Norman Ford Bryan
Norman Ford Bryan, the son of James and Annie Bryan, was born on the 30th October 1896 in Chertsey, Surrey and prior to the war Norman lived with his parents at their home, 17 High Street, Addlestone, working as a motor cleaner.
In 1913, at the age of 16, Norman enlisted for a period of twelve years in the Royal Navy as Boy Second Class, J/22422. Norman's naval records show that at the time of his enlistment he:
- Was 5 feet 9 1/2 inches tall
- Had brown hair
- Grey eyes
- A fair complexion
- Had a chest measurement of 34 1/2 inches with a 1 1/2 inch expansion
Norman initially served on HMS Impregnable as a Boy Second Class before being promoted to Boy first class on 16th August 1913. On the 26th August Norman left HMS Impregnable and moved on to HMS Royal Arthur where he stayed until the 19th November when he joined HMS Pembrook. Norman did not stay long on HMS Pembrook and joined HMS Falmouth on 3rd of January 1914. Norman stayed with Falmouth for six months and was promoted to Ordinary Seaman on the 1st of July. On the 30th July 1914 Norman joined HMS Monmouth and sailed South. HMS Monmouth called at a number of ports, listed below, before arriving off the coast of Coronel in Chile. It was here that HMS Monmouth and the accompanying ships were found by the German armoured cruisers SMS Scharnhorst, captained by Admiral Graff Spee and SMS Gneisenau. On 1st November the German ships opened fire and despite a spirited defence HMS Monmouth received direct hits and sank during the night. HMS Glasgow, the nearest of HMS Monmouths accompanying ships, was unable to attempt a search for any survivors due to the continued fire from Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. All hands aboard HMS Monmouth were lost. Norman Bryan is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial at Chatham in Kent.
Captained by Captain F Brant at the battle of Coronel, HMS Monmouth was built by London and Glasgow Ship Builders on the River Clyde in Glasgow and was launched on 13th November 1901. Her normal complement was 550-600 men and she had two twin and ten single mount 15.2 cm guns, ten 12lb guns, three 3lb guns and submerged 45.7cm torpedoes.
Last Voyage of HMS Monmouth
William Wileman Hart. RMB/1681, was a Royal Marines Bandsman aboard HMS Monmouth and due to his having written many letters home detailing his voyage, we are able TO acurately follow the final voyage of the Monmouth from leaving Plymouth on 6th August 1914 to her end on 1st November 1914.
6th August - Left Plymouth, 4:30pm
13th August - Arrived at St Vincent (Verde Islands)
14th August - Left St Vincent
20th August - Arrived and left Pernambuco (Brazil)
22nd August - HMS Glasgow joined us
23rd August - Arrived at Abrohlos Rock (Brazil)
24th August - Left Abrohlos
1st September - Armed Liner Otronto joined us
1st September - Arrived Abrohlos
2nd September - Left Abrohlos
6th September - Arrived Lobas Island (off River Plate)
7th September - Left Lobas Island
8th September - Arrived at Monte Video (Uruguay)
10th September - Sailed for Bahia Blanco
11th September - Turned back for Santa Catherina Island
14th September - Arrived St Catherina Sailed for River Plate
17th September - Anchored off English Bank Island
22nd September - Sailed for Punto Arenas (Straits of Magellan)
29th September - Sailed for Orange Bay (Cape Horn)
30th September - Arrived Orange Bay
30th September - Sailed for Port Edgar (Falkland Islands)
1st October - Arrived Port Edgar
3rd October - Sailed for the Magellan Straits
5th October - Arrived at Port Gallant
6th October - En route for Orange Bay (Cape Horn)
10th October - Total hours under way 1151
at Anchor 318
Total Miles 13 758
14th October - En route for Valparaso (Chile)
01st NOVEMBER 1914 HMS MONMOUTH WAS SUNK WITH THE LOSS OF ALL HANDS
Chatham Naval Memorial
Panel with Norman's name on it
Norman's name on the panel
Chatham Photo's courtesey of VicMill (GreatWarForum)
Norman Bryan Photo courtesy of Surrey Herald Newspapers