Location of HMS Pembroke II and HMS Blenheim Nov-Dec 1911

[Zacktyr]

Hi, Rootschatters,

I wonder if anyone can help me with this dilemma.  I need to find the exact location of the HMS Pembroke II during November 1911 and of the HMS Blenheim from 22 Nov 1911 to mid-December of 1912.  There is one enlisted serviceman in particular, Frederick Charnock, service number 209025.  I have the details of his service from his service record and the medal rolls.  He was a leading stoker on both ships and I need to pin down his exact location, e.g. were both ships under sail somewhere, or were they docked somewhere.

Any help is greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

[Jebber]

I can't help with HMS Blenheim but HMS Pembroke was a stone ship, the Royal Naval Barracks at Chatham 1902 - 1961.

[ShaunJ]

From newspaper reports. HMS Blenheim appears to have been in various ports and harbours up and down the east coast of Great Britain - Orkney, Inverness, Newcastle, Harwich etc - during that period.

[Zacktyr]

Thank you, Jebber and ShaunJ. for your contributions.  They are greatly appreciated.

Jebber, do you have any idea why the HMS Pembroke would be referred to in this man's record as Pembroke I and Pembroke II?  These entries appear one after the other.  Pembroke I is dated 6 June 1911 and Pembroke II is dated 9 Nov 1911 to 21 Nov 1911.

ShaunJ I was hoping that there would be some record as to the date the HMS Blenheim actually docked in Harwich or left Chatham.  The dates for my event are so constrained that any movement by the man in question has to have occurred mid-November to the first week in December 1911.  His post to the Blenheim occurred on 22 Nov 1911 and I'm trying to determine if he boarded it in Chatham or had to travel overland to get to Harwich.

[KGarrad]

HMS Pembroke I was an accounting base at Chatham from 1940 until 1960.
HMS Pembroke II was an accounting base at Chatham from 1940 until 1957.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Pembroke

[Bookbox]

I was hoping that there would be some record as to the date the HMS Blenheim actually docked in Harwich or left Chatham.  The dates for my event are so constrained that any movement by the man in question has to have occurred mid-November to the first week in December 1911.  His post to the Blenheim occurred on 22 Nov 1911 and I'm trying to determine if he boarded it in Chatham or had to travel overland to get to Harwich.

According to the Army and Navy Gazette of 18 November 1911, Blenheim left Portland on 15 November and arrived at Harwich the same day. She was surely still there on 25 November, when a football team from H.M.S. Blenheim lost 2-5 to Woodbridge, Suffolk (Lloyds Weekly News, 26 Nov 1911).

For a detailed description of a vessel’s movements and her exact position, you could look at the logs (in ADM 53 at the National Archives), or have someone do it on your behalf. For Blenheim in November 1911 …
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1482214

[Zacktyr]

Hi, Bookbox,

Apologies for the late reply. With our wildly escalating weather, it's sapping my energy.

Thank you so much for your perfect answer to the HMS Blenheim question.  I have limited access to the Army and Navy Gazettes, i.e. not a perfect run and many dates in November are missing.  I would love to be able to research at Kew but I'm in Canada and don't have any contacts in that area.

Thank you, again.  As always your replies are greatly appreciated.

[Zacktyr]

Hi, KGarrad,

Thank you for your response to my post about the two references to the Pembroke.  I appreciate the time you took to try to find an answer for me.

Yes, I had already searched various references for an answer but most of the results related to the Pembroke after WWI.  I have a very specific time frame, being pre-WWI and specifically 9 November 1911 to 21 November 1911.  I can only conclude that the two references in the man's service record must relate to his training and his graduation.

Thank you, again.

[tonepad]

The difference between Pembroke I and Pembroke II before WW1 seems to have been lost in the mists of time and is not adequately explained on any current website (including Wikipedia - HMS Pembroke II - Royal Naval Air Station at Eastchurch between 1913 and 1918.).

My grandfather was a stoker based at Chatham between 1912 and 1920. His naval record only mentions Pembroke II or just Pembroke.


Here is another example mentioning Pembroke II before WW1:

https://www.cwgc.org/stories/stories/chief-stoker-pensioner-joseph-samuel-farman-royal-navy-royal-fleet-reserve/



Tony