Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

1914-15 Star (K.21273, H. Fox, Sto. 1., R.N.); Victory Medal 1914-19 (2) (K.21240 W. Brett. Sto.2. R.N.; J.17106 G. E. Sellick. A.B. R.N.) heavy digs to last with replacement suspension, therefore fair; the Star fine and the VM to Brett good very fine (3) £80-£100

H.M.S. Amphion
At the start of the Great War, H.M.S. Amphion was leader of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla in the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron, assigned to the Harwich Force, defending the eastern approaches to the English Channel, under the command of Captain Cecil H. Fox. In the morning of 5 August, Amphion and the 3rd Flotilla sortied into the North Sea to patrol the area between Harwich and the Dutch island of Terschelling for German activity. At 10:15 a ship in the black, buff, and yellow colours of the Great Eastern Railway’s steamers that plied between Harwich and the Hook of Holland was spotted. Fox sent the destroyers H.M.S. Lance and H.M.S. Landrail to investigate and shortly afterwards another destroyer reported that a trawler had seen a suspicious ship, ‘throwing things overboard, presumably mines’. H.M.S. Amphion led the flotilla to investigate and observed that the fleeing ship was deploying mines even then. At 10:45, Lance opened fire at a range of 4,400 yards (4,000 m).

The target was S.M.S. Königin Luise, a former Hamburg-Heligoland excursion boat that had been converted to an auxiliary minelayer by the Germans. They had planned to mount a pair of 8.8-centimetre (3.5 in) guns on board, but they did not have the time to do so; her only armament was a pair of lighter guns and 180 mines. On the night of 4 August, she had departed Emden and headed into the North Sea to lay mines off the Thames Estuary, which she began to do at dawn.

The fire from the destroyers was ineffective until Amphion closed to a range of 7,000 yards and began hitting the German ship at about 11:15. By noon, Königin Luise was sinking and the three British ships rescued 5 officers and 70 ratings. The flotilla proceeded onwards with their patrol until they reached the Dutch coast around 21:00 and turned for home. Fox was uncertain as to the locations of the mines laid by Königin Luise and laid a course that was seven nautical miles west of where he thought the mines were. He guessed wrongly and led his flotilla over the danger area.

At 06:35 on 6 August, Amphion struck a mine that detonated underneath her bridge. The explosion set her forecastle on fire and broke the ship's keel. The destroyer H.M.S. Linnet attempted to tow the cruiser, but a deep crack across her upper deck showed that she was hogging badly and Fox ordered his crew to abandon ship. Shortly afterwards, her forward magazine exploded, throwing one 4-inch gun into the air that narrowly missed Linnet. One of Amphion’s shells burst on the deck of the destroyer Lark, killing two of her men and the only German prisoner rescued from the cruiser. Amphion then rapidly sank within 15 minutes of the explosion losing 1 officer and 131 ratings killed in the sinking, plus an unknown number of the crew rescued from Königin Luise. She was the first ship of the Royal Navy to be sunk in the Great War.

Harold John Fox was born in Plymouth on 1 July 1893 and attested for the Royal Navy on 10 November 1903. He joined H.M.S. Amphion on 28 April 1914, and was present in her when when she sank on 6 August 1914. He afterwards served in H.M.S. Temeraire, which took part in the Battle of Jutland. Advanced Leading Stoker on 18 January 1919, he was still serving in 1932, in H.M.S. Lucia, when he was taken seriously ill. Admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar, Gosport, Hampshire, he died, aged 39, on 21 May 1932 due to general peritonitis.

William Brett was born in Exeter on 9 April 1895 and attested for the Royal Navy on 3 November 1913. He joined H.M.S. Amphion on 28 March 1914, and was killed when she struck a mine and sunk on 6 August 1914. He is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial.

George Edward Sellick was born in Topsham, Devon, on 20 April 1896 and attested as a Boy for the Royal Navy on 17 April 1912. He joined H.M.S. Amphion on 20 April 1914, and was present in her when when she sank on 6 August 1914.

Sellick was later serving in H.M.S. Brisk, when, on 21 February 1917, about 10 nautical miles from St Catherine’s Point on the Isle of Wight, in thick fog, whilst escorting the chartered troopship S.S. Mendi, which, having arrived at Plymouth from South Africa, was bound for Le Harve, France. The Mendi was carrying 823 men of the 5th Battalion of the South African Native Labour Force, many of whom had never seen the sea and very few of whom could actually swim. In the thick fog the Mendi was accidentally rammed and sunk by the large steamship S.S. Darro which was sailing at high speed in ballast for Argentina. Darro made no attempt to rescue survivors and it did not remain at the scene, although H.M.S. Brisk launched her boats which rescued around 200 men, although 616 South African soldiers and 30 crew members from the Mendi were lost.

On 2 October 1917, he had a further lucky escape when Brisk was at sea off the north coast of Ireland to meet and escort convoy H.H. 24, which was inbound from America. After Brisk had joined the escort, the convoy was attacked by the German submarine U-79 which torpedoed the cruiser H.M.S. Drake which later sank with the loss of 19 lives. After this attack, as was normal procedure, the convoy dispersed and the remaining naval and auxiliary escorts including Brisk, were deployed to follow up the dispersed ships, some through Rathlin Sound and others in the North Channel. As the steamship Lugano entered the sound, she was torpedoed and sunk by U-79 and shortly afterwards, while making a sweep of the Sound, Brisk either struck a mine, or was torpedoed. The explosion broke Brisk in two and the bow section sank in the sound, whilst, of the 141 crew members, 32 lives were lost. The stern section remained afloat and was towed to Londonderry and on being fitted with a new bow Brisk later returned to service. He later served in the new destroyer H.M.S. Simoon from 11 March 1918. Post war, he continued to served until his discharge on 19 April 1926 and later died, aged 63, in Exeter in 1959.