HMS Valerian
Artist's impression of the loss of HMS Valerian
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Valerian
NamesakeValeriana officinalis
BuilderCharles Rennoldson and Company, South Shields
Laid down1915
Launched21 February 1916
HomeportRoyal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda
FateFoundered off Bermuda in the 1926 Havana–Bermuda hurricane, on 22 October 1926
General characteristics
Class and typeArabis-class sloop
Displacement1,250 tons
Length
  • 255 ft 3 in (77.80 m) p/p
  • 267 ft 9 in (81.61 m) o/a
Beam33 ft 6 in (10.21 m)
Draught11 ft 9 in (3.58 m)
Propulsion
  • 1 × 4-cylinder triple expansion engine
  • 2 × cylindrical boilers
  • 1 screw
Speed17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Range2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) with max. 260 tons of coal
Complement104
Armament

HMS Valerian was an Arabis-class sloop of the Royal Navy, built by Charles Rennoldson and Company, South Shields, and launched 21 February 1916. After service in the First World War, she foundered off Bermuda in the 1926 Havana–Bermuda hurricane, on 22 October 1926.

History

After the commissioning, the Valerian completed security tasks off the British east coast, being used in 1917 and 1918 mainly to monitor coastal convoy routes and the mine barriers of the North Sea Mine Barrage. The sloop was not involved in combat operations, although it was briefly suspected that the she had sunk the German submarine SM U-99 in the northern North Sea in July 1917. However, this submarine was sunk by the British submarine HMS J2.

Valerian recommissioned at Devonport with Commander Hugh Turnour England, five other officers, and 96 Ratings on 29 December 1920, and was assigned with sister ship HMS Wistaria to the America and West Indies Station, based at the Royal Naval Dockyard (HMD Bermuda) on Ireland Island in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, where she arrived on 2 April 1921,[1] and recommissioned there on 27 February 1923, under Commander Evan Bruce-Gardyne, DSO, and six other officers.[2] Valerian re-commissioned there again on 22 July 1925, under Commander William Arthur Usher and six other officers.[3][4]

Loss

On 21 October 1922, Bermuda was struck with little warning by a hurricane which caused extensive damage ashore,[5] primarily removing roof slates from homes,[6] commercial and government buildings, including at the Royal Naval Dockyard, Boaz Island, Prospect Camp and St. George's Garrison. The Captain of HMS Valerian was attending a function at Prospect Camp the night before as the storm approached and, not liking the look of the weather, returned to his ship at the dockyard. HMS Valerian, berthed alongside at the Royal Naval Dockyard (preparing to depart the next day on a cruise, having spent 7 to 16 September in Admiralty Floating Dock No. 1, or "AFD1", having her bottom cleaned and re-painted), lost its main mast and wireless aerial, and was pushed so forcefully from the wharf that a hawser that secured her aft cut through her side. The storm caused two fatalities, including a sailor from HMS Capetown who fell into the camber and drowned. A skiff was sent by HMS Valerian,[7] and a sailor from HMS Valerian, a cook named McKenyon, dove overboard but was unable to save him.[8][9]

Four years later, HMS Valerian, under her Captain, Commander W. A. Usher, was returning to HM Dockyard Bermuda from providing hurricane relief in the Bahamas (her second post-hurricane mission of mercy to the British West Indies that autumn), trailed by another hurricane. A shortage of coal in the Bahamas had forced her to put to sea with only enough to complete her journey, which meant that her mass, and hence her displacement, was a great deal less than would normally be the case, reducing her stability in rough seas. She last radioed after sighting Gibb's Hill Lighthouse early in the morning of 22 October 1926, at which time the crew saw no sign of an approaching storm. By the time she reached the Five Fathom Hole, she was being overtaken by the storm and conditions were too rough to risk the channel through the reefs. The crew were forced to turn southward to obtain sea room from the reefline lest they be driven on the rocks, and headed directly into the storm. She fought the storm for more than five hours, but after the eye passed overhead conditions became more dangerous with the wind more powerful and no longer coming from the same direction as the sea. As the ship's Captain, Commander William Arthur Usher, described at the Court Martial:

