Henry William Powell

Memorial: Kingswood - Holy Trinity Church

Regiment: Royal Navy

Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal

Rank and number: Able Seaman J/9374

Parents: Robert and Alice Powell

Marital status: Married

Home address: 12 New John Street, Bedminster, Bristol

Pre-war occupation: Sailor

Date of birth: 01/09/1893

Place of birth: Kingswood, Bristol

Date of death: 15/03/1918

Buried/Commemorated at: Died at sea and commemorated at Plymouth Naval Memorial and Kingswood Holy Trinity Memorial

Age: 24

Further information:

Regiment: H.M.S D.3 Royal Navy

Henry William was born in Kingswood, the son of an electric tram driver and a middle child of six children with four sisters and a brother. He joined the Royal Navy in 1906 as a 13-year-old lad and in 1911 was serving on HMS Victorious a battleship which was berthed at Torquay at that time. Henry married Lilian D Hicock in late summer of 1917 and the couple had only been married for about six months when Henry died.

On the day of his death, Henry was serving aboard HM Submarine Dolphin when it was sunk in error in the Channel by a French airship. The submarine left Gosport on 7th March 1918 for an anti-submarine patrol in the English Channel. On the 12th March a French airship spotted the vessel at 14.20 hours and drew close for recognition purposes. The submarine fired identification rockets at the airship but this was mistaken for an act of aggression. As a consequence, the airship dropped four 52-kilo bombs on the submarine, which disappeared and several minutes later men were seen in the water. Attempts by the airship to rescue them proved too difficult and the airship withdrew to seek help. However, help arrived too late and all 29 men on board, including Henry, drowned. There were no survivors.

Henry William Powell (note W Powell on the Memorial).

By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):

This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?16055