The destroyer HMS BROKE at the Battle of Jutland. A crewman is remembered on the Ham Hill war memorial in South Somerset.

Ham Hill war memorial in South Somerset.

Of the servicemen commemorated on the Ham Hill war memorial in South Somerset only one is a member of the Royal Navy.  He is Alfred George Palmer an Able Seaman who lost his life just before midnight on 31st May 1916 while serving on the destroyer HMS BROKE during the Battle of Jutland.

HMS BROKE, with crew of 205, was a Faulkner Class destroyer of 1,700 tons with a speed of 32 knots, an armament of six 4 inch guns and four 21 inch torpedo tubes.  Although originally ordered for the Chilean Navy, on the outbreak of the First World War the ship, having only just been completed, was instead purchased by the Admiralty.

At the Battle of Jutland BROKE was one of the twelve ships making up the 4th destroyer flotilla.  Just after 11pm on 31st May the flotilla came into contact with four German light cruisers and two battleships WESTFALEN and NASSAU.  During a confused engagement the British destroyers launched torpedoes while the German ships responded with heavy gunfire.  The German light cruiser ELBING may have been hit by a torpedo, but while taking avoiding action she was rammed by the German battleship POSEN and had to be abandoned early next day.  Meanwhile several of the British destroyers had been hit by gunfire; the worst hit was the flotilla leader HMS TIPPERARY which caught fire and sank around two hours later.

BROKE had assumed leadership of the 4th flotilla when, at 11.40pm, the British destroyers came under devastating fire from the WESTFALEN.  BROKE was badly damaged; 30 men were wounded and 50 killed including her helmsman who died at the wheel.  Now out of control, BROKE veered away and rammed the destroyer HMS SPARROWHAWK.  Moments later the unfortunate SPARROWHAWK was rammed by another ship of the 4th flotilla, HMS CONTEST, and sank later that night.  BROKE and CONTEST were able withdraw from the battle and struggle back to England the next day.   

Remarkably, less than a year later, BROKE rammed another ship - this time a German torpedo boat - in the Second Battle of Dover Strait on 20th April 1917.  Twelve German torpedo boats had ventured forth from Zeebrugge to bombard the ports of Dover and Calais.  Just before midnight they were engaged by HMS BROKE and HMS SWIFT.  The two British destroyers managed to beat off the attack; SWIFT torpedoed and sank the G45 while BROKE rammed the G42, the two ships becoming locked together.  The Germans then tried to board BROKE and a hand-to-hand fight ensued until BROKE managed to break free.  G42 eventually sank while the ten remaining German torpedo boats withdrew.  BROKE was badly damaged and had to be towed into Dover with 21 of her crew dead and 36 wounded.

HMS BROKE survived the First World War and was eventually purchased by Chile in May 1920, serving as the ALMIRANTE URIBE until being scrapped in 1933.

According to the Commonwealth War Grave Commission website, Able Seaman Alfred George Palmer was the grandson of George Palmer of High Street, Stoke-under-Ham in Somerset.  Born in Peckham, he was aged 21 when killed in action at Jutland and he is commemorated at the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.