Lost at Sea in 1914: William Edmund Smith, a Bermudan in the Royal Navy

By John D Ellis

William Edmund Smith was born on the 12^th of February 1892 at Somerset Parish, Bermuda, the son of William Felix (or ‘WJ’) Smith and Emma Jane Smith (née Douglas) of Herman’s Hill. A waiter by occupation, he enlisted on HMS Terror, Royal Navy, at Bermuda in April 1912. On enlistment it was noted that he was 5 feet 3 and ½” tall and a “man of colour”.

Between April 1912 and July 1914, he served as a steward then cook in the Officers’ Wardroom on HMS Terror, HMS Sirius, HMS Pembroke, HMS Aboukir and HMS Cressey. The roles of steward and chef tended to be ‘racially defined’. On large ships messing was divided by rank – ratings, petty officers and warrant officers, then officers. In the ward rooms of the latter, Royal Navy chefs like William Smith provided refined food largely influenced by the French model of catering. On campaign such differences were usually disregarded and communal messing was the norm. Whilst in action, stewards and cooks were frequently deployed in damage control parties. L/1874 William Smith transferred as an Officer’s Cook 1^st Class to HMS Aboukir, an armoured cruiser, on the 26^th of July 1914, and two days later the Great War was declared.

On the 22^nd of September 1914 HMS Aboukir was stationed in the North Sea, patrolling off the Hook of Holland when it was sunk by the German U-boat U9 with the loss of 527 lives. When HMS Hogue and HMS Cressy went to assist the survivors of HMS Aboukir, they too were sunk with the loss of nearly 1,500 lives. This incident established the submarine as a major weapon in naval combat.

Lost at sea, presumed drowned, William Edmund Smith is remembered in Bermuda on both the war memorial in the churchyard of St James Parish Church and in the Somerset Methodist Church. In the United Kingdom, he is remembered on the Chatham Naval Memorial.^[2]Sources: TNA ADM 188/991/1874. ADM 242/010. Bermuda’s War Veterans (bermuda-online.org) Caribbean Rolls Of Honour WW1 @ findmypast.co.uk www.cwgc.org Lives Of The First World War 1914-1918 @ … Continue reading