. Before the order could be signalled, however, the Gneisenau opened fire again, and continued firing at intervals from the only gun remaining intact. But at six oclock she turned over, and in less than a minute sank to the bottom of the sea.

Boats from the British ships picking up the survivors of the Gneisenau. Nearly two hundred of the Gneisenaus crew were picked up after she sank, but many of these died as a consequence of their sudden immersion in nearly freezing water. The survivors declared that nearly six hundred men had been killed outright onboard, and that the entire upper deck of the ship had been shot away. When every round of ammunition had been fired, the surviving officers opened the submerged torpedo tubes to let in the water and sink the ship. For his services in destroying the German squadron, Admiral Sir Frederick Sturdee was created a Baronet. In the Invincible, Mr Thomas A Wells, Carpenter R.N., was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, while leading seamen (first Class Gunlayer) F.S. Martin, and engine room Artificer G. H. F. McCarten, were given the Distinguished Service Medal, which decoration was also awarded to Chief engine Room Artificer robber Snowdon of the Inflexible.

The mining of the Irresistible in the Dardanelles. The bombardment of the Turkish forts in the Dardanelles on March 18th 1915, had been continued for an hour and a half by the six relieving battleships, when, just after four oclock, a terrific explosion occurred beneath the forward part of the Irresistible. Water rushed through a gaping hole in the side of the great 15,000 ton ship, and she instantly canted over to port.

The Destroyer Wear returns to the Irresistible to take off her officers. Having put the Irresistible men onboard the Queen Elizabeth, the Wear again returned to the sinking ship. All the officers who had remained behind successfully taken off, and then shortly before six oclock, the battleship went down. For what was described by Vice Admiral de Robeck as a very fine display of seamanship Captain Metcalfe was awarded the D.S.O.

The First Fight Between Warships And Zeppelins. On the Christmas Eve of 1914 three vessels, carrying seaplanes, left Harwich, escorted by cruisers, destroyers and submarines, for an aerial reconnaissance at Heligoland and the German North Sea ports. Seven aeroplanes were taken, and they were launched in spite of a dense fog. When the fog began to clear, the British ships found themselves pursued by two Zeppelins and several German seaplanes, as they were proceeding to the spot where they were to meet the returning airmen. The light cruisers Arethusa and Undaunted opened fire, and some 6-inch shells burst very close to the Zeppelins, which turned and made off. The seaplanes were more daring, but, though they got directly over the ships, they did not succeed in hitting them.

Lieutenant-Commander A Gye Swings The Lapwing Round Across The Bows Of The Disabled Laertes. Learning of the Laertes plight, the destroyer Lapwing at once dashed to her rescue. Amidst the continuous shriek of the enemys shells, the men at work in the Laertes heard a faint cheer from those on deck. The Lapwing had arrived, and with magnificent seamanship Lieutenant-Commander Alexander Gye swung his vessel round across the bows of the disabled Laertes. The men then got a hawser aboard, and the Lapwing began to tow the Laertes out of the zone of fire; and then - the hawser snapped.

The Disabled Laurel An Easy Target For The Enemy, Is Rescued By British Cruisers. For some time the two British destroyers, Laurel and Liberty, were exposed to an attack of overwhelming strength. Commander Frank Rose was struck in the left leg by a shell splinter early in the action, but he refused to leave his dangerous post. Later, however, he was struck in the other leg, and, as he was unable to stand, handed over the command to Lieutenant Charles Peploe. Suddenly a German shell enveloped the Laurel in a cloud of black smoke, and before it cleared away, British cruisers came to her assistance. Commander Rose was awarded the D.S.O., Lieutenant Peploe the D.S.C., and Engineer Lieutenant-Commander E. H. T. Meeson the D.S.O., besides being promoted to Commander. Many of the crew were awarded the D.S.M. In the Liberty Lieutenant H. E. Horan and Gunner H. Morgan was awarded the D.S.C., while Engineer Lieutenant-Commander F. A. Butler was granted accelerated promotion.

A Great Fire Breaks Out Aft Of The Greif. The range was so short that missing seemed an impossibility, but the gunnery of the German raider was abominable. The British gunners, however, got home on the Greif from the very first. Her bridge was carried away at the first broadside, and then, yard by yard, the British guns searched the upper works for the wireless room from which were issuing the meaningless jargons that jammed the Alcantaras wireless. The enemys wireless was soon smashed, and the British guns then began to batter the hull and water line of their opponent, and in a few minutes the Greif has a great fire balancing aft.

A Tremendous Explosion Sends The Greif To The Bottom. Presently theyre happened one of those mishaps, which occur to the most efficiently, handled ships. An unlucky shot carried away the Alcantaras steering gear, and, unmanageable, she swung round with her broadside to the enemy. As the Greif settled down into the water she was able to bring her torpedo tubes to bear on this most favourable target. Two torpedoes missed, and then a third caught the Alcantara squarely. It is believed that the Greif carried a big cargo of mines, for presently she blew up with a tremendous explosion and went to the bottom. A few minutes later the Alcantara turned over and sank.

The German Battle Cruisers Derflinger, Seydlitz And Moltke, And The Battleship Blucher, The North Sea To Shell English Seaside Resorts. On the early morning of Sunday, January 24th 1915, a powerful German force of battle cruisers, light cruisers and destroyers came pelting across the Dogger Bank bent on shelling English seaside resorts. There was the newly completed Derfflinger, carrying eight 12-inch guns on her 28,000 tons; the Seydlitz and Moltke, armed with ten 11-inch apiece; and the Blucher a sort of semi-Dreadnought with the fine sounding armament of twelve 8.2-inch guns. The light cruisers and destroyers were sent on ahead so as to give timely warning of any danger.

The Lion, Sir David Beattys flagship, And Other Great Vessels Dashing After The flying Germans. It happened that Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty was making a patrol cruise off the English coast with a force of similar composition to the German, and disposed in much the same way. That is, the light cruisers and the destroyers were out ahead of the main squadron. Shortly before half past seven the lookout in the Lion, Sir David Beattys flagship, which was commanded by Captain A. E. M. Chatfield, sighted the flash of guns. A few minutes later a message was passed to the flagship to the effect that the cruiser Aurora, commanded by Captain W. S. Nicholson, was in action with the advanced guard of the German fleet. In a very short time the whole fleet was going hell for leather after the flying Germans.

The Blucher Falls Behind. Bit by bit the Blucher fell behind; bit by bit she was knocked to pieces as the Lion shelled her, passed on to the next ahead, and left the following ship-the Tiger-to give the Blucher a round or two as she sped by. So all the British ships hammered the German ship, nobly fighting to the last against impossible odds, in turn.