George Hearn (1886-1915)

Post date: May 17, 2015 7:44:13 PM

George Hearn was born in Bramling, a hamlet five miles east of Canterbury and part of the parish of Ickham, in January 1886. He was one of five children born to James and Jane Hearn. James is described as an agricultural labourer in 1891 and a waggoner on farm in 1901. George was described as a farm labourer in the 1901 Census when he was 15 years of age, before he joined the navy in May 1906 (when he was also described as a farm labourer) on a 12 year engagement. He served on a variety of ships rapidly progressing from stoker 2nd class to stoker 1st class in 1907 at which rank he stayed. When he joined the navy he was 5 foot 6^1/4 inches tall, with light brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. His service number was 310098 (Ch).

During his time in the navy George met Louisa Mary Spain from Wateringbury and they were married in the third quarter of 1914. Louisa was living at the time of the 1911 Census with her parents, Robert and Mary, and her younger brother Robert on Red Hill; she was aged 20 and described as a domestic servant. Louisa stayed in Wateringbury and was at 57, Pizenwell when notified of her new husband's death in May 1915.

George was on the HMS Princess Irene near Sheerness when it exploded on 27 May 1915. Unsurprisingly, given the force of the explosion, the official record shows his "body was not recovered for burial". The official classification of his death was "killed or died by means other than disease, accident or enemy action."

The following is a lightly edited copy of the Wikipedia article on HMS Princess Irene.

Princess Irene was built by William Denny and Brothers Ltd, Dumbarton for the Canadian Pacific Railway. She was launched on 20 October 1914. With her sister ship Princess Margaret, she was built to serve on the Vancouver - Victoria - Seattle route. Her port of registry was Victoria. Princess Irene was requisitioned by the Royal Navy on completion and converted to an auxiliary minelayer.She had a complement of 225 officers and men.

In May 1915, Princess Irene was moored in Saltpan Reach, on the Medway Estuary in Kent between Port Victoria and Sheerness, being loaded with mines in preparation for deployment on a minelaying mission. At 11:14 GMT on 27 May, Princess Irene exploded and disintegrated. A column of flame 300 feet high was followed a few seconds later by another of similar height and a pall of smoke hung over the spot where Princess Irene had been, reaching to 1,200 feet .Two barges laying alongside her were also destroyed. The explosion was larger than that which had destroyed HMS Bulwark six months earlier, although the loss of life was less. A total of 352 people were killed,including 273 officers and men, and 76 dockyard workers who were on board Princess Irene. On the Isle of Grain a girl of nine was killed by flying débris, and a farmhand died of shock. A collier half a mile away had its crane blown off its mountings. A part of one of Princess Irene's boilers landed on the ship; a man working on the ship died from injuries sustained when he was struck by a piece of metal weighing 70 pounds .

Wreckage was flung up to 20 miles away, with people near Sittingbourne being injured by flying débris,some of which landed in Bredhurst. Severed heads were found at Hartlip and on the Isle of Grain. A case of butter landed at Rainham, 6 miles away.A 10 ton section of the ship landed on the Isle of Grain. The Admiralty's oil storage tanks there were damaged. The sole survivor from Princes Irene was a stoker, who suffered severe burns. Three of her crew had a lucky escape as they were ashore at the time.

The victims whose bodies were recovered were buried at Woodlands Road Cemetery, Gillingham. A memorial service for the victims was held at the Dockyard Church, Sheerness on 1 June 1915. It was led by Randall Davidson, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Inquests were held on two victims of the disaster.The coroner stated that he did not intend to hold an inquest for any other victim unless there were exceptional circumstances that warranted it.

A Court of Inquiry was held into the loss of Princess Irene. Evidence was given that priming of the mines was being carried out hurriedly and by untrained personnel. A faulty primer was blamed for the explosion. Following the loss of HMS Natal on 30 December 1915 and HMS Vanguard on 9 July 1917, both caused by internal explosions, suspicion was raised at the inquiry into the loss of Natal that sabotage was to blame for the loss of all four ships. A worker at Chatham Dockyard was named as a suspect. A thorough investigation by Special Branch cleared him of any blame.