The Edgar Class cruiser HMS Hawke saw service in World War One as converted depot ship for destroyers and submarines. HMS Hawke was torpedoed and sunk by U- 9 on the 15th October 1914, with the loss of 524 men. (only 70 survivors.)
The nineteenth ?HAWK? was a 12-gun twin-screw cruiser, floated out at Chatham in 1891. She was of 7350 tons, 12,000 horse-power, and 20 knots speed. Her length, beam, and draught were 360ft., 60ft., and 24ft. In 1897 and 1898 the ?Hawke,? commanded by Captain Sir Richard Poore, Bart., was engaged in the operations which led to the pacification of Crete and the appointment of Prince George of Greece as high Commissioner under the suzerainty of the Sultan of Turkey. On one occasion the ?Hawke? embarked a Greek military force in Platania Bay and took it back to its own country. On September 20th, 1911, the ?Hawke,? while commanded by Commander W.F. Blunt, collided in the Solent with the White Star Liner ?Olynpic.? The trial-which pronounced the ?Hawke? to be free from blame-aroused much general interest owing to the theory advanced that the large amount of water displaced by the ?Olympic? led to a suction action which had drawn the ?Hawke? out of her course. Appeal after appeal followed the decision of the first court to try the case. In the collision the ?Hawke? lost her arm, and an ordinary straight bow was built to replace it. In 1914 the ?Hawke,? commanded by Captain Hugh P.E.T. Williams, was engaged in various operations in the North Sea, in connection with the war with Germany. On October 15th the ?Hawke,? was successfully torpedoed by a German submarine. The ? Theseus,? which was in company, was unsuccessfully attacked at the same time. The ?Hawke? sank in a few minutes, and unfortunately Captain Williams, 26 officers and 500 men were lost with the ship. Four officers and about 60 men were saved.
HMS Hawke 1897. This Edgar first class cruiser had a displacement of 7,350 tons and a speed of 20 knots.
HMS Hawke.
HMS Hawke.
The Champion Stokers' Cutter's Crew of the Hawke 1894-95
This picture shows the racing cutter's stokers' crew of the first-class cruiser Hawke of the Mediterranean Fleet - the champions in their class at the Fleet Regatta in 1895. The trainer of the crew J Moore is in uniform with the boat flag, while the coxswain, G Williamson, is shown in the centre of the front row. The men all wear the ships crest or badge - a Sea Horse bearing a flag - one of the supporters originally granted to the famous Admiral Sir Edward Hawke (after whom this Hawke was named, on his being made a peer as the first Lord Hawke)
The Champion Duty Boats Crew of the Hawke 1895
The picture shows the duty boats crew who carried off the championship class during two successive years - 1894 and 1895. The two coxswains are shown in uniform with their boats flag, Petty Officer E Porter, the coxswain of the 1895 crew in the centre and on his left, Petty Officer W Pearse, the coxswain of 1894.
Small Arm Companies - HMS Hawke, 1897.
Small Arm Companies - HMS Hawke, 1897