Just before 1300, a series of squalls struck the ship on the port side with a fury that beggars all description. The ship was thrown on her beam ends, heeling 70 degrees over to starboard. The helm was hard-a-port, to keep her head to sea, but this was evidently holding her over and on letting go the helm and putting it hard-a-starboard, the ship righted and came slowly up to the wind, wallowing heavily in the trough of the sea as she came round. It was at this moment the mainmast and wireless were carried away. The ship was brought within about 6 points of the wind, but these tremendous squalls kept forcing her over to leeward and it seemed only a matter of moments before the ship must go. Soon after the engines stopped and the report came up that the ship was ashore but this seems more than doubtful as nothing was felt on the bridge, and although the ship was in a mass of blinding spray, nothing in the nature of breakers was seen. At the time the engines stopped the ship was heeled over to about 60 and then went slowly over.

The ship sank with most of her crew going overboard without lifeboats or rafts. Men clung to floating wreckage. The Captain was one of 28 on or clinging to the same raft.

The N.W. wind felt bitterly cold to those parts which were exposed, Sunset came and as it grew dark we looked for Gibbs Hill Light or some other Light, as we had no idea of our position, but nothing was seen, not even the glare. The twelve hours of night, with waves breaking over us, were an experience never to be forgotten and many gave up during that time. They got slowly exhausted and filled up with water and then slipped away. The raft was slowly losing its buoyancy and as everyone wanted, as far as possible, to sit on the edge, it capsized about every 20 minutes, which was exhausting; we all swallowed water in the process and the effort of climbing back again began to tell. Twelve held out until the end, when H.M.S. "Capetown" was most thankfully sighted at about 1000 the following day.

In all, 85 of her crew were lost with the Valerian. The British merchant ship Eastway was also sunk near Bermuda.[10] When the centre of the storm passed over Bermuda, winds increased to 114 mph (183 km/h) at Prospect Camp, whereupon the Army took down its anemometer to protect it. The Royal Naval Dockyard was being hammered and never took its anemometer down. It measured 138 mph (222 km/h) at 13:00 UTC, before the wind destroyed it.[11] This roughly coincided with the moment Valerian was overwhelmed.

The report of the court martial of the survivors of the Valerian included survivors' descriptions of her loss:[12]

MEMBERS OF THE COURT.
The Court was composed of: -
Captain A. B. Cunningham, D.S.O., Chief of Staff, North America and West Indies Station, H.M.S. Calcutta;
Captain A. T. Tillard, D.S.O., H.M.S. Malabar.
Captain H. D. Bridges, D.S.O., H.M.S. Curlew.
Captain A. M. Lecky, D.S.O., H.M.S. Colombo.
Commander H. B. Maltby, H.M.S. Calcutta.
Captain O. H. Dawson, H.M.S. Capetown, was Prosecutor, and Paymaster-Commander G. H. DeDenne, D.S.O., H.M.S. Calcutta (Admiral's Secretary), was Deputy Judge Advocate.
Commander W.A. Usher, who was in command of the Valerian, Lieutenant F. G. Hughes, Navigator, and the other 17 members of the crew who were saved, attended the Court as the accused.

Among its findings, the Court determined "that there was no error in navigation. Nothing the Commanding Officer could do would have diverted the loss of the ship, and that no blame is attributable to the survivors whose conduct throughout was exemplary", and "The Court is of opinion that none of the survivors are to blame and formally acquits them".

