Page 9 - WW1 - 1915

Redditch Local History Society Remembering Redditch Residents & WW1

Ancestry site Royal Navy and Royal Marine War Graves Roll

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Harold Edward Baylis, born in Redditch, J.27113 Boy 1 Class, (Po), Royal Navy,HMS Viknor,
Body not recovered for burial, killed or died by means other than disease, accident, or enemy
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action, 13 January 1915. Drowned in loss of vessel off Irish Coast, aged 18, parents Albert
and Ruth Baylis. Remembered on Portsmouth Naval Memorial, England.
Remembered on Astwood Bank war memorial.
(On 1911 census Harold Edward Baylis aged 14, Blake Hook Masker, lived with his widowed mother Ruth at
Avenue Road, Astwood Bank.
HMS Viknor’s last reported position was approximately 11 miles West of Tory Island, Co. Donegal, Ireland. The
ship was on patrol in heavy seas when she sank without any distress call It is believed that she hit recently laid
German mine and sank with the loss of all crew. A number of bodies were washed up on Irish and British
shores following the ship’s loss.

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The Birmingham Daily Mail – Friday 15 January 1915

Birmingham Small Arms Company and Redditch Employees

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