Deck Hand Harold John Hitchcock
HM. Minesweeper Robert Smith, Royal Naval Reserve,
Killed in Action
Date of Birth: 1896
Place of Birth: Teignmouth, Devon
Date of Death: 20 July 1917 aged 21
Buried: Remembered on Plymouth Naval Memorial; Seafront Memorial and St. Michael’s Church, Teignmouth, Devon
Deck Hand Harold John Hitchcock age 21. Born on 7 May 1896 and baptised on 29 July at St. James' Church, the son of William, a fisherman, and Ellen Hitchcock of 10 Teign View Terrace, Teignmouth. In 1901 Harold was living with his parents and 3 siblings at Ivy Lane, and in 1911 with his family at 10 Teign View.
Harold was serving with the Royal Naval Reserve on board HM Trawler Robert Smith, service number 653SD. The ship was on patrol North West of Lewis, Scotland, when it was posted missing with 22 men on board on 20 July 1917. (Naval record shows date of death as 9/9/17) Confirmation was posted to all ports where the men lived on 31 July that the ship was lost and the men had died on 20 July 1917. Remembered on Plymouth Naval Memorial; Seafront Memorial and St. Michael’s Church, Teignmouth.
“Harold John Hancock of trawler section of RN, son of Mr and Mrs Hancock, Teign View Tce was a member of a crew of trawler reported missing with all hands, he was 21.” Teignmouth Post - 17 August
Albert Best reported in his diary on 19 August: - “Boatmen get flags at half mast today. Son of W Hitchcock was killed with 16 others in patrol boat when it was torpedoed”.
Naval Trawlers
At the outbreak of the First World War about 3000 civilian steam fishing trawlers were put into military service and more than 39,000 fishermen joined the Trawler Section of the Royal Naval Reserve to crew the ships they knew so well.
They cleared mines from sea routes, patrolled and attacked enemy submarines.
Sinking a mine by Riflefire. From The northern barrage : taking up the mines. 1920
This was vitally important work, the Maritime Archeology Trust estimate that in 1918 alone, enemy U-boats sank 5896 British vessels.
Fishing vessels on Admiralty service played a role in something in the region of 20 per cent of all allied U-boat sinkings during 1918.
Fishermen, the Fishing Industry and the Great War at Sea: A Forgotten History.
By Robb Robinson page 161
A mine exploded by rifle shots fired by sailors on a minesweeper off Harwich, Essex. © IWM (Q 18836)