References

  1. ↑ Aschenbrenner, Dean M., ed. (12 February 2020). "Royal Navy Log Books of the World War 1 Era: HMS VALERIAN – December 1920 to February 1924, North America & West Indies Station". www.naval-history.net. www.naval-history.net. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  2. ↑ The Navy List for November, 1923. UK: His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1 November 1923. p. 814.
  3. ↑ The Navy List for January, 1926. UK: His Majesty's Stationery Office. 1 January 1926. p. 277.
  4. ↑ "NAVAL NOTES". The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 23 September 1922. p. 1. H. M. Ships "WISTARIA" AND "VALERIAN" were recommissioned at Bermuda on the 23rd July, 1925, for further service on the N. A. & W. I. Station.
    List of officers as under:-
    H. M. S. "WISTARIA."
    Commander.... P.W.S. King, D.S.O.
    Lieut. Comdr. .... C. Naylor. D. S. O., D. S. C.
    Lieutenant (N).... C. A. G. Nicholls.
    Sub. Lieutenant. (I) Fr.... S. W. Roskill.
    Surgeon Lieut. .... T. J. Prendegast, M. B.
    Cd. Engineer.... R. W. Dawes.
    Gunner.................... C. Leonard.
    H. M. S. "VALERIAN."
    Commander.... W. A. Usher.
    Lieut. Comdr. C. C. F. Grey.
    Lieutenant (N).... F. G. Hughes
    Lieutenant.... J. P. Ingpen.
    Surgeon Lieut.... R. W. Higgins, BSc., M. D.
    Gunner.... J. W. Asquith.
    Wt. Engineer.... C. R. Barter.
    R. MALER
    Major, R. M.
    S. O. (I), Bermuda.
  5. ↑ "HURRICANE STRIKES BERMUDA WITH FULL FORCE". The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 23 September 1922. p. 1. The hurricane which visited Bermuda on Thursday, though of comparatively short duration, was responsible, so far as can be ascertained, for a great deal more damage than was the case last year. Two losses of life have occurred, one a sailor from H.M.S. Capetown falling overboard in the Dockyard and being drowned.
  6. ↑ "Why houses in Bermuda have white stepped roofs". BBC News. UK. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2023. The design of the roof has multiple benefits. Made of limestone it is heavy and not easily shifted by hurricanes
  7. ↑ Aschenbrenner, Dean M., ed. (12 February 2020). "Royal Navy Log Books of the World War 1 Era: HMS VALERIAN – December 1920 to February 1924, North America & West Indies Station". www.naval-history.net. www.naval-history.net. Retrieved 27 August 2022. 21 September 1922
    Bermuda
    Lat 32.325, Long -64.834
    5.30am: Furled Forecastle and Quarterdeck awnings, got out extra stern wires, hurricane approaching from SW.
    7.10am: Wind NE, squalls Force 9, barometer 29.20.
    8.35am: Lull; centre of hurricane passing. Wind backed to West. Got extra bow wires out. Let go both anchors. [?] dinghy turned over, starboard coaling hatch unshipped.
    9.20am: Main Topmast carried away. Plating on Starboard quarter torn by stern wires. Squalls of rain over Force 12.
    10.00am: Dockyard flagstaff blown down.
    10.20am: Wind dropping fast backing WSW.
    12.00pm: Hurricane passed over. Blue sky appearing. Fire in DARTMOUTH.
    1.00pm: Leave to Port Watch 5.30pm to 7.00am.
    2.00pm: Fire in DARTMOUTH extinguished.
    2.30pm: Hands employed striking Topmast and squaring gear off.
    4.00pm: Gear lost during hurricane: 12 brooms, coir; 8 scrubbers, hair; 2 brooms, hair; 4 buckets, fire; 2 buckets, wash deck.
    9.00pm: Rounds.
    11.00pm: Man overboard from CAPETOWN. Burnt searchlights and sent skiff away.
  8. ↑ "HURRICANE STRIKES BERMUDA WITH FULL FORCE (continued)". The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 23 September 1922. p. 3. An account will be found elsewhere of the destruction at the West End, and in addition we learn of the fatality to the sailor off H.M.S. Capetown.
    It appears that the man returned to the Yard about 10.30 p.m., and being a stranger asked one of the men at the gate to show him the way to this ship. The man agreed, and they started off. The storm earlier in the day had completely wrecked the lighting system, and progress was precarious. The result was that they went too near the edge of the Cambre, and fell in. The guide was rescued by ropes, but the sailor must have gone to the bottom. A cook from H.M.S. Valerian named McKenyon pluckily went overboard and swam round for about half an hour in the hopes of effecting a rescue, but was forced to give up without avail. Yesterday morning a diver was at work searching for the body.
    The Valerian expected to go to sea yesterday, but was unable to do so; in fact, the Captain of the vessel who was at a dance at Prospect the night before, became very uneasy as to the weather. Leaving the dance, he cycled all the way back to the Dockyard to be on hand in case of trouble.
  9. ↑ "HURRICANE STRIKES BERMUDA WITH FULL FORCE (continued)". The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 23 September 1922. p. 6. Commissioners' House was exposed to every angle of the storm, but suffered comparatively slight damage though a length of wall of considerable strength was laid low, carrying with it the poultry run and playing havoc amongst its Inmates.
    The dry canteen got wet, we are told, and suffered a little damage.
    In the Keep Yard the force of the wind blew open a magazine door, while roofs of buildings in the Victualling Yard were badly damaged, the subsequent leakage of water spoiling portions of the stores kept there. The Dockyard Church was in a sad state, the floor being covered with water, a couple of inches deep.
    In the Cambre, the dock, with H.M.S. "Capetown" inside, was half-sunk by the Dockyard authorities in order to afford less resistance to the storm, and came through the ordeal unscathed, though a battle practice target also in the dock received some damage.
    H.M.S. "Constance" broke adrift from her bow-lines and was only secured with considerable difficulty. H.M.S. "Valerian" lost her after-mast, while H.M.S. "Dartmouth's" fore-topmast also went by the board.
    To add to the excitement of the morning a fire broke out on board "Dartmouth," due, we believe to a defect in the oil-fuel system, which resisted the efforts of the ship's crew and necessitated the assistance of the three steam fire engines from the Dockyard stations. The fire was then promptly subdued, and the "Dartmouth" has suffered no material damage, we are told.
    The residential portion of Ireland Island while bearing the evidence of a heavy battering shows no signs of serious damage, slates blown off roofs and a few chimneys dislocated being the sum total of the gale's work on the houses.
    On the low-lying ground on which the pumping-station stands however, the storm wreaked its vengeance on several dinghies fitted with outboard motors, and reduced them to pulp-wood. Amongst the smashed boats are those of Messrs. Mastin, Spriddle, and Butler. These boats had all been drawn well up from the water in view of the storm warnings received, but the gale would not be gainsaid.
  10. ↑ "Steamship "Eastway" (Loss Off Bermuda)". HANSARD. British government. 15 December 1926. Retrieved 4 April 2023. Mr. HAYES asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been specially called to the heroism of certain members of the crew of the steam-ship "Eastway," which foundered in -a hurricane off Bermuda, when the wireless operator remained at his post sending out S.O.S. messages until the ship sank, and the engineers and firemen refused to overload the remaining lifeboat and went down with the ship rather than endanger the lives of their comrades; and whether it is proposed to make any posthumous awards for gallantry or in any other way suitably to recognise the bravery of these members of the mercantile marine?
  11. ↑ Stranack, Royal Navy, Lieutenant-Commander B. Ian D (1977). The Andrew and The Onions: The Story of The Royal Navy in Bermuda, 1795–1975. Bermuda: Island Press Ltd., Bermuda, 1977 (1st Edition); Bermuda Maritime Museum Press, Royal Naval Dockyard Bermuda, Ireland Island, Sandys, Bermuda, 1990 (2nd Edition). ISBN 9780921560036.
  12. ↑ "Wind and Weather Swept Valerian to Doom". The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke Parish, Bermuda. 3 November 1926. pp. 1–2.


